Video Games
How to play Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Build a life on a deserted island by collecting materials, crafting, decorating and befriending residents at your own pace.
What you need
Animal Crossing: New Horizons on a Nintendo Switch system
Set up the game
- Start a new island and choose a layout. On one Switch system, residents share a single island even if they use different user profiles; the first resident has some early progression decisions.
- Name your resident and island carefully because these choices are not simple cosmetic toggles. Time and seasons follow the system clock.
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Playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Follow Tom Nook's opening tasks to set up a tent, learn basic tools and begin earning Nook Miles. Gather branches, fruit, weeds and other local materials without assuming every resource is available immediately.
- Craft a fishing rod or net when its recipe becomes available, and catch fish or bugs in the appropriate place and season. Sell duplicates, donate eligible first finds after the relevant museum steps unlock, or keep them for decoration.
- Build and pay for home upgrades over time, place paths and furniture as island features unlock, and talk to residents. There is no match clock or final score that ends the game.
- If sharing a console, use the game's local party play or separate profiles as appropriate; online travel to another island has platform-account requirements.
A first morning on the island
After completing the opening introduction, gather fallen branches and fruit while learning the tool recipes Nook provides. Craft a basic tool, catch a local creature and decide whether to save it for a museum donation once that option opens. None of these tasks is a race against another resident.
One system, one island
The first resident's island is not replaced when another system user starts the game. Additional residents join that same island, with shared geography and some shared progression. To maintain entirely separate islands, plan for separate systems and game access rather than another profile alone.
Beginner decisions
- Keep one example of a new fish or bug until you know whether you want to donate it; not every catch is equally easy to find again.
- Carry a few empty inventory spaces before a collecting trip so you can gather resources without repeatedly returning home.
Common rule mix-ups
- Expecting a new profile on the same system to create an independent island; the island is shared.
- Treating a loan as a timed penalty or assuming there is a conventional game-over screen.
Questions about this game
How do I win?
There is no single prescribed finish. You choose projects such as improving your home, collecting museum items or designing your island.
Can two people play on one system?
Yes, Nintendo documents local co-play for residents of the same island, subject to controller and player limits.
Sources and edition notes
Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch, basic island progression. Later updates and Nintendo Switch 2 support can change menus and features; the official Nintendo setup and multiplayer pages govern those details.
Sources and stated format checked October 13, 2026. This records a document check, not a claim of hands-on testing.
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