What do you do to keep playing?

[Disneyfangirl23]

well I restarted again because I got bored but I’m going to keep this island

 

[VanitasFan26]

Restart. I know it sounds cliché but for me I do it all the time. I sometimes look at my island and tell myself "I could've made this better" and sometimes my island feels stale and nothing much is going on. To keep myself refreshed on the game I restart becuase I pick so much different map layouts that I can work with. Luckily I make sure to save all my belongings and put them on my 2nd island (I have a 2nd switch and 2nd copy of the game btw) before I even do the restarting process.

 

[coffeeplant]

It depends on how I feel to be honest ;

Sometimes I just restart my island. I love the beginning of the game, resetting until I get a nice map and villagers I love, unlocking things slowly but surely, etc.

Sometimes I set goals for myself. I usually go down the collections and Nook Miles achievements routes, but I also come up with silly ones like crafting anything I've never crafted before, get this or that amount of bells, find all the wasps hiding in trees, etc. I have yet to breed all of the flowers of my own, so that's definitely a goal I want to achieve in New Horizons this year. I'd also love to collect all of the villagers' photos but I'll have to stop resetting over and over for that one, huh.

And sometimes I come up with challenges. They can be anything at all. Only selling fish and bugs to Flick and CJ. Only decorate with crafted items. Autofill only. The list goes on. I love challenging myself in video games, challenges entertain me a lot more than regular gameplay. Right now, I want to do what I call a "lovely neighbour challenge" in which I'll let all of the plots autofill, I won't use any amiibos, villagers are not allowed to leave until I've got their photos and I have to fulfill all of their requests. (And that includes letting them roam around my house for as long as they want, even if they stick around for 45 minutes. Help me lol.)

Oof that was a lot of text. ->​

 

[CylieDanny]

For me its become like a phone app, and I litterly just go on there to catch bugs or fish for however long. Yes I break tons of rods and nets lol.

I'll do the events, but other then that its just a chilled game. I got all the villagers I want, I love my island, theres pretty much nothing I wanna change about anything. I also finally got around to decorating everyone's house.

So yeah, it's a complete zone out and do some fishing or catching bugs game. Its a plus when my villagers wanna do something with me, but other then that its laid back. Sometimes Ill just go hang or sit with them for awhile too. Sometimes they wanna come over or do things with me or other stuff. But if they're doing something in the plaza I'll go chill or watch them.

But the DJ concerts are always a must if Im able to go to one, always alot of fun for me!

It's also a plus because with everything thats going on in my life, I like how its just now my laid back game to just spend time catching bugs or fishing, and hang with my dream team ♡

 

[Snek]

I'm probably going to restart soon. Not any games other than TotK this year so I want to start over in NH and see how it goes with the DLC from the very beginning. Sad about all the progress I made but its to keep me interested in AC until the next game in the franchise

 

[maria110]

I started a new file. I probably wont ever do that again, but still, it is working for me it is more fun playing now than the first time, cuz all content is there from the beginning.

I agree it's kind of neat to have all the content but I really miss having the small museum before earning the grand looking one. I like the small one better.

 

[TN4U]

I really don't know why I keep coming back to this game. I created a new island on my old switch, but this time I'm just trying to make it look grand for a dream address and not go for total completion. Putting my decorating skills to the test, you might say. I'm also time traveling, which is something I refuse to do on my original island on my main switch.

Sure, I've seen every bit of dialogue probably thousands of times, but I just love seeing cute animal villagers. They make me feel good about my life.

 

[oath2order]

For most of 2022, I think I played like 10 times.

And then I really got into this past few weeks when I was moving across the country stuck in a hotel room with nothing else to do.

I'm really enjoying the game with all the updates now.

 

[Bluelady]

I've been too busy these past few days to play, and will still be busy until Wednesday night. However, always changing my mind when it comes to decorating is what keeps me playing this game. I'm too ambitious and indecisive, so progress is very slow on my island. I still have one more house to decorate to theme, plus the basement of my island rep. There's also one section in my island that is halfway done. It is zen garden theme but I'm having trouble making it look more "realistic".

I hope to finish this island before the next one releases, whenever that may be.

 

[zissou]

Like many others, I play on and off (and the "off" periods can be months long) but always find myself returning to AC:NH. It's strange because in prior Animal Crossing games (Wild World, City Folk, New Leaf) I spent most of my time fishing, pestering my villagers, making designs, participating in events, etc... y'know, playing Animal Crossing. But in New Horizons, 90% of my time is spent terraforming and decorating.

It doesn't really feel like an Animal Crossing game to me because I rarely actually do the actions associated with playing a classic AC title. I can't remember the last time I caught a bug or fish in-game. (Pretty sure my net and fishing rod broke and I never bothered to fix 'em.) Every few months, I'm like, "Screw this, it's not even fun to play, there's nothing to do!" And then...

... and then I come back, because the decorating aspect, to me, is simultaneously challenging and soothing. I like working within the space constraints of my village, and going through trial and error to sculpt a town that feels true to me. I can't even count the number of times I've scrapped my terraforming and razed everything to the ground just to start over again. I hope this build will be the last time, because I'm genuinely loving the simplicity and open space.

So, long story short, terraforming and decorating keep me playing. I'm not one of those people who "finished" a meticulously decorated village four months in, because I'm a finicky perfectionist, so I'm still working on it. I tell myself that when I'm done, I'll be motivated to farm and fish and do errands for the villagers, but, heh, we'll see...

 

[-Blue-]

I don't play every day or even every week/month, but when I do come back I just work a little more on decorating. It's really what the game has going for it. It's not what I got the game for, but it is what the game is intended to be.

 

[Kristen]

I recently picked up the game again and just started redesigning and letting villagers move out to bring new ones in. It makes it feel a little fresher

 

[Roaldisthebest]

Nook Miles tasks r so fun to me. If I'm stuck on what to do I'll check the tasks which give me goals to pursue, such as catching a certain fish (still haven't caught the tuna), crafting a certain number of items then selling them, fossil hunting, bug catching.. It's just the classic AC relaxing activities that make it enticing i guess. Then I get to spend the miles on cool furniture to decorate! I also spend my time hunting for certain DIY cards, chatting with villagers (still occassionally finding new dialogue!) and making money for my ABD savings. There are certain flower breeds I haven't yet made, and villager birthdays I like to celebrate.
I've been getting more into other (usually more intense) games so animal crossing became this peaceful space where I can do relaxing activities and chill out, which makes it last longer for me.

 

[Khaoticnoize187]

Explore and interact with villagers and see what other stuff i can come up with to create.

 

[KittenNoir]

I keep re designing areas of my island until I’m happy.

I also recently haven’t been playing every single day I play every second or third day just so I don’t feel like I’m getting bored.

 

[g u a v a]

i restarted my island so that kept me engaged for a little bit again. i still haven't finished it so i play to collect more furniture from the shops and stuff to build up my catalog.

having a list of dailies helps stay engaged.

 

[himekirako]

talking to my villagers, redesigning certain areas, trying to do the daily nook mile tasks, checking my turnip prices, seeing what's at the tailor's shop, and selling my fossils for some quick bells~

 

[Sharksheep]

My island will never be done in the sense that I decorate one area every 6 months and then undo parts cause I don't like the transition. I also missed the mushroom/maple leaf diys because I forgot to play last year and I've been trying to keep the time traveling to a minimum.
I'm also trying to get that crafting tool achievement. I don't remember if it was 1000 or 3000.