Start by confirming your island details carefully, then let your first days unfold at your own pace. If you’re wondering what to do first in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, a good routine is to check your NookPhone, gather materials, craft useful tools, and donate unfamiliar discoveries. There’s no single correct way to spend a session: fishing, decorating, gardening, and meeting residents can all be part of island life.
1. Choose your island details carefully
Before confirming your character name, island name, and birthday, make sure you’re happy with them: Nintendo Support says these details cannot be changed afterward. A Nintendo Switch console has one island, shared by players on that system, with up to eight player residents. If you share the console, agree on the island name and shared setup together before starting. Nintendo Support: Starting a new game.
2. Pick a tent spot that suits your plans
Your tent is an early home base, not a permanent limit on how you can shape the island. Choose a location that feels convenient for exploring or that you’ll enjoy seeing as you begin to decorate. A house upgrade becomes available as you progress, so you can think of the tent as the first stage of your island home. Nintendo’s game page.
3. Check your NookPhone and Nook Miles
Make a habit of opening the NookPhone and checking the Nook Miles app. Your phone tracks things such as catches, learned recipes, and goals; completing activities can earn Miles. Those Miles can be used to unlock useful features, including recipes and a larger pocket capacity. This gives even a short session a practical starting point: see what you can complete, then choose the activities you actually feel like doing. Nintendo’s game page and Play Nintendo’s tips.
#1 Best Overall
![Animal Crossings New Horizons - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51ErvUL40zL._SL160_.jpg)
- Build your community from scratch on a deserted island brimming with possibility; Create your personal getaway and customize your character, home, decorations, and even the landscape itself
- Collect materials to construct everything from furniture to tools. Then, use what you create to give your island a personal touch
- Watch as the time of day and seasons match real life—even your hemisphere. Each day holds potential for surprises and discoveries
- Get to know the island residents, garden, fish, decorate, hunt for fossils, and more.
- Show off your paradise – play on the same system with a total of 4 people, or play together online or over local wireless for fun with up to 8 players
4. Gather materials and learn DIY recipes
Pick up branches, stones, and weeds as you explore. Recipes can come from residents, presents, message bottles, and other activities; to craft an item, you need to have learned its recipe, gathered the required materials, and reached a workbench. Tools help you collect more materials, creating a useful early loop: explore, gather, craft, and use what you made. Nintendo puts it simply: “With a workbench and the right materials, crafting is a snap!” Nintendo’s official game page and Play Nintendo’s tips.
5. Craft tools for the activities you enjoy
Fishing, bug catching, digging, and gathering are all useful ways to spend time and find materials. A fishing pole, net, shovel, and pole can help with common early activities; the pole helps you cross rivers. You won’t necessarily have every tool or recipe right away, so make what you can and keep progressing as more options become available. Nintendo’s game page.
Rank #2
- Share Your Paradise - Show off your island utopia to family and friends - or pack your bags and visit theirs.
- Get Building - Experience a robust new crafting system - collect materials to construct everything from furniture to tools!
- Create Your Perfect Getaway - Craft everything from tools to creature comforts as you create and customize your island community.
- Explore Your Island - Collect bugs, decorate your paradise throughout the day, or enjoy sunset on the beach while fishing in the ocean.
- Play Together - Up to eight players can reside on an island; four residents of the same island can play together simultaneously on a single system.
6. Donate unfamiliar finds to the museum
When you find a bug, fish, or sea creature you haven’t donated, take it to Blathers at the museum. He can also analyze fossils you dig up. Donating gives new discoveries a lasting purpose and helps you keep track of what you’ve already contributed. Nintendo’s game page.
7. Explore at different times of day and year
The island’s wildlife changes with the time and season, so a morning walk and a nighttime visit may turn up different bugs. Seasons follow the real-world calendar, and which creatures you can find depends on your hemisphere as well as the date and time. If you’re outside, look up at the night sky too: shooting stars are another reason to pause and explore after dark. Nintendo’s game page and Play Nintendo’s tips.
Rank #3
![Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Happy Home Paradise - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51JAzQozLgL._SL160_.jpg)
- Take in-game photos of your designs and add them to your portfolio. Show them to other characters and you may get more requests to create vacation homes. Share the photos with other players using the in-game Showroom in the Happy Home Network app and they can tour your personally-designed resort islands or go tour theirs for some relaxation and inspiration.
- Purchase the Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise DLC from Nintendo eShop, or download and play it as part of an active Nintendo Switch Online plus Expansion Pack membership at no extra cost.
8. Try mystery island tours
Ask Orville at the airport about tours to other islands. These trips give you a change of scenery and a chance to gather resources or catch fish and bugs. You may also come across fruit or flowers that aren’t native to your home island, but a particular item or discovery isn’t guaranteed on every trip. Nintendo’s game page and Play Nintendo’s tips.
9. Experiment with flowers and fruit
Plant flowers, water them, and see what happens as they grow; experimenting with cross-pollination can produce different flower colors. You can also plant fruit, including varieties you bring back from other islands. Treat gardening as a gradual experiment rather than expecting a particular hybrid or result on a set schedule. Nintendo’s game page and Play Nintendo’s tips.
10. Decorate gradually and make room for future upgrades
You can place furniture indoors or outdoors and use home storage as it becomes available. As you progress, the island can open up further possibilities, including bridges, slopes, cooking, crops, and landscape shaping. These are features to look forward to, not a checklist you need to finish on your first day. Give yourself time to try different activities and decide what kind of island you want to build. Nintendo’s game page.
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