How do you play?

[snapdragon]

Real time all the way. When I first played the original AC ten years ago I played properly until I got fed up of missing KK Slider too many times and then started messing with the date/time settings - that was the beginning of the end.

If just once I rolled the clock back to buy turnips or see KK perform, I know from that point onwards that time/date is meaningless and it's just down to "do I want to deny myself what I want?".

For that reason, I keep it pure. It's not necessarily convenient and it doesn't feel nice to realise you missed something you wanted but it's essential for the whole system to work. If you play it as intended then you'll be looking at the clock (I'm just kidding, you'll be looking at a phone or taskbar) saying "damn, the shops will be closed in ten minutes!" and that's a unique experience that I'm not going to discard this time around.

Last night I realised I needed more money to pay off my loan and that I'd need to scrape together 1K in order to get to the island so I could bug hunt for about 10-15 minutes which would leave me enough time to get back, sell my catches, pay off my loan and still have time to speak to Nook so that my next house expansion could be ready the next day.

I love that! I love playing, doing something else for half the day, then remembering that something else will be going on now that evening's rolled around. If I could just change to any time and any day then I'd cheat myself out of that experience. Unfortunately I think most if not all will have to learn this the hard way just as I did ten years ago. You can't put the toothpaste back in the tube.

This is so, so true. Exactly how I feel about my experience with time-traveling as well, very eloquently put! For this reason I do try to remain true to the time and day.

 

[BrittanyStarr]

I keep the time right, but the date 3 days behind...mostly because I can't play on real holidays due to family obligations. This way, it's close enough to still coincide with real holidays, but far enough to actually get to play them.

 

[daniduckyface]

I used to TT quite a bit but i settled down so my main town is now in real time. I have a second copy that just started so that copy i TT on. My time might be slightly off but it's pretty close to reality. Sometimes when i play at night (which is most of the time during school days), i set the time back a few hours. I like the town to be lit up from the sun when the animals are much more active and the stores aren't all closed or close to closing down for the night.

 

[Amalthea]

I keep my town in real time. I only time travel for minor things, like if I need to sell something to Re-tail but it's past closing time, or if I need to talk to an Uchi but they aren't awake yet, if I missed an event/holiday that I wanted to participate in, etc. I never skip days. I also may cycle out villagers for a trade, but that's a rare occurrence, and I go back to real time immediately after.

 

[Byngo]

I keep my town in Cherry Blossom season (April 2nd - 10th) mainly because my town looks the best during that time, but the time of day is according to what it is irl. I'm a retired TT'er.

 

[hdtraves]

i don't time travel. play day by day =P

 

[Dreamy Luigi]

I stay on the current time, I rarely TT, but I sometimes do.

 

[jobby47]

I have my time set to the real time.

 

[MadisonCrossing]

I use the real time and date. I hate time traveling because I feel like I'm rushing into the game and that I'm not enjoying it o n o But Nintendo put the ability to change the time and date in there for a reason, so I'm not against anyone who time travels. ; v ;

Real time always adds to my nostalgia, especially around the holidays. It's so relaxing to just sit back and play the game at the same pace as the real world ( ? ▽ ` )ﾉ

 

[honeyaura]

I started out real time, until I started trading.
I'm trying to finish my towns so I can retire, and put all my towns on real time again. I kinda miss it that way.

 

[Piyo]

When I play late at night/in the early mornings, I usually set my clock to either 12 hours forward/backwards. But for the most part, I play in real-time and date.

 

[Starlightz]

I like to play in real time, it makes the game feel more realistic. Like, if it's winter irl and summer in my game and my mayor is walking around in shorts or dress, it just feels weird to me.
I do time travel, but only for very minor things, like if I miss closing time for a store, or I miss holiday I wanted to participate, or even if I have conflicting dates trying to move my dreamies in. Playing day by day also gives me the excitement of wondering what will happen the next day, such as which hybrids will bloom or if there will be a special character hanging around.

 

[thatawkwardkid]

It depends on my mood. I have times where I play in real time for months and I have moments where I'll just time travel constantly. I'm currently time traveling.

 

[Pipsqueak]

I was TTing a lot when I couldn't settle on a map, but I prefer to play in real time.

 

[useyourdrill]

I keep it on the correct date, but I'm usually a few hours behind since I tend to play late.

 

[kasane]

It's set in April, 2015 .-.

Been TT'ing around, trying to get PWP suggestions day by day, etc.

Gotta go fast

 

[Tap Dancer]

I don't want to time travel too far in advance, but I play 1-3 weeks ahead of time. (I'm in mid-January 2015 now. LOL) The thing is, I try to play every day, but there have been times where I didn't play for several days. This way I don't have to worry about falling behind if I take a short break. I keep track of the last day I played and then adjust my 3DS accordingly.

 

[sakurakiki]

I used to be all over the place just a couple months ago, but I'm playing in real-time from now on. I want to experience all the seasons like they should be experienced (even if I don't like the way they look in my town) & not have to worry about changing dates & such. ^-^

 

[Mega_Cabbage]

I play real time, but sometimes I time travel to collect a few items.

 

[AllisonCypress]

Real time