How to be a good visitor in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

When you visit other peoples’ islands in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, it’s important to be a kind guest.

There are certain things you should keep in mind when visiting a stranger’s (or even a friend’s) island. Of course, your island host may not care about any of this, so it’s important to communicate with them about their island rules. While they might not care about their flowers getting trampled, they might care if you picked up some spare materials left out by a workbench. It’s all about communication, baby!

If you’re going into a stranger’s island keep these things in mind:

Don’t take anything without asking

Whether it’s fruit or flowers, furnishings from the store, or even stray items left on the ground, don’t take things without permission. Most folks will be happy to share their fruit and flowers, but some might want to keep it to themselves until they can grow more.

Don’t trample the flowers

Be mindful of where you’re running. While some people might not care, generally, running over flower gardens or hybrids is a big no-no. Unlike past games, the flowers will grow back in a day rather than dying into the void forever, so it’s not as damning, but it’s still an uncool thing to do.

Give people a heads up when you come and go

Fish, balloons, and even bugs can despawn when people arrive and leave the island. This can be devastating for those about to reel in a big fish, catch a rare bug, or shoot something out of the sky. If you’re able to communicate clearly when you’re coming and leaving, you should do so.

Leave turnip tips

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

This is by no means mandatory or expected for anyone, but if you’re selling off your turnips on another island, consider tipping the island owner. There’s no set amount expected, but since this person is letting you (and maybe others) in on good prices, it’s a nice gesture. Sometimes hosting other people for turnip sales can be a pain, due to the long process that occurs when people come and go. It can be even more of a pain if you need to make multiple trips to sell off all your vegetation.

Close your windows when the game asks you to

Yes, it’s annoying that the game has that weird cutscene while people load in, but it’s necessary. Close your windows and stop what you’re doing to make the process as painless as possible for everyone.

Bring a thank you gift

This also isn’t mandatory but it’s nice to bring along some foreign fruit, flowers, or other items the person may be seeking out. Ask what items or materials folks might appreciate before heading in!

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

• $60

Prices taken at time of publishing.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is “a much-needed escape from everything,” according to our review.

• $60 at Amazon

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