Nintendo is providing the game for giveaway to one of you but all opinions are my own.
Update 4/13/21: I’ve just shared a new post all about earning Bells {money} in Animal Crossing: New Horizons! Check it out right here. And be sure to sign up for my newsletter to catch future Animal Crossing posts!
Update January 2022: Deciding if the Animal Crossing: New Horizons DLC Happy Home Paradise is right for you? Find out more about the game add-on here!
Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been out for four months now and is still taking the world by storm. I know I personally haven’t taken a day off from it in all this time, and many others have spent hundreds of hours on their islands as well. It’s the perfect quarantine game- it’s calm, it lets you “hang out” with friends {real and virtual}, and it’s just SO adorable.
Whether you’ve been playing for weeks or you’re just getting started with your Desert Island Relocation, here are some tips to make your gameplay better, as well as ideas for what to do even after K.K. Slider performs on your island and you “beat” the game.
Hacks to Make Your Animal Crossing Island Life Better
How to Speed Up Talking and Walking in Animal Crossing
Did you know that you can speed up talking, and walking? Hitting B will get your villagers and NPCs to talk faster, and you can also hold B down to run. {Tip: Make sure not to run through flowers or you’ll obliterate them! But don’t worry, they grow back.}
How to Craft Faster in Animal Crossing
For crafting, you’ll actually want to hit the A button a couple of times instead, and then you’ll see your character work double-time to get your item crafted. I would have saved SO much time if I knew this in the beginning!
How to Make Wishes in Animal Crossing- and Why
If you ever play after 7pm, you may have seen an adorable little owl named Celeste wandering your island. Whenever she comes, she will present you with an astronomy-based DIY until you collect them all- and then she’ll start giving you star fragments and large star fragments, which you need to craft the items. But that’s not all!
Every night that Celeste is on your island, and several other nights throughout the month {randomly, and totally based on your individual island} you will have meteor showers! Sometimes these meteor showers have several shooting stars to wish on every minute- these special “heavy” showers will usually be announced by Isabelle during the daily announcements, and your villagers will sometimes talk about them as well. Those heavy star showers only happen once in awhile, but several more times a month you’ll have light meteor showers with a varying number of shooting stars.
So what do you do with those shooting stars? Make wishes on them of course- and then pick up star fragments on your beach the next day to use for crafting! To make a wish, make sure you’re standing up and your hands are totally empty {including any tools you’re using}, tilt your right thumbstick up twice to make sure you’re gazing at the sky, and hit A every time you see a shooting star in the sky.
Tip: You can only get a max of 20 star fragments in one night, so wishing on more than 20 stars is unnecessary. The only exception to this is if you have friends over on your island during your meteor shower and they make wishes- then you’ll get an extra 5 star fragments for every 20 wishes they make, up to a max bonus of 20 more star fragments {so you could get up to 40 per night if you wish on 20 AND four friends each wish on 20!}
Money Grows on Trees!
Did you know that money does in fact grow on trees? That’s right- your parents were lying to you! To grow money trees, find that shining spot somewhere on your island each day. Use your shovel to dig up the 1,000 bells that are buried there. Then, plant bells to see them come back threefold in just a few days! These money trees only have one harvest, so once you grab the bells from them feel free to chop them down if you don’t want them.
Tip: The maximum amount of bells that you can plant and always see come back threefold is 10,000 bells {which then turns into 30,000 bells when fully grown}. If you plant your money tree every single day and bury 10,000 bells each time, you’ll get 140,000 bells profit for free every week!
Customize Your Island
The amount of creativity in the Animal Crossing community is mind blowing! There are so many great custom designs you can download for anything from a pathway to a sign to a pool. If you’re looking for inspiration, I recommend starting with Instagram or Reddit. If you know something specific that you want, search using Google or Pinterest.
How to Tell Real vs Fake Artwork on Animal Crossing
If Redd has come to your island selling his wares, you know that his stock can be a little… dubious at times. Trying to collect real artwork can be hard in the dark and dingy boat- and that’s kind of the point. Make sure to always ask Redd for a closer look before you commit to a purchase, and if you’re still not sure, I like using this site to tell the difference between real and fake artwork.
Tip: If you do manage to get hornswoggled, all is not lost! You can still display the fake artwork in your home or on your island- some of the fake statues make for some pretty amazing island decorations!
How to Keep Track of Donated Art, K.K. Slider Songs, and more on Animal Crossing
If you’re big on completing collections, Animal Crossing is a great game because there are SO many things to collect! There are fossils, bugs, fish, art, K.K. Slider songs, DIYs, reactions, and depending on your interests even more.
The easiest way to keep track of all of the items you have- and what you still need- is with an app. I think ACNH Travel Guide {a few dollars in the App store} is the most comprehensive app but there are a few different ones out there for free or for just a few dollars. Many of the apps have the full list of items and let you check off everything you have so you can see what’s left with just a glance.
Tip: Use the app to avoid buying duplicate items- especially artwork from Redd since you can only purchase one piece per day and he only comes once every two weeks!
How to Get a Campsite Visitor to Kick Out the Right Villager on Animal Crossing
If you get a campsite visitor randomly and you want to invite them to your island, keep talking to them until they ask to play a game to see if they should move in. If you win, they’ll contact Resident Services and ask to move in! {You can keep talking to them and keep playing until you win.} If your island is already full though, they’ll have to ask another villager to move out.
Tip: If the villager they suggest talking to is not someone that you want to kick out, then don’t answer them either way and just quit your game without saving. Then reload the game and go through the game process again until they suggest moving the right villager.
Does this take forever? Sometimes. Is it worth it so that you can keep the villagers you love and kick out one who’s ready to set sail for another island? Yes, yes it is.
How to get {almost} any villager you want to visit- or even move to- your island
The Animal Crossing game that came before New Horizons was called New Leaf, and that game had something called Amiibo cards for each villager. While there are not Amiibo cards for New Horizons, you can still use the old Amiibo cards to call villagers!
You can get the villagers to visit your campsite, or if you talk to them enough and craft them items, you can even get them to move in. To call a villager to the campsite, just head into your Resident Services building and access the Nook Stop. If you don’t already have Amiibo cards from past games, check sites like eBay for the villagers you want.
Not sure who to invite? Pietro is a great place to start- he’s hilarious!
Tip: Any villager that is new to the Animal Crossing series as of New Horizons does not have an Amiibo card and can’t be called this way. That includes Audie, Cyd, Dom, Judy, Megan, Raymond, Reneigh, and Sherb.
How to Chat Faster in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
If you visit your friends on other islands a lot, or they come to visit you, you have likely tried to use the chat feature. It’s okay, but it can take forever to type on it. Download the Nintendo Switch app from the App store and login with your account and you’ll be able to use your phone to type!
How to Change Your Town Tune to Harry Potter, Hamilton and More
Did you know that you can find tons of fun town tunes online? Once Isabelle comes to work at your Resident Services building, she will allow you to change your town tune whenever you want. You can compose your own tune or find some popular ones online, including Game of Thrones, Hedwig’s Theme from Harry Potter, Hamilton, and more.
Tip: Check this subreddit for options {they take requests!} or create your own tune here!
How to Grow Your Flower Garden to Include New Colors
Planting the right flowers near each other and watering them {or waiting for a rainstorm} can lead to some really fun flowers! Animal Crossing flowers don’t grow the same way regular ones do- they cross-pollinate with colors that don’t naturally mix together {two white hyacinths make a blue, for example} so it can be a little confusing. Check out this site to find the full guide to hybrid flowers!
Ready for a challenge? There are two types of flowers that require a 5 star island evaluation. To grow gold roses, you’ll need black roses near each other AND a golden watering can. You get the recipe for that from Isabelle when your island hits 5 stars. Water the black roses with the golden watering can and every so often, you’ll grow a gold rose!
Also after you hit 5 stars, you’ll randomly see Lily of the Valley flowers pop up every so often. These can’t be bred and are basically your island’s gift to you for having a five star island!
Keep an eye out for new updates to Animal Crossing: New Horizons
One of the coolest things about Animal Crossing: New Horizons is that it has totally new content on a very regular basis- for free!
There have been several new updates since launch, including the addition of artwork to the museum {and Redd’s visits!}, Leif and his selection of shrubs and saplings, a month-long wedding event, and the HUGE addition of sea creatures and swimming.
Just today fireworks shows were added for every Sunday throughout August, and a brand new feature was added that allows you to visit dream versions of other peoples’ islands for inspiration and exploration!
A new update for fall was already teased and while we don’t know what it includes or when it’s coming, it’s fun to always have something new to look forward to!
Tip: Follow Animal Crossing and Nintendo of America on Twitter to find out about new updates coming out!
BUY IT
You can buy Animal Crossing: New Horizons at a local retailer near you, at Amazon.com, or in the Nintendo eShop.
WIN ANIMAL CROSSING!
This giveaway has ended, thank you to those who entered!
Learn more about Animal Crossing: New Horizons here:
How to Earn Bells in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with Animal Crossing: New Horizons
How to Celebrate Halloween with Animal Crossing: New Horizons
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