9 Activities You Can Do on 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons' When You're Bored
When you’ve completed all of Tom Nook’s tasks.
Ever since its launch on March 20, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has become one of the hottest games in the past few weeks, breaking sales records for Nintendo. Being a video game that allows room for creativity in areas such as home decor and outfit customization, there’s a lot more to explore on your island than you think.
For those who are ironically bored inside the game, we’ve put together a list of activities you can do after completing all of Tom Nook’s tasks. The list ranges from crossbreeding flowers to creating the perfect garden, to composing new tunes for your island and changing up your look from head to toe. If you’re looking to make some more Bells, you can take advantage of the Stalk Market by searching up islands with good turnip deals for the day, or plant some cash to grow a Bell tree.
Scroll down below for all the things you can do on Animal Crossing when you’re bored. For more on gaming, read our latest interview with PRIX founder Esther Ng on what it’s like to start playing video games as a woman.
Customize your own outfits.
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From T-shirts to dresses and hats, you can use the Pro Design editor on your Nook Phone to create any outfit you want. Once you unlock Able Sisters Shop — a clothing store run by characters Mabel and Sable —you can share your designs with others and download codes for custom items made by other players.
Decorate your room.
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Once upgrading your small tent into a house, you can fill your home with any item you purchase, fish, dig or pick up in the game. Change your bedsheets with a custom pattern, add furniture and hang clothes or art pieces on the wall.
Try new hairstyles.
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With eight styles available at the beginning of the game, you can unlock more as you progress further in Animal Crossing. All you need is a mirror to change up your look — you can also play around with additional colors that are unlocked with the help of a few thousand Nook Miles.
Build a flower garden.
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For those who haven’t noticed, flowers can be cross-bred on Animal Crossing. You have a plethora of flower types to work with, from hyacinths and lilies to roses and tulips. All you need to do is plant them in a checkerboard pattern that will allow room for a new set of flowers to be grown. Color combinations vary — two red flowers will create black, red and white will make pink, and two white plants will make purple.
Design new patterns that you can use almost anywhere.
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As briefly mentioned earlier, you can not only create custom clothes but also patterns using the tool on your Nook Phone. These creations can be used as decoration on your face, clothes, bedsheets, the island flag, floor and more.
Create a new tune for your island.
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Once upgrading the Resident Services tent to an actual building, you’ll be able to talk to Isabelle, who works alongside Tom Nook. After starting a conversation with her, you can choose to create your own island tune that is played in diverse variations throughout the island.
Hang out virtually with your IRL friends.
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You can virtually hang out with your friends not only on Zoom but also on Animal Crossing. From flying to each other’s islands, you’ll be able to gather Nook Miles and pick up new fruits, plants, fish or items that you might have not encountered just yet. If your friend’s island grows a different fruit from yours, make sure to exchange fruits to plant on your own island. Foreign fruits are sold at higher prices, so don’t forget to sell your own at your friend’s Nook’s Cranny.
Win the Stalk Market by selling your turnips at an island with good deals.
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Every Sunday, Daisy Mae visits your island to sell turnips in bundles of 10 at set prices. With fluctuating costs, you can make or lose money with turnips — to get the best deal, you can visit third-party websites like the Turnip Exchange to find strangers who will allow you to sell your turnips on their islands.
Plant a Bell tree to make more money.
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Another way to make more money is to plant some. Whenever you come across a glowing spot on the ground and dig up Bells, plant a certain amount of cash of your choice in the same hole. A tree will grow in a few days, offering three money bags that you can shake off. These trees only produce Bells once, so after claiming your cash they will go back to being regular trees.
