Social distancing is hard, but with Animal Crossing: New Horizons, it’s easy to stay in touch with friends via WIFI island visits! However, I have noticed that some players seem to be struggling with travel etiquette when they are visiting other towns online. I believe that travelers, whether in the real world or online, should be polite, respect the culture, and obey the rules of the their travel destination.
Every town is different and some players may not care about certain things as much as others, and that’s totally fine. But there are some general rules that most ACNH players can agree to, and I think it’s a good idea to keep these guidelines in mind when you are traveling to other towns:
1. Be Polite and Say Hi!
This one baffles me the most. Players come to visit a town, go shopping, and leave without saying a word. Unless you know this person and talk to them with a messaging app or something, it’s customary to at least have the common courtesy to say “hello”, “thank you”, and “goodbye.” This person was kind enough to open their gates so you can buy new clothes and furniture, the least you can do is be polite.
If using the in-game keyboard is a struggle for you, please download and utilize the Nintendo Switch Online app! It connects with ACNH and you can use your phone’s keyboard to type in-game messages to your friends. Much easier!
2. Ask Permission
When you visit someone’s island, you can see all of the hard work that they put into the design and aesthetic. Fruits on the trees might be part of that aesthetic. Therefore, it’s polite to ask before shaking a fruit tree and selling it’s fruit when you are visiting another town. The same goes for picking flowers (or weeds!). If you are ‘best friends’ with this player, you should still ask for permission before chopping for wood or digging up flowers as well. And don’t even THINK about chopping down a tree or destroying a rock without asking first!! Why would you even want to do that anyway? Jeeeeez lol!
At Nook’s Cranny, some items can only be purchased once. Always ask the host for permission to buy these items on display in the store, because they might not have had a chance to make their purchases yet. If you MUST have the item, you should offer to let the host catalog it before you leave. That way they can also buy the item if they wanted it.
3. Please Close the Window!
The arriving and departing animations in ACNH take a long time and is one of the major gripes of most players. But part of this lengthy process might be because someone in the town is having a conversation with a vendor or has a menu open. If you see the “Please close the window” bar pop up while visiting, be quick to exit out of whatever you were doing.
This especially applies for those who are attempting to using the fitting room at Able Sisters or buying and selling turnips. These activities can take longer and it is more considerate to stop what you were doing, exit out of the convo, and attempt again when the latest visitor has landed at the airport. You won’t lose your place in line, so no need to make everyone else wait while you decide which hat to buy.
4. Trade Nicely
Buying and selling turnips can be a stressful situation for both the visitors and the host. High turnip prices are coveted and open gates can quickly turn into a high traffic area. With up to 8 people able to play at once, this can get dicey as people try to come and go. I have a few suggestions:
- Leave a tip! Whether you are buying turnips for 90 bells, or selling them for 583 per bundle, it’d be heckin’ swell if you could leave a tip for the host. Having people over to buy or sell turnips can be aggravating for the host, who has to sit through constant arrivals and departure animations, essentially unable to play their game or even take a few steps without a “someone’s coming” interruption. Be their hero and plan ahead – bring the host a tip. Bells, Nook Mile Tickets or gold nuggets are always appreciated!
- Warn the host if you are planning to make multiple trips. As mentioned above, having people entering and exiting constantly limits the host’s gameplay and its kind of annoying. Multiply that by however many trips each of these visitors plans to take to fill their pockets multiple times… we’re talking about a serious time commitment for the host, and they don’t even get to play much due to the constant interruptions. So be a nice person and give the host the option to say no.
- Respect the Queue. If there are people lined up at Nook’s Cranny or Able Sisters, don’t cut the line or push people out of the way. They were there first, they get to go first. That’s how lines work! lol
- Tip for Hosts: Close the Gate! You can actually go back to the Airport and close the gate, even if you have people visiting. This won’t kick out the people who are currently on your island, but will prevent more people from coming in. You can open and close the gates anytime during an online session! Just talk to Orville.
5. Water You Waiting For? Water the Flowers!
It’s been discovered that the higher the number of people watering your flowers, the more hybrids will spawn the following day. Most ACNH players have at least SOME flowers growing around town, and many more will be attempting to grow pretty hybrid flowers too. If you see an obvious cluster of flowers that are set up to spawn a hybrid, water it! In fact, it would be awesome if guests would ask their host if they have any particular flowers that need to be watered, especially if they have a Golden Watering Can!
And hosts, not everyone will be carrying a watering can on their travels, so it would be helpful if you had an extra watering can available for guests to borrow and use.
6. Don’t Leave Quietly
First of all, like I said in rule 1 – SAY BYE! It is just the nice thing to do. But aside from that, it’s probably best to use the Airport instead of choosing to ‘leave quietly’ via the (-) minus button. There has been debate over if this method causes online sessions to crash, and the general consensus is that it doesn’t. However, I’ve seen it happen a few times myself, so I don’t know what to believe. Nothing worse than a disconnection that sends everyone home – possibly without saving! I believe the airport is still a safer way to exit to ensure smoother gameplay for everyone involved.
Quick Travel Tips:
If you are visiting another island, do not go AFK! Don’t step away from your controller with a menu left open, or you could cause problems for other people trying to interact with the Airport.
Don’t run over flowers! What, were you raised by savages??
Don’t litter! Everything can be sold, there is no need to leave litter on someone else’s island. Many people have garbage cans available around town too – use them! They are functional!
If you are visiting a new player, bring them gifts! Ask them what their native fruit is, and bring them something new. Same goes for flowers! Maybe a little money to help them get started? It’s good karma!
Those are my travel tips for ACNH players doing some WIFI visits with friends. These days, being considerate of others is very important. Let’s practice being polite when we play online with others too!
What do you think of my travel tips? Am I too strict? Do you have any other rules that I didn’t put on the list? Let me know in the comments!
GLUXBOX 