Mastering Animal Crossing: New Horizons: A Guide to Enacting and Understanding Ordinances

The latest update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons introduces a cool feature: ordinances. Making a comeback from earlier games in the series, these ordinances give you more control over your island’s environment. While you can only have one active at a time and there are some limitations, they can help you boost your income, enhance your island’s aesthetics, or align activities with your usual playtime. Here’s a breakdown of what you need to know about ordinances.

**How do you enact an ordinance?**
Activating an ordinance is straightforward, but there are a few rules to keep in mind. Start by chatting with Isabelle at the Resident Services building and select the “review island features” option. From there, choose “discuss ordinances” and pick the one you want to implement. It’s that easy! However, activating an ordinance will set you back 20,000 bells, and it takes a day for it to take effect. Remember, you can only have one ordinance active at a time, and once you commit, you can’t change your mind. Once the ordinance is in place, you should be able to switch to another if desired; we’re looking into this and will update you once we have more information.

**What do the ordinances do?**
There are four ordinances, each with its own benefits, and Isabelle will give you a brief overview of what to expect when you activate one. We’re still gathering details on the specifics, like how much extra cash Boom Bell generates or the business hours for Early Bird and Night Owl, but here’s a general idea of what each ordinance offers.

**Beautiful Island**
With the Beautiful Island ordinance, you won’t be the only one responsible for keeping your island looking great. Villagers will help by picking weeds, watering flowers, and cleaning up trash from the waters, which can improve your fishing experience. However, be cautious: if you have too many flowers, watering them will just lead to more growth. If you have a use for weeds or trash, you might want to consider a different ordinance.

**Early Bird**
The Early Bird ordinance turns everyone into morning people. If you enjoy playing during the early hours, you’ll find villagers active and businesses opening earlier than usual.

**Night Owl**
Conversely, the Night Owl ordinance keeps your villagers up later and extends business hours into the night, allowing you to visit shops after dark.

**Bell Boom**
Finally, Bell Boom increases the value of items on your island. While prices for purchases will rise, you’ll also earn more from sales. Selling turnips on the stalk market might still be the best way to significantly boost your funds, but Bell Boom will help you keep your pockets lined more consistently.