Candy Canes are the Christmas event currency in 99 Nights in the Forest. You earn them by helping elves scattered around the snowy map, usually by rescuing them with tools bought from the Santa Sack near your base. Each successful rescue or task ends with a present drop, which is where the Candy Canes come from.
What starts the Candy Cane grind
The Christmas update sets up a simple loop: collect coins, buy rescue tools from the Santa Sack, then roam until you spot an elf situation you can clear. Elves aren’t marked on the map, so the pace is exploration-driven, not checklist-driven, and you’ll often find multiple rescue opportunities once you’ve expanded your map.
Coins first: what you need to buy from the Santa Sack
Rescuing elves is mostly gated by a separate currency: coins (often referred to as Mossy Coins). You pick them up while exploring, and you can also get more by fighting cultists. Once you have enough, the Santa Sack offers four event tools and mobility items.
| Santa Sack item | What it’s for | Price (coins) |
|---|---|---|
| Sled | Faster travel while exploring the snow | 25 |
| Ice Skates | Crossing ice safely and completing ice-lap tasks | 20 |
| Ladder | Rescuing elves stuck up in trees | 15 |
| Shovel | Digging out elves buried head-first in snow | 20 |
Elf rescues that award Candy Canes
Most Candy Canes come from “help the elf” interactions that end with a present. The details vary, but the core interaction is consistent: use the right tool to make the rescue possible, then talk to the elf to complete it and trigger the reward.
Ladder rescue: elves stuck in trees
Step 1: Buy a Ladder from the Santa Sack using coins, then travel through snowy areas looking for elves and odd tree setups.
Step 2: Place the ladder so it reaches the elf. If you place it too close to the tree, you can end up unable to climb high enough to interact.
Step 3: Climb up and interact with the elf. After the elf comes down, a present drops, and you can collect the Candy Canes from it.
Ice Skates rescue: elves stranded on frozen lakes
Step 1: Buy Ice Skates from the Santa Sack.
Step 2: When you find an elf stuck out on a frozen lake, use the skates to reach them without wiping out.
Step 3: Talk to the elf to finish the rescue, then grab the present reward for Candy Canes (and often an item).
Shovel rescue: elves buried in the snow
Step 1: Buy the Shovel from the Santa Sack.
Step 2: Watch for an elf buried head-first in the snow and dig them out with the shovel.
Step 3: Interact to complete the rescue and trigger the present drop that contains Candy Canes.
Ice rink task: three laps without stopping
Some Candy Canes come from task-style elves rather than pure rescues. One example is an ice rink challenge: an elf offers a present if you skate three laps without stopping. Another variant adds pressure by having you do the laps while wolves chase you.
Step 1: Bring Ice Skates and find the ice rink area.
Step 2: Complete three laps without stopping to satisfy the task requirements.
Step 3: Collect the present reward for Candy Canes.
Collecting Candy Canes from presents
After you complete a rescue or task, the elf leaves a present. Candy Canes can appear as pickups from that present. There’s also a common quirk players run into: the Candy Canes may be credited to you shortly after the rescue completes, even if you don’t manually pick them up right away.
Spending Candy Canes in the Christmas Elf Shop
Candy Canes are for the Christmas Elf Shop in the lobby. The most consequential purchase is the temporary event class Santa's helper, which costs 30 Candy Canes and is built around accelerating the same loop you’ve already been doing.
Santa's helper starts you with 40 coins, makes Santa Sack items 25% cheaper, and adds an extra Candy Cane for each present. In practice, it’s a speed-and-efficiency kit: you can buy rescue tools sooner and get slightly more value out of each present you generate.
A fast farming pattern players use
One repeatable pattern is to start a match, immediately use your starting coins to buy a ladder (and a shovel if needed), and prioritize the nearest quick rescues that produce a present. Because the rescue payout is tied to presents, the best time-to-Candy-Cane route is whichever rescue type you can complete most reliably in the first minutes of a run.
If you’re stuck, the main fix is usually not “finding the right menu” but “bringing the right tool.” Coins unlock the Santa Sack, the Santa Sack unlocks rescues, and rescues unlock presents, which is where the Candy Canes come from.
