Animal Crossing New Horizons: All Island Ordinances and What They Do

animal crossing ordinances

In the Animal Crossing New Horizons version 2.0 update, ordinances are making a return. These were previously introduced in Animal Crossing New Leaf. Ordinances are a special set of rules you can set for the game to follow based on your playing habits. If you aren’t too sure what these are or what they do, we’re here to explain it all. Here are all of the island ordinances and what they do in Animal Crossing New Horizons.

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All Island Ordinances and What They Do

There are currently four possible island ordinances you can choose from in Animal Crossing New Horizons.

  • The Beautiful Island Ordinance is for players who want to keep their islands clean and tidy without doing a lot of work. For example, fewer weeds will grow, flowers will stay watered longer, and cockroaches will never appear in your house.
  • The Early Bird Ordinance is for players who spend time in the game during earlier hours of the day. Nook’s Cranny and Able Sisters will open a few hours earlier than they normally do (and close earlier, too). Villagers will also wake up and start their daily schedules earlier.
  • The Night Owl Ordinance is for players who spend time in the game during the later hours of the day. Nook’s Cranny and Able Sisters will open later than they normally do, but they’ll stay open a few hours later. Villagers will wake up and start their day a few hours later.
  • The Bell Boom Ordinance is for players who want to modify the economy of their island. Nook’s Cranny will buy and sell items at an increased price, and clothes at Able Sisters will cost more. Home loans will not be affected, though, so this ordinance is great for players who want to make some extra bells by selling items and creatures.

How To Set or Change Island Ordinances

You’ll need to set your first island ordinance before you can take advantage of these perks. You can only have one ordinance set at a time.

To set your island ordinance, you’ll need to talk to Isabelle at Resident Services. Ask her about Island Ordinances, and she’ll give you the list to choose from. The ordinance you choose will go into effect the next day. You can change your island ordinance by talking to Isabelle again.

These island ordinances will become available when you download the free update to Animal Crossing New Horizons on Nov. 5. When we know more about the specifics of these ordinances, such as the exact times stores will open and close, we’ll be sure to update this guide.

Otherwise, that’s the basics of all the island ordinances and what they do in Animal Crossing New Horizons. For more tips and tricks, check out our Animal Crossing New Horizons guide wiki and check out everything else that’s new in the 2.0 update.


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Rebecca Stone
Rebecca is a Staff Writer at Twinfinite. She has been with the site and in the games media industry for 4 years, and she has a college degree in psychology and writing. Rebecca typically covers Nintendo for the site, and she especially loves the Legend of Zelda series. Outside of gaming, Rebecca is an avid Swiftie and enjoys playing with her cat Frisk.