How to be a good guest in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Animal Crossing: New Horizons has now been out for a month, and many people have made some great new friends with other players. In a time where social distancing is so important, Animal Crossing makes it possible for us to socialize and virtually hang out together. Despite the tediously long arrival scene, visiting other islands is a great way to share fruits or fossils, gain some inspiration for your island, attend cataloging parties, and more! It’s easy to get overexcited and — oops, accidentally run over some flowers and destroy the buds… Awkward.
Everyone has different rules for their own islands, ranging from none at all to very strict. Overall, it’s a good idea to respect the host and their wishes, especially if you want to get invited back. If you aren’t sure what’s considered okay and what’s not, here are my top 5 rules you should follow when visiting islands.
1. Respect the flowers! — As decorating your island is an important part in getting your five star rating, flowers are a key element. Some people don’t particularly care about flowers, and others will give you the boot the second they see you running through them. Flower growing is very serious business, as tender care will eventually lead to beautiful hybrid flowers (and rare butterflies). Make a conscious effort to not run through any flowers, and don’t pick them without permission.
2. Don’t shake fruit or money trees! — The fruit and money trees belong to your host, either as a money maker or a decorative feature. Shaking them is generally considered stealing and very rude. If you are still working on collecting different fruits for your island, ask the host if they would be willing to part with some fruit. Chances are, they’ll have some in storage or will show you a tree they don’t mind being shaken. Worst case, you can visit their Nook’s Cranny and buy their native fruit for 400 bells a pop.
3. Ask before buying! — In Nook’s Cranny, there are big ticket items that change out each day (2 in the initial shop, 3 in the upgraded shop). These items are limited supply, meaning that once you buy it, it disappears from the shop. If you see something that catches your eye, be sure to ask your host if it’s okay if you snag it. Most people will either say yes and ask to catalog it or buy it themselves and let you catalog it. Just because they haven’t bought it before inviting visitors over does not mean that they won’t be buying it later in the day (they may need to earn more bells to buy it in the first place).
4. Don’t take resources! — Resources in this case encompasses a wide variety of things, so this list isn’t entirely inclusive. If your host is farming their trees or rocks and leaves the items on the ground (to keep track of where they’re at), they aren’t up for grabs. If you are out fishing and see a message in a bottle or star fragment on their beach, let the host know where it’s at or simply bring it to them (if they’re okay with it). Shaking trees for branches and an item or bells fall out? Do the right thing and give it to your host (be sure to clean up all the branches too)! Find a dig spot or glowing spot? Either leave it be or inform your host (especially if it’s in a kind of hidden location).
5. Watch where you run! — If you aren’t the only visitor or your host is out fishing while you’re there, avoid running near rivers, ponds, or on the beach. Running scares away any fish nearby so whoever is fishing will have to either use some bait or find another fish to catch. If you are also fishing and are searching for those fishy little shadows, be sure to respect the ‘first come first fish’ rule. What I mean by this is, if someone is already standing near the shadow of a fish, they automatically get dibs — regardless of whether they have their fishing rod out yet.
I know some of these seem obvious or excessive, but these are rules I abide by when visiting others (some are from personal experience, too). Not everyone is going to be this strict, but it’s better to be extra polite than to assume and upset your host. This kind of respect goes a long way and helps cultivate a positive and polite community, plus your host will appreciate it.
We want to hear from you! Do you have specific rules for your island, or is it a free-for-all? Leave a response below with how you run your island.
