diff --git a/src/SMAPI/Constants.cs b/src/SMAPI/Constants.cs
index 786c1a39..d96c5839 100644
--- a/src/SMAPI/Constants.cs
+++ b/src/SMAPI/Constants.cs
@@ -103,6 +103,9 @@ namespace StardewModdingAPI
         /// <summary>The target game platform.</summary>
         internal static Platform Platform { get; } = EnvironmentUtility.DetectPlatform();
 
+        /// <summary>The game's assembly name.</summary>
+        internal static string GameAssemblyName => Constants.Platform == Platform.Windows ? "Stardew Valley" : "StardewValley";
+
 
         /*********
         ** Internal methods
diff --git a/src/SMAPI/Framework/Patching/GamePatcher.cs b/src/SMAPI/Framework/Patching/GamePatcher.cs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..71ca8e55
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/SMAPI/Framework/Patching/GamePatcher.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+using System;
+using Harmony;
+
+namespace StardewModdingAPI.Framework.Patching
+{
+    /// <summary>Encapsulates applying Harmony patches to the game.</summary>
+    internal class GamePatcher
+    {
+        /*********
+        ** Properties
+        *********/
+        /// <summary>Encapsulates monitoring and logging.</summary>
+        private readonly IMonitor Monitor;
+
+
+        /*********
+        ** Public methods
+        *********/
+        /// <summary>Construct an instance.</summary>
+        /// <param name="monitor">Encapsulates monitoring and logging.</param>
+        public GamePatcher(IMonitor monitor)
+        {
+            this.Monitor = monitor;
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>Apply all loaded patches to the game.</summary>
+        /// <param name="patches">The patches to apply.</param>
+        public void Apply(params IHarmonyPatch[] patches)
+        {
+            HarmonyInstance harmony = HarmonyInstance.Create("io.smapi");
+            foreach (IHarmonyPatch patch in patches)
+            {
+                try
+                {
+                    patch.Apply(harmony);
+                }
+                catch (Exception ex)
+                {
+                    this.Monitor.Log($"Couldn't apply runtime patch '{patch.Name}' to the game. Some SMAPI features may not work correctly. See log file for details.", LogLevel.Error);
+                    this.Monitor.Log(ex.GetLogSummary(), LogLevel.Trace);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/SMAPI/Framework/Patching/IHarmonyPatch.cs b/src/SMAPI/Framework/Patching/IHarmonyPatch.cs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cb42f40e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/SMAPI/Framework/Patching/IHarmonyPatch.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+using Harmony;
+
+namespace StardewModdingAPI.Framework.Patching
+{
+    /// <summary>A Harmony patch to apply.</summary>
+    internal interface IHarmonyPatch
+    {
+        /// <summary>A unique name for this patch.</summary>
+        string Name { get; }
+
+        /// <summary>Apply the Harmony patch.</summary>
+        /// <param name="harmony">The Harmony instance.</param>
+        void Apply(HarmonyInstance harmony);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/SMAPI/Program.cs b/src/SMAPI/Program.cs
index cc59c0cd..bf673fe6 100644
--- a/src/SMAPI/Program.cs
+++ b/src/SMAPI/Program.cs
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ using StardewModdingAPI.Framework.ModData;
 using StardewModdingAPI.Framework.Models;
 using StardewModdingAPI.Framework.ModHelpers;
 using StardewModdingAPI.Framework.ModLoading;
+using StardewModdingAPI.Framework.Patching;
 using StardewModdingAPI.Framework.Reflection;
 using StardewModdingAPI.Framework.Serialisation;
 using StardewModdingAPI.Internal;
@@ -152,6 +153,10 @@ namespace StardewModdingAPI
             };
             this.EventManager = new EventManager(this.Monitor, this.ModRegistry);
 
+            // apply game patches
+            new GamePatcher(this.Monitor).Apply(
+            );
+
             // init JSON parser
             JsonConverter[] converters = {
                 new StringEnumConverter<Buttons>(),
@@ -359,14 +364,7 @@ namespace StardewModdingAPI
                 Console.ResetColor();
                 Program.PressAnyKeyToExit(showMessage: true);
             }
-
-            // get game assembly name
-            const string gameAssemblyName =
-#if SMAPI_FOR_WINDOWS
-                "Stardew Valley";
-#else
-                "StardewValley";
-#endif
+            string gameAssemblyName = Constants.GameAssemblyName;
 
             // game not present
             if (Type.GetType($"StardewValley.Game1, {gameAssemblyName}", throwOnError: false) == null)
diff --git a/src/SMAPI/StardewModdingAPI.csproj b/src/SMAPI/StardewModdingAPI.csproj
index d2a65f48..125e7746 100644
--- a/src/SMAPI/StardewModdingAPI.csproj
+++ b/src/SMAPI/StardewModdingAPI.csproj
@@ -107,6 +107,8 @@
     <Compile Include="Framework\ContentManagers\GameContentManager.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Framework\ContentManagers\IContentManager.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Framework\ContentManagers\ModContentManager.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="Framework\Patching\GamePatcher.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="Framework\Patching\IHarmonyPatch.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Framework\Serialisation\ColorConverter.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Framework\Serialisation\PointConverter.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Framework\Serialisation\RectangleConverter.cs" />