If you want to maximize your gameplay, getting the best recipes, earning those bells and generally seeing all there is to offer, then there’s plenty of things you should aim to do every day to get the most out of your little slice of paradise.
10 Use an Amiibo Card
If you own any of the Animal Crossing amiibo cards, then you can expedite your DIY recipe collecting. (If you don’t own any, you’ll be disappointed to hear they have inflated massively in price.) Once you have completed your campsite and successfully invited someone new to stay from it, the Nook Stop machine in Resident Services will have a new amiibo option. Then, once a day you can invite someone to your campsite by using their amiibo card.
Each invited visitor will request a souvenir from your island and will give you a recipe card to achieve this. There are no guarantees they’ll give you one that you don’t already have, but this method definitely helps to get more recipes over time. Additionally, you don’t actually have to craft the item or fulfill their request once you have the recipe if you don’t want to.
9 Shake Trees
While the idea of running around shaking all your trees might seem like a waste of time, it can actually be fairly lucrative. Every day one non-fruit bearing tree will drop a piece of furniture and more than one tree will drop some bells. Additionally, any mystery island with non-fruit trees will also have one tree that will drop a piece of furniture too.
Just be careful of those pesky wasps, so it’s best to be prepared and carry your net as you shake trees in case you need to quickly catch them before they sting you.
8 Find the Bells Rock
Each day, one of the six rocks that are dotted throughout your island will give you a bunch of bells when struck. You’ll want to keep hitting quickly to get the maximum amount you can, but as striking pushes your character away from the rock you’ll need to be sure to step forwards again after each hit.
Certain mystery islands also have bell rocks. If you find one with a circular portion in the middle covered with rocks, surrounded by a river and only accessible from the north by breaking another rock — you’re in luck! All those rocks in the middle are filled with bells!
7 Search the Beach
Make sure you take a stroll along your beaches every day as you could discover a message in a bottle, as well as the chance of finding Gulliver washed up. The bottle will contain a little message and a DIY recipe for you to add to your collection, though these recipes are never seasonal ones.
Additionally, if you visit any mystery islands, be sure to search their beaches for message bottles too. Although the chance of finding them on other islands is less, it’s still worth checking to get more of those coveted recipes.
6 Visit the Nook Stop
Every day you should visit the Nook Stop machine in the Resident Services building to ensure you get your bonus Nook miles and to make sure you don’t break your streak. If you do break your streak, you’ll have to start over and only get 50 bonus miles, but as soon as you’re over seven days you’ll get 300 each day.
Additionally, check out the Nook shopping option at the Nook Stop as the items for sale change every day, one of which is always a K.K. song and a good way to complete your record collection.
5 Digging
Make sure you have your trusty shovel and set out to hit all those digging spots. Every day between two to six fossils will appear on your island, marked by a crack in the ground, with a total of six being present at any one time. These can be assessed at the museum and either donated, sold or gifted to others. Additionally, each day there will be a glowing spot that contains some bells, should you choose to bury the money back in its hole then a bell tree will start to grow.
If you have bamboo trees, some cracks close by may contain bamboo shoots instead. Additionally, mystery islands can sometimes contain dig spots also, so be sure to take your shovel with you.
4 Check Out the New Stock in the Shops
The stock in the shops rotates every day, so be sure to check out the new wares in both the Nook store and the Able Sisters’ shop. Rare and expensive items can make an appearance here, so snap them up before they disappear as there’s no telling when they’ll next grace your island. If you see a piece of clothing you want but you’re not keen on the color, you can change it up in the fitting room.
Additionally, if a vendor such as Kicks is visiting then his wares will always be different as well, so check out his freshly stocked items too.
3 Check Turnip Prices
The Stalk Market has many players making big investments for the chance to get a huge payout as they can sell for as little as 50 bells up to a whopping 800 bells. Turnips are sold by Daisy Mae on a Sunday and so this is the only day of the week that the Nooklings won’t buy turnips from you. However, every other day they will and you should check what the going price is to see if it’s worth parting with your veggies yet.
Turnip prices change every day in both the morning and afternoon, so be sure to check at least twice and you can even ask your friends what their current price is too.
2 See What Your Neighbours are Crafting
Your neighbors love DIY crafting just as much as you do, so there are times when you’ll see them working away in their homes on a new item. If you speak to them and ask them what they are making they will share the recipe with you. Apart from early morning and late evening, it appears that there will always be at least one of your villagers crafting at any one time so search all their homes. This changes throughout the day so keep checking back often to get more recipes.
The only time this doesn’t seem to occur is during competitions like the fishing tournament or set events like Bunny Day.
1 Look Out for Special NPCs
There are a variety of special NPCs that may visit your island paradise so be sure to check if you have any new visitors each day. Some only appear on certain days or at certain times, but usually, your residents will mention if you have anyone visiting and give you a heads up if you haven’t noticed them already.
These NPCs may offer new items to buy, new recipes, buy your items at increased prices, offer quests with unique rewards or provide extra ways to get more furnishings and clothes.
Next: 10 Animal Crossing Characters Who Deserve a Spin-Off Game
