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Animal Crossing: New Horizons

What are Ordinances?

By
Staci Miller

When you download the new update, Version 2.0, Isabelle will announce a few things from Residence Services.

One of these things will be that Kapp’n is now in town for business, and the next thing she’ll say is that Ordinances can now be put into effect. She’ll specify that you, as Island Representative, are in charge of the Ordinances.

How to Unlock Ordinances

If you’ve downloaded the update and Isabelle hasn’t made the announcement, chances are, you haven’t yet reached a three-star island. This is necessary to unlock many of the new features the update provides.

Isabelle will very clear about when they’re live.

Make sure you spend some time getting your island up to scratch to invite K.K. Slider there. Once you’ve done this, the next day, Isabelle will make her announcement.

How to Change Ordinances

To change an Ordinance or put one into effect, head over to Resident Services and talk to Isabelle.

When you choose to review island features, there will be a new option under changing the island’s flag and theme song - and this is how you access Ordinances.

The price isn’t too steep, as 20,000 Bells are easy to come by once you’ve hit three stars.

Isabelle will charge you 20,000 Bells to put an Ordinance into effect.

Ordinance Options

There are a few different options for Ordinances.

You can pick of any of these four to enact.

Which ones are the best totally depend on how you play the game and what matters to you, though it seems that the Beautiful Island Ordinance has the most practical advantages.

Beautiful Island Ordinance

The Beautiful Island Ordinance does the following things:

  • Villagers water flowers and plants more
  • Time traveling does not change the town’s environment
  • Flowers no longer ever die
  • You can’t fish trash out of the water
  • Weeds have a lower spawn rate, keeping your island tider

This is ideal for those who take long breaks from their island and don’t want to come back to a mess. No more roaches and weeds overrunning the island in your absence, and villagers will take care of your flowers for you.

Early Bird Ordinance

The villagers will all wake one or two hours earlier, depending on their personal schedules, and Nook’s Cranny and Able Sisters open exactly one hour earlier. Handy for those who wake up to play the game early in the morning.

Night Owl Ordinance

This Ordinance has the exact opposite effect. The villagers will go to sleep one or two hours later, and Nook’s Cranny and Able Sisters close one hour later than usual.

If you play the game mostly in the evening, this one is for you.

Bell Boom Ordinance

The Bell Boom Ordinance means shops buy and sell for 20% more so if you have a lot of items you’re looking to offload, this is a good one to enact. It’s also a good time to rifle through your storage and find out exactly what’s in there that you can sell at Nooky’s Cranny.

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Nintendo
  • Platforms,
    Switch
  • Genre
    Social simulation
  • Guide Release
    7 August 2020
  • Last Updated
    20 January 2022
    Version History
  • Guide Author
    Seren Morgan-Roberts

Share this free guide:

The guide for Animal Crossing: New Horizons offers a walkthrough on how to make the most of your time on your deserted island. This guide will show you how to make tools, earn bells, achieve a five-star island, and more.

Inside this guide you will find:

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