For a foolproof way to kick out a villager, you'll need to use an amiibo figure or card. Bring the amiibo villager to your campsite using the ABD Machine on three different days. Each time they visit, ask them to move to your island. On the third visit, they'll agree to move in and will ask who you'd like them to replace. Choose your least favorite NPC and the process will be complete. This method is how I successfully bid farewell to Rodney, my blue hamster archnemesis.
16. Visit With Visitors
Each day, there's a chance you'll have a special visitor. They'll either be hanging out in your plaza, wandering around your island, or passed out somewhere along the beach. Make sure to interact with them. You might get a new DIY recipe, a donation for your museum, some deco for your island, or a special opportunity to sell items like bugs and fish. Visitors can also help you plan out your daily activities; for instance, when Flick is around, I make sure to catch every bug I see so that I can sell them for 1.5 times the usual price.
Nintendo via Louryn Strampe
17. Use a Real-Life App to Make Your Gameplay Better
If you're trying to chat with your friends, the in-game keyboard is tedious. Install the Nintendo Switch Online app on your real-life phone and you'll be able to type whatever you want to say using your device's keyboard. The text then appears above your character's head in-game. It can be cumbersome to use two different devices, but this is the best way I've found to speak with people without going crazy trying to navigate the Switch's virtual keyboard.
Note: To link the app to your game, you'll need to press the minus symbol on the game's loading screen and choose NookLink Settings.
18. Change Your Rivers and Cliffs
Eventually, you'll be able to use the Island Designer app to terraform your island. It lets you lay down paths, alter your rivers, and edit your cliffs. Let's say you want to build a bridge somewhere, but the river isn't suitable. You can open up the app and use the corresponding permit to reshape the waterway. These permits and designs are unlockable within the NookStop.
19. Make Your Town Tune Catchy
Want to use a certain song as your town tune, but not sure how to make it sound right? Check out this subreddit. If you can't find what you want, you can request that someone else help you out. You can also give this site a try.
20. Grow Hybrid Flowers
Your island's general store only sells a few types of flowers. Other islands may sell different types, or you can purchase those when Leif is in town. Hybrid flowers grow when certain types of flowers are blooming near one another, and you water them using a watering can.
There are all sorts of guides out there for growing specific kinds of hybrid flowers, but my best advice is to plant flowers of the same type near one another, with room around those flowers for more to grow. Then water them every day. The more flowers you plant, and the more you water them, the more likely you are to grow special hybrids.
21. Send Letters
Want to send a letter? Head to the airport and check out the card stand next to the main service counter. You can send a letter to a current resident, your future self, or a friend you've marked as a Best Friend in the NookPhone app. You can attach a present before sending the letter off—and if you want to wrap that present, be sure to do it beforehand with wrapping paper purchased from your island's general store. Sending a card costs 200 Bells.
22. How to Use Amiibo
If your favorite villager is proving elusive, you can use their Amiibo card or figurine to bring them to your island. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, finding Amiibo online is trickier than usual. You can try your local game store, but if you don't want to take the risk, your best bet is searching for the villager you want on eBay. Cards tend to be cheaper and easier to find than figures. We have a handy guide for shopping smartly on eBay that you should check out before getting started.
Once you have your Amiibo card, you can visit the NookStop, select Invite a Camper, and follow the on-screen instructions.
23. How to Acquire Coveted Items
Maybe you really want to finish that Cute furniture set, or you're struggling to grow the right hybrid flowers. Enter Nookazon, a massive DIY Amazon-style marketplace dedicated to Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Run mainly through Discord, the site is full of users selling everything from fashion items to furniture. Exchange Bells for the goods you just have to have. Be ready to haggle, and read through the rules to ensure that your trades are safe. Check out this guide to getting started for more.
24. How to Capture Photos and Videos
You might already know that pressing the square button on the left Joy-Con will take a screenshot, but you can use the NookPhone Camera app to take some stylized shots. Traveling to Harvey's island via your airport also provides a great environment for staging photos. Additionally, if you're filming a TikTok or want to capture footage of you finally catching that elusive scorpion, you can long-press the square button to save a file of the last 30 seconds of gameplay.
Photos and videos are saved in your Nintendo Albums. There's no elegant solution for saving the photos, but you can link your Twitter and Facebook accounts to post them directly from the console. I edited my Facebook privacy settings to ensure that Nintendo Switch Share photos are only visible to me, so I can save them to my computer after sharing. The Albums software lets you share up to four photos at once if you opt to "Post Batch."
25. Avoid Getting Scammed by Redd
An update brought the nefarious trickster Jolly Redd to ACNH. He'll show up occasionally on his boat, parked at the private beach on the very back of your island, and he's got both art and furniture up for grabs. Be wary, though. During each visit, you'll only be able to buy one of the available pieces of art, and all of them but one are fakes. Blathers won't accept counterfeit paintings, so you need to be careful before committing to buy.
When you're in Redd's boat and checking out a piece of art, be sure to tell him that you want a closer look. This will shine a spotlight on the piece in question. You'll be able to zoom in to check out the details. Sometimes they're easy to spot—like a scowling Mona Lisa—but other times you'll need to look closely to spot any forgery details. To save time and Bells, I use this guide to tell whether or not a piece of art is genuine.
26. Customize Your Nintendo Switch
This isn't a gameplay tip, but if you can't nab the limited-edition Animal Crossing: New Horizons Nintendo Switch Console, you're in luck. Popular custom skin manufacturer Dbrand has nearly identical skins available that'll make your Switch console look like the real deal. A move Jolly Redd would be proud of, indeed.
For other ways to trick out your console, you can turn to Amazon for Animal Crossing Nintendo Switch accessories. I'm a fan of this adorable outdoor pattern skin, and these custom thumbgrips are another nice option. You don't need to drop several hundred dollars on a new console to show off your love for the island life.
27. How to Dive for Sea Creatures
A summer update added the ability to dive deep for sea creatures, including elusive scallops that you can then trade to Pascal for mermaid-themed DIY recipes and pearls (a necessary component of those recipes). To dive, you'll need a wet suit. You can get one from the general store or from the Nook Shopping ABD option. You can use your tools while wearing a wet suit, so feel free to put it on over your outfit.
To dive, empty your hands (and your pockets, if you want to save time). Then head to the shoreline and press A. You'll hop in the water. Press A repeatedly to swim around. (You don't need to press the button quickly to swim.) Once you spot bubbles, press Y to dive. You're looking for a shadow underwater. Swimming above the shadow will automatically make your character dive and catch the critter. You can hold your breath for only a few moments, so try to get close to the bubbles before you take the plunge. You'll fill up your Critterpedia, find some new donations for Blathers, and rack up the Bells—some of the underwater pals sell for up to 12,000 Bells a pop.
More Helpful Tips
I hope you learned something new with these tips. Check our guide on things you can do with your Nintendo Switch for more. We also have a roundup of the Best Nintendo Switch games if you're looking for something new to play, as well as a roundup of the Best Nintendo Switch accessories to make your gaming experience better. Have an Animal Crossing question this guide didn't answer? Tweet me and I'll do my best to help!
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