Animal Crossing New Horizons

Building a thriving island community in Animal Crossing: New Horizons means welcoming a variety of charming animal villagers to live alongside you. With more than 400 possible villagers, choosing your favorites and expanding your island population can be a fun challenge. There are several ways to invite new residents, and understanding each method can help you curate the perfect island life.

Campsite Visitors

After upgrading Resident Services to a full building, you can construct the Campsite on your island. Once the Campsite is built, visitors will begin arriving regularly. You can interact with these visiting campers and invite them to join your island. Sometimes, winning a simple card game with the camper is required, but not always—some villagers can be invited directly.

If your island already hosts the maximum of ten villagers, inviting a new camper will prompt a random current resident to move out. If the suggested villager is one you want to keep, you can exit the game without saving and try again, repeating until a suitable resident is chosen. This strategy can also be a subtle way to replace villagers you no longer want.

Since relocating homes and preparing plots often costs a large amount of Bells, some players choose to buy ACNH bells from Z2U to speed up island development and focus more on villager hunting instead of grinding for resources.

Using Amiibo and Amiibo Cards

Amiibo functionality allows players to invite specific villagers to their Campsite. Through the Nook Stop terminal in Resident Services, you can use the “Invite a Camper” option with an Amiibo card. Villagers invited this way will stay at the Campsite until the following day, during which you must complete a DIY crafting request for them. After fulfilling their requests multiple times over three days, the villager will agree to move in. This method offers precise control over who joins your island.

Mystery Island Tours

Players can also acquire Nook Miles Tickets via the Nook Stop machine, redeemable for 2,000 Nook Miles each. Using a ticket at the Airport allows travel to a randomly generated Mystery Island, where villagers may appear. If you encounter a desirable villager, you can invite them to move to your island—provided there is a vacant plot available. This approach offers a mix of chance and strategy, as the specific villagers you encounter are randomized.

Friends' Islands

Visiting the islands of friends provides another opportunity to expand your population. If a villager is in the process of moving out on a friend's island, you can ask them to relocate to your island. This method allows some degree of selection while relying on timing and social connections.

Vacant Plots and Natural Move-Ins

Whenever a housing plot is empty—whether due to a recent move-out or because your island is new—villagers may naturally appear and settle there within a couple of days. Invited villagers, on the other hand, usually move in the day after agreeing to join. Keeping plots available is crucial if you want new residents to arrive smoothly.

Maximum Villagers and Planning Ahead

Each island can host up to ten villagers, making it essential to plan carefully when inviting newcomers. As your island develops and new plots are built, more villagers may show interest in moving in. Tom Nook will guide you through constructing and furnishing houses for incoming residents, and Mystery Island Tours can help reserve spots for specific villagers.

Using the Campsite and Amiibo cards can accelerate this process. Villagers convinced to move in via Amiibo require a reserved lot, which can also attract random residents. Careful timing is necessary, as unplanned lots may be filled by random villagers before you secure your preferred ones. Decorating your island can improve its appeal, indirectly increasing the chances of attracting new villagers.

Because building plots, moving houses, and upgrading infrastructure can quickly drain your savings, having access to cheap Animal Crossing NH bells can make long-term villager planning far more flexible—especially when you are waiting for a specific resident to appear.

Summary

Inviting new villagers to your island combines strategy, patience, and a touch of luck. Options include interacting with Campsite visitors, using Amiibo cards, traveling to Mystery Islands, visiting friends' islands, and waiting for natural move-ins on vacant plots. Understanding these methods allows players to control who joins their island, manage the maximum population of ten residents, and gradually build a vibrant, personalized community.

By carefully planning plots, using Amiibo strategically, and exploring Mystery Islands, players can assemble a dream roster of villagers, creating a lively and diverse island environment that reflects their style and preferences.