Animal Crossing: New Horizons Cheats and Codes

Tips and tricks for playing Animal Crossing on the Nintendo Switch

For such a seemingly simple game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has a surprising amount of unlockables and secrets. Here's how to maximize your resources and more Animal Crossing cheats on Nintendo Switch.

Cheats in this article are for Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch.

A character pole-vaults across a lake in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

How to Unlock All Locations

Complete the following tasks to unlock each location:

Location Requirements
Able Sisters Purchase 5,000 bells worth of clothes from Mabel at Nook's Cranny, then keep talking to her whenever she's in town.
Museum Donate 15 fish, bug, and fossil specimens to Blathers.
Museum Upgrade Buy Redd's painting for 4,980 bells when he comes to town and give it to Blathers.
Nook's Cranny Give Timmy 30 pieces of regular wood, hardwood, softwood, and iron nuggets.
Nook's Cranny Upgrade Spend 200,000 bells at Nook's Cranny and play the game for at least 30 days.
Resident Services Building Build houses for three villagers.

How to Unlock Golden Tools

The recipes for golden tools can be unlocked by doing the following:

Golden Tool Requirements
Golden Axe Break 100 axes of any type.
Golden Net Collect all bugs for the museum.
Golden Rod Collect all fish for the museum.
Golden Shovel Save Gulliver 30 times.
Golden Slingshot Shoot 300 balloons to make a golden balloon appear, then shoot it.
Golden Watering Can Get your island to five stars.

How to Unlock Sable's Secret Patterns

In the back of the Able Sisters shop, you'll meet a shy hedgehog named Sable. Talk to her every day for 7-10 days in a row to get a set of patterns that you can apply to items. Keep coming back every day to get a total of ten sets containing 20 patterns each. To add a pattern to an item, open the item customization screen and select the new Pattern option.

How to Get More Resources From Rocks

There's an exploit you can take advantage of to ensure that you always get the maximum number of resources from every rock. Stand next to the rock, then dig a hole behind you. When you strike the rock, the hole will prevent you from being knocked back, so you can keep hammering away and collect as many items as possible.

How to Get Easy Money in Animal Crossing for Switch

Every day, a random rock in your town will drop bells when you strike it, so use the trick above to get the maximum number of bells you can. Also, keep an eye out for gold glowing cracks on the ground. If you find one, dig it up to uncover a bag of bells. If you bury a bag of bells (any amount will do) in the glowing hole, a money tree will sprout with three bags of bells containing the same amount.

Fish in the ocean while it's raining to increase your chances of catching rare fish such as the Coelacanth, which you can sell for 15,000 bells.

How to Get Free Furniture From Trees

Every day, two random trees in your town and at least one tree on every Mystery Island will drop furniture when you shake them. It won't work if you hit the tree with an ax, so shake every tree before you chop it down. Fruit trees never drop furniture, so don't bother with them if that's what you're after.

How to Find Star Fragments

At night, keep an eye on the sky for shooting stars. If you see one, drop anything you're holding, then look up and press A to wish upon it. The next morning, you can collect the star fragments from the shore.

How to Get Your Island to Five Stars

Follow Isabelle's advice for improving your island. She might tell you to add more furnishings, plants, or bridges to keep your residents happy. Every time you add something new, talk to her again for the next suggestion. There's no set number of each item you need to achieve five stars, but every square on the map must have at least one decoration. Your rating will increase as soon as you meet the requirements; you don't have to wait for the next day.

Once you obtain five stars, a Lily of the Valley flower will occasionally appear on your cliffsides.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Time Travel Cheat

In Animal Crossing, time progresses based on your console's internal clock, so you can fast-forward or rewind time by adjusting the date settings on your Switch. For example, by advancing the clock one day, your island will be replenished with fresh items and resources. This trick can be used to speed up building construction and other tasks that require the passage of time. If you jump too far ahead into the future, though, your island will be overrun with weeds and cockroaches, causing villagers to pack their bags.

Critters, Seasons, and Hemispheres

At the start of the game, you're asked to choose which hemisphere you live in. This choice will affect the progression of seasons. Different critters appear in different seasons, so you must keep playing the game throughout the year to catch them all. However, if you visit another player's town and they live in a different hemisphere, you can collect critters that you'd otherwise have to wait for months to appear.

Messy Hair Easter Egg

To see an Easter egg, refrain from playing the game for 30 days. When you resume your save file, your character will wake up with bed hair. You will then be able to select this hairstyle from the mirror whenever you want.

How to Make a Villager Leave Your Island

Complaining to Isabelle about a particular villager will not get them to leave. The only way to do that is to make them feel unwelcome. Don't start conversations with unwanted villagers; instead, whack them with your net and run into them to rile their anger. Wait until you see a thought bubble above their head, then talk to them and encourage their desire to leave. The next morning, the villager will depart, leaving behind an empty lot.

Villagers will not leave if there are less than 5 other villagers currently on your island.