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To complete Project K in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, develop your island until Isabelle gives it a three-star evaluation. K.K. Slider visits the next day for his debut concert; after it, Tom Nook gives you the Island Designer app. The app’s basic path tool is not the same as the separate permits for building cliffs and changing rivers.
Before you start Project K
You need Resident Services upgraded and Isabelle working there before you can follow Tom Nook’s Project K direction. The walkthrough also places Nook’s Cranny among the starting requirements for this stage. Talk to Tom Nook at Resident Services and ask what you should do next; he will set the goal of bringing K.K. Slider to the island. The game’s progression is described in Rebecca Stow’s Nintendo Life walkthrough. Nintendo’s beginner guide likewise identifies the three-star evaluation as the point after which Tom Nook hands over larger-scale island remodeling.
How to complete Project K
1. Build up your resident community
Tom Nook gives you the campsite recipe as part of the island-development sequence. A campsite visitor can be persuaded to move in. You can also recruit residents through available land plots, encounters on ticketed mystery-island trips, or eligible amiibo invited through the Nook Stop. Each route has a different trade-off:
- Campsite visitors: You can invite a visitor who arrives at your campsite, but you depend on visitors appearing.
- Land plots: Preparing plots is another recruitment route and requires Bells, according to the walkthrough.
- Compatible amiibo: This can let you invite a specific eligible character. The guide says the camper must be invited and helped with crafting across three visits; compatibility varies, so check eligibility in-game.
- Mystery islands: You may encounter potential residents while visiting with a Nook Miles Ticket, but a particular character is not guaranteed.
The Nintendo Life guide recommends seven to ten villagers as a helpful target, not a guaranteed official threshold. Keep recruiting and use Isabelle’s evaluation rather than treating that recommendation as a fixed requirement.
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![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
2. Check Isabelle’s island evaluation
At Resident Services, ask Isabelle about the island evaluation. She gives your current star rating and feedback about improvements. Use that feedback as your working checklist: if she points to scenery, add outdoor furniture and flowers; if she mentions overgrown trees or weeds, address those. Recheck the evaluation as you make changes.
3. Reach three stars
The milestone for K.K. Slider’s first visit is three stars. You do not need five stars to finish this part of Project K. The sources do not establish a complete scoring formula or a guaranteed item count, so there is no reliable universal checklist of exactly how many decorations or flowers will earn the rating. Follow Isabelle’s current advice until she reports three stars.
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.
4. Attend K.K. Slider’s debut concert
According to the Nintendo Life walkthrough, K.K. Slider visits the day after your island reaches the three-star milestone. Attend the debut performance. After the concert, speak with Tom Nook: he makes the Island Designer app available on your NookPhone.
What terraforming tools you get—and what costs extra
Island Designer lets you lay paths, but the app alone does not give you every terrain tool. Cliff construction and waterscaping are separate permits redeemed with Nook Miles. Nintendo describes the permits as enabling work on cliffs and rivers; see its beginner guide. The Nintendo Life walkthrough reports these prices, which you can confirm at the Nook Stop before redeeming:
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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.
| Tool or permit | What it enables | Nook Miles price reported by Nintendo Life |
|---|---|---|
| Island Designer app | Basic path laying | Provided by Tom Nook after the debut concert; no redemption price stated in the walkthrough |
| Cliff-construction permit | Constructing cliffs | 6,000 |
| Waterscaping permit | Changing rivers and other waterscaping | 6,000 |
| Additional path-type permits | Unlocking additional path types | 2,000 for each additional type |
| Custom-design path permit | Using custom designs as paths | 2,300 |
These prices are from the walkthrough, not the official Nintendo guide; check the Nook Stop for the in-game cost and options on your version.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why Island Designer may still be unavailable
- You have fewer than three stars: Check Isabelle’s evaluation and work on the feedback she gives you.
- You have reached three stars but have not attended the first concert: Wait for K.K. Slider’s visit and attend the performance; the app follows the debut concert, not merely the rating.
- You expected cliffs or waterscaping from the app: Redeem the corresponding permits separately with Nook Miles at the Nook Stop.
Project K, terraforming, and later features
Do not confuse the Island Designer unlock with requirements for later content. For example, Nintendo UK Support says Slumber Island requires version 3.0.0 or later, a three-star rating, an upgraded home, a bed, and attendance at the first K.K. Slider concert, as well as internet access, online membership, and other conditions. Those additional requirements apply to Slumber Island, not to unlocking Island Designer. See Nintendo UK Support’s Slumber Island instructions.
Current game version
Nintendo’s update page lists version 3.0.3, released April 29, 2026, as the latest update and notes general updates and fixes. It does not say that this update changed the Project K sequence. See Nintendo Support’s update instructions.
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