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Animal Crossing Guides And Tips: Make Money, Unlock Buildings, And More

Here are all our essential guides to help you tackle island living in AC: New Horizons.

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So you've found yourself choosing the peaceful embrace of living on a deserted island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. But if you've played through the introduction, you probably have a lot of questions regarding how to make the most of your time in a day. And if you're an Animal Crossing veteran, you might also be curious about what you need to do to gain access to some of the series' most well-known tools, utilities, and shops. Fortunately, we've got you covered with a wealth of guides answering some of the biggest queries you likely have about the game so far.

Below we you can find links to all our AC: New Horizons guides and videos. If you're more curious about our thoughts about the game, then be sure to read our review. Otherwise, please read on!

What To Do On Your First Day

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We've outlined everything you should do on day one on your new island so you can maximize your early progress. You can check out our feature or watch the video above for a breakdown of all the essential tasks.

How To Get These Key Tools (Shovel And Ladder)

You get your hands on a lot of tools in Animal Crossing, but one of the most important is the shovel. It's not necessarily clear how to get it at first or if there's a recipe to craft it, so we've outlined the steps in our quick shovel guide. It takes a little time, but don't worry; you'll be digging holes in no time! And if you're wondering how to get up to the higher places of your island, then the answer is the ladder. This handy tool can help you get up or down from those sections of your island, and we've outlined in our ladder guide how to get it. Find our guides for both the shovel and the ladder below:

How to Get More Inventory Space

Increasing your inventory space is essential in the early hours of Animal Crossing. You don't want your pockets overflowing as you try to renovate your island and fill up your Critterpedia, do you? You can boost your pocket space twice in New Horizons at the Nook Stop Machine. Consult our guide for more details.

Things You Should Do Every Day

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When it comes to Animal Crossing, consistency is the key to success, so we've put together a list of things you should do every day. In the video above, GameSpot video producer Jake Dekker walks you through 11 things you should do every day in Animal Crossing.

Essential Tips To Follow

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If you're just starting, here are 13 essential tips ranging from daily tasks you won’t want to forget about to advice on how to catch some of the most cunning insects. Give this a watch if you want a general overview of the things you should look out for as you play Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Building Guides: How To Unlock These Key Locations

Like previous games, Animal Crossing: New Horizons requires you to complete certain tasks to unlock new locations on the island. We've compiled guides to give you clarity on how to build and upgrade some of the game's key locations.

Visitors Guide: Random, Weekly, And Campsite Visitors

There are tons of characters in Animal Crossing, including special visitors who can come to your island to spread joy and offer up special reward. These include random visitors like Gulliver and weekly visitors like Daisy Mae, who sells those infamous turnips. For details on each visitor, what they offer, and how to get them to grace you with their presence, check out our guide below.

Turnip Guide -- How To Play The Stalk Market

You can make hundreds of thousands of bells in high-risk, high-reward speculation in Animal Crossing's equivalent of the stock market: the stalk market. Named for the turnips you're buying and selling, the stalk market is a finicky thing. But you can stand to make major profits if you keep an eye on Timmy and Tommy's prices and know when to sell. We've rounded up everything you need to know about Animal Crossing's turnip trade, from how to buy turnips to the types of stalk market patterns you should look out for and our best tips.

How To Make Money Fast

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There are a lot of ways to make money in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but if you want to maximize profits here are some tips to make a ton of bells. The video above covers fishing and bug catching strategies, deserted islands, and the Stalk Market.

How To Add Friends And Visit Their Islands

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has a huge social component, allowing you to add friends, visit their islands, send each other gifts, and more. If you're confused about how some of the multiplayer elements work, we have a guide for that--how to add friends, visit their islands, and invite them to your island.

How To Visit Deserted Islands

In addition to visiting friends' islands, you can also take a Mystery Tour and visit deserted islands, where tons of extra resources and potential new villagers abound. Find out how to visit a deserted island and what you should do there in our guide below.

Completing Your Critterpedia: Bugs And Fish Guides

If you're the type who absolutely loves to catch bugs and fish in Animal Crossing, and is willing to go exhaustive lengths to get them all, then you're probably looking for a resource compiling every single one you can get in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Like you, we're just as into catching every critter, so we've compiled extensive lists containing all our findings so far, where and when you can catch them, and even how much you can sell them for. Definitely bookmark each of our guides as we'll be working around the clock to complete our collections so that we can give you all the data you need to catch every bug and fish.

As you may already know, many bugs and fish in Animal Crossing are seasonal and some are very, very rare. You'll have limited opportunities to catch some of them, so we've put together a guide on some of the bugs and fish leaving, which we'll update month by month. Check it out below to see what critters are going away soon.

How To Crossbreed Flowers

Bugs and fish get all the attention in Animal Crossing, but there's a lot you can do around gardening as well. Crossbreeding flowers to get hybrid flowers is one of them. For details on flower types, colors, and how to create new combinations, check out our guide below.

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