26 "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" Tips To Take Your Gameplay To The Next Level

Including how to avoid getting stung by wasps.

It's safe to say that Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a smash hit that's here to stay. So, we asked the BuzzFeed Community for their best tips and tricks to make our lives easier and turn our islands into five-star masterpieces.

Nintendo / Via giphy.com

Here's what they said:

1. Shake trees for free furniture.

Nintendo / Via neoseeker.com

"Every day, your island has two free items hidden in your non-fruit trees, so don’t forget to shake all your non-fruit trees every day."

—lswizzzz

2. Hold down "B" while walking in order to run — it's a great way to cut down on travel time from one side of the island to the other.

Nintendo / Via tenor.com

If you want to get from one side of your island to the other quickly, hold down B and you will start to run. But be careful, because running will scare away bugs and fish if you get too close. Also, if you chop down trees, leave the stumps for a while. Beetles will spawn on the tree stumps and you can sell them for 350–3000 bells!

—kellyfarrer

3. Always shake trees with a net in hand.

Nintendo / Via outsidergaming.com

"If you shake the trees while holding a net, you will be able to catch the wasps without being stung. Just press A when it falls and you will catch them. You can then sell the wasps for bells and chop the trees safely for wood."

—laurat4085a0179

"Make sure that all or at least most of the spaces under your tree are clear, then simply press A after you finish being shocked since you will automatically face the direction of the wasps. I used to get stung almost all the time before I learned this trick. Now I haven't been stung once and I can sell those wasps for a cool 2,500 bells."

—angelbun

4. If you do it right, you can run away from wasps by hiding in buildings or using party poppers.

Nintendo / Via tenor.com

"If you are getting chased by wasps, just run into a house or the museum and they will go away!"

—jasper280

"Party poppers scare off wasps! If, for some reason, you have poppers and not a net, you can use them to make the wasps go away!"

—deejaydeeray91

5. Or use your stone axe on fruit trees to gather wood without the risk of wasp stings.

Nintendo / Via ign.com

"Use a flimsy or stone axe to chop your fruit trees. No wasps are on fruit trees, and you can collect fruit and wood at the same time without chopping the tree down."

—chelsey-jasont

6. Speed up conversations by pressing L, R, or B.

Nintendo / Via gamesradar.com

"Press B to speed up conversation! I adore Blathers, but reading the same words over and over again gets on my nerves. This makes the process quicker."

—leire

"You can hold down L or R to speed up conversation instead of pressing B. This way, you won’t accidentally speed too fast and choose the wrong answer."

—samanthar46120699e

7. If you time it right, you can get two messages in a bottle in one day.

Nintendo / Via neoseeker.com

"Message bottles spawn every twelve hours, so if you get one at 11 a.m., you'll have another at 11 p.m.!"

—e45c5fbe89

8. She might ice you out at first, but keep trying to befriend Sable.

Nintendo / Via youtube.com

"Once you get the Able Sisters shop, talk to Sable every day until she calls Mabel over to help you. She’ll eventually warm up to you and give you some great patterns that you can use when customizing!"

—deliciousraptor55

9. When you dig up a shining hole in the ground, plant 10,000 bells in the hole.

Nintendo / Via shacknews.com

"Whenever you find a shining spot on the ground, dig up the 1,000 bells — but bury 10,000 in its place. Do this every day for a 30,000 return every tree."

—taylora4e62a0521

10. Use Nookazon to trade items with other people playing the game. It's the easiest way to get hard-to-find items you're looking for.

Nookazon / nookazon.com

"There's a website that exists purely for trading in ACNH. It's called Nookazon. No money is needed, only in-game trading. It's the best way to get specific furniture, materials, songs, villagers, and DIY recipes. And, as a bonus, you get to visit other people's islands/have them visit yours!"

—mckenzie17

11. And make sure to check out other helpful resources on the internet to help you along your way.

Turnip Exchange / turnip.exchange

"Use Reddit subs, Facebook groups, and Nookazon to find items you need, or sell stuff, or make friends. You'll find people giving things away and paying off loans frequently."

—rmadu13

"Use turnip.exchange to visit other people’s islands when they have high turnip prices! People post their turnip prices and you can join queues to get dodo codes."

—resfeberwubs

12. Press A to craft items faster.

Nintendo / Via giphy.com

"Press A repeatedly to speed up crafting — especially handy when you are DIY-ing lots of items in a row."

—e4be68dd13

13. Use the Nintendo Switch Online app to use chat much more easily.

Nintendo

"To quickly type messages in game, download the Nintendo Switch Online app. It has a keyboard feature that makes it way easier!"

—samanthap43520a82f

14. Leaving garbage outside can help you attract bugs you haven't caught yet.

Nintendo / Via gamertweak.com

"Leave a rotten turnip outside to catch ants, and leave out garbage (boot, tire, or can) to catch flies."

—mellyquartz

15. Save time while claiming your Nook Miles by using the joystick.

Nintendo / Via miketendo64.com

"When you've earned Nook Miles, use the right joystick to quickly be taken to whatever achievement you've completed."

—mckenzie17

16. If you're too impatient to fish (like me), try closing your eyes and listening for the "kerplunk" sound.

Nindento / Via gamesradar.com

"When I'm fishing, I find it easier to catch the fish if I just close my eyes. Once you're sure that the fish sees your bobber, close your eyes and listen for that telltale 'sploosh.' If you're watching, then you tend to anticipate when they'll bite and end up pulling it in too soon. Also, they'll only peck at the bobber a maximum of four times before biting on the fifth time. So I count in my head how many times they've pecked. Helps me concentrate, I guess."

—angelbun

"When I’m catching fish, I put the microphone up to my ear and don’t look at the screen, and when I hear the bloop, I hit it."

—kristinandco13

17. And make sure to go fishing in the rain.

Nintendo / Via imore.com

"Coelacanths — big black fish that are worth a lot of bells — spawn in the rain. Make sure to fish frequently, especially in the rain, so you can make big bucks."

—evp722

18. Use the ABD banking feature and deposit as much money as you can.

Nintendo

"Use the ABD! Personally, since the start, I deposit every 5,000, and once you unlock terraforming and want to move things around, it's really reassuring to know you have enough bells to do so!"

—sophiabaker1021

19. Check Nook's Cranny twice a day for turnip prices: once before noon, and once after.

Nintendo

"When selling turnips, Timmy and Tommy will have two different selling pricing in a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, so if you don't have a good price in the morning, go back in the afternoon and check again."

—lonelyrainbow

20. Carry a workbench with you to craft items on the go.

Nintendo / Via dailystar.co.uk

"Always carry your workbench with you!"

—rociodiaz1031

"Keep a workbench with you in your backpack at all times. Seriously, it will make your life so much easier!"

—icedchai22

21. Create hybrid flower colors by inviting friends over to water them or placing certain flowers next to each other.

Nintendo / Via guidestash.com

"If friends visit your island and water your flowers for you, the flowers will be more likely to grow hybrid colors."

—olliemolly

"Planting red tulips next to each other spawns black tulips that attract peacock butterflies, which sell for big bells."

—kyleigh21

22. When you hear crickets as you're walking around your island, dig holes to reveal a mole cricket hiding underground.

Nintendo / Via shacknews.com

"Listen carefully for mole crickets. They live underground and you can find them by using your shovel to try and dig them up. They can be found between November and May."

—mellyquartz

23. Don't sell all your weeds at once.

Nintendo / Via usgamer.net

"Hang on to at least some of your clumps of weeds. There are a few crafting recipes that use them and it can be annoying waiting for more weeds to grow to make them."

—lynl

24. The more types (jock, sisterly, etc.) of villagers you have, the more you'll receive new DIYs.

Nintendo

"Having a variety of villager types is really important if you’re trying to collect as many DIY recipes as possible. Each of the eight personality types have unique recipes they will share with you!"

—noahr915

25. Use a toilet to get rid of any extra energy you have that's used to dig up trees or break rocks.

Nintendo / Via nintendoenthusiast.com

"If you have extra energy from eating fruit and want to get rid of it without having to break a rock or dig a tree up, just sit on any toilet and it miraculously disappears."

—isaiahmichaelgaerlanb

26. Overall, don't let the pace of the game stress you out — and don't quit the game once K.K. Slider has played on your island.

Nintendo / Via reddit.com

"Play at your own pace! If you want to check out tricks, do so; if you want to take it slow, do so! And don't stress out about your island not looking like this or that, the point of the game is enjoying the peace!"

—leire

"Once you get to the point after K.K. has played and you've done your terraforming, the game isn't over! There are always new ways to reinvent your island. Make parks, give different areas different themes, rearrange all the buildings, make personalized yards for your villagers, decorate your house then sell everything and redecorate, get to know your villagers, let your villagers leave and go on Nook Miles explorations to find new ones until you're excited to talk to all of your villagers every day and don't want to miss a single one! Time traveling is a mainstay of the series, and I do it pretty frequently myself! But sometimes once the terraforming is done and you fast forwarded through the days to get your bridges built and houses moved, it can feel like there's no reason to come back to the game. But remember to focus on the villagers and really do everything to the fullest in the day you're in!"

—thekatherine

Do you have other Animal Crossing tips to share? Let us know in the comments!