A sleeping Flapyak and Candary during the night.
The day and night cycle is a game mechanic in the Viva Piñata series. Over time, a garden will repeatedly experience both day time and night time.
Various elements change depending on the time. Some piñatas come at night, such as the Pretztail, some only come at day such as the Bunnycomb. Some don't care about the time and can come at any time. Piñatas will sleep at specified times of the day, and so do Helpers. Some species and helpers are nocturnal and sleep during the day, while others are diurnal and sleep during the night. If there is a House for a piñata species each piñata of that species will enter one of the houses for that species when it becomes time to sleep.
| Gameplay elements | |
|---|---|
| Player | Tower of Sour · Chocolate Coin · Alert · Award · Achievement · Gardener level · Journal · Camera · Concept art · Player Permissions · Training episode · Label · Label Designer · Crate |
| Garden | Weather · Day and night cycle · Fertilizer · Transformation · Candy · Shop · Pinometer · Helper · Piñata Vision · Bouncer Board · Garden Store · Trap · Playground · Just for Fun · Cursor |
| Tools | Watering can · Shovel · Surface Packet · Trick Stick · Seed Bag · Fertilizer Bag · Bait Bag |
| Piñatas | Species · Variant · Wild · Resident · Egg · Cocoon · Sour · Evolution · Romance · Conflict · Fight · Sickness · Wild-card · Happiness Rating · Food chain · Accessory · Costume · Trick · Item level · Reluctance to return |
| Minigames | Great Piñata Paperchase · P-Factor |