I ordered a 3DS and ACNL and they should be coming in a few days. I was just wondering if any of you ACNL pros could give a newbie a few tips! I haven't played CF in a long time (I mostly just play WW now that they took the wifi capabilities away for CF and WW). If there are any spoilers, I don't want those. Just maybe a few tips as to what to do first or how to do some stuff that might be hard for beginners to figure out and would make it easier in the long run if I started early.

Thanks guys <3 I figure this board could help out all the newbies coming to ACNL because I hope I'm not the last one!

When you start your game and your on the train with Rover, he will ask you which town is yours (YOU GET 4 CHOICES of the town layout) if you don't like each one he shows, just say no thats not it and he will show another, if you do not like any of the four, just restart your DS and repeat the process until you get a layout you like the look of, or you can just settle in the first layout he shows you, although remember once you pick the design, you cannot change it later on. so town layout is important if your fussy about ponds and stuff, if not just look through all for choices and pick your favourite!

Buy a Shovel, Fishing Pole, Net, and wetsuit ASAP!

These four tools are absolutely required to experience Animal Crossing: New Leaf. A shovel will allow you to dig up fossils and other buried items. A fishing pole will let you catch fish, and a net will let you catch bugs. Finally, a wetsuit will let you swim at the beach to find items on the ocean floor.

You can purchase a shovel, fishing pole, and net at Nookling Junction on Main Street. To get the wetsuit, you'll have to first unlock the Island (this will happen automatically after a few days). It will cost you 40 medals in the island gift shop.

Talk to Everyone
Your main task when starting the game is getting your approval rating to 100%. To do this, you'll have to make your citizens happy. This all happens when you talk to them.

Simply talking to a citizen will automatically boost your rating. You can do this in person, or send letters from the Post Office on Main Street. In addition, citizens may ask you for favors when talking to you. Doing these will greatly boost your approval rating, and will sometimes earn you a reward. You can help out your citizens for gifts even after maxing out that approval rating.

Participate in Events
One of the best ways to earn unique items is by participating in events. These are most commonly tournaments, but special holidays serve the same purpose. During these times, being active in the event will net you a special item, although in the case of tournaments, you'll have to actually place.

Once you reach the Tropical Island, it's worth entering some of the fishing tournaments, but not scavenger hunts or specific item-only tours. Talk to Lloyd and borrow a bug net, so you can catch rare bugs and collect loads of fruit and take them back using the basket in the island foyer for a substantial amount of bells.


Making Money

The easiest way to make money is to start pocketing items. You can pluck flowers or shake trees for fruit, but the aforementioned shovel, fishing pole, net, and wetsuit are key here. Using these, you can add fossils, fish, insects, and sea creatures to your inventory.

With your pockets full, head to the Re-Tail shop in your town. Here, you can sell any item in your inventory. They offer prices different from the Nook brothers' store, so be sure to check which outlet give you the best prices when selling your items. Check the sign out front to see what the day's special item is: if you can sell it, you'll earn far more Bells.

...and Learn the Extra Pockets Trick
You can carry 16 items at a time, but with the essentials (shovel, fishing pole, net, and wetsuit) on hand, your carrying capacity is greatly reduced. Fortunately, wearing and holding some items will free up some much needed inventory space. Also, by attaching items to letters, it's possible to hold even more, so fill your pockets with letters before you head out.

Equipping the shovel, fishing pole, or net removes the item from you inventory and puts it in your hands, freeing up an item slot. Even when you go inside a building and watch your character put the tool away, it won't go back into your inventory (don't worry - the item doesn't glitch away). Wearing the wetsuit also removes it from your inventory. Wear it while holding a tool, and you'll have two extra inventory slots to play with.

Don't forget the money rock!
Smashing rocks with your spade is an easy way to potentially make some bells. Before you start smashing away, be sure to set up at least one hole behind you to stop the recoil. If you find a rock that drops money, keep hitting it until it stops dropping money. There's also a chance to find valuable gems in these rocks. It's possible to make an easy 16,100 in free bells every day.

Stacking: Save time when farming fruit

Farming fruit has always been one of the easiest ways to gain cash, and thanks to being able to stack fruit by dragging it into the space in your inventory, it makes this long-winded process a lot faster.

As always, sourcing fruit that isn't native to your own town will sell at a higher price. So find some friends, trade fruit you don't own and get planting to earn easy Bells in no time.


hope some of that helps you when you start playing

Hey everyone
Im Derek 32/m
I'm new to the game also, I've been playing since the 26th. So far I love the game....
I want to thank you for posting those tips.   Only thing I need to find now is someway that I can get some fruit from a different town,and some nice players to play with.
Anyways I just wanted to say hello and thank you again for posting those tips

Cheers for the helpful tips Chris!

Zoe and Derek: I'll send you both a FCR as soon as I get my WiFi sorted!