Day 9: Midge Moves In

At Nook’s Cranny today, I bought a cone. It’s a traffic cone, but it’s just called a cone. (I later put it in front of Marcel’s house as a warning). I also bought two recipe packs from the Nooklings’ cabinet: “DIY for Beginners” and “Test your DIY Skills.” Better late than never, I suppose. 😛

Outside, I was quite surprised to find Harvey out walking around!

Harvey: Hey. Yeah... Hey. You live on this island?
No, I’m just shipwrecked here.

He told me about his island, saying I could now fly there from the airport. I’ll check it out later in this entry, but I wanted to make my rounds first.

I spotted another familiar place at the plaza. It was Mabel!

Mabel: No worries if you forgot, but my name's Mabel!

She plans to open up her own shop on the island. But in the meantime, she’ll stop by a couple times a week to sell clothing and accessories. Unfortunately, I wasn’t interested in anything she had today. It looked like mostly women’s clothing, aside from some steel-toed boots. That would be a funny combination to wear. 😛 But it is nice to see another NPC that’s starting to show up!

As I was banging the money rock, Louie called out to me. He apparently had another suggestion for the town, but my pockets were full (as usual).

Remember that first money tree I planted? It was fully grown now!

A money tree in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

I shook the money bags down, scoring a total of 3,000 bells. So I guess money bags actually are a way to earn money in New Horizons. In previous games, they were basically just for decoration because you would typically get less money out of them than what you put in. But still, you’ll end up with a bunch of trees you may not want if you do it every day…so I likely won’t bother with them very often.

When I visited Marcel in his house, I saw that he was crafting something. That means he would be giving me a recipe, but since my pockets were full, I went back outside to drop something. As I went out the door, he turned around to look at me, and used the curiosity (question mark) emotion. As if to say “hey, where are you going?” 😛

When I returned, he gave me a recipe for a matryoshka.

Marcel: Check it out! Plans for a matryoshka! I can teach ya if ya want!

Next, I headed over to meet my newest neighbor, Midge the bird. She instantly becomes my 2nd favorite villager (after Louie) at the moment, although she’s going to drop down to 3rd by tomorrow.

Midge: Hey, neighbor! I'm new here. My name's Midge.

Tom Nook had a new customization workshop for me today. He gave me some customization kits, which are basically credits, but they take up a space in your pockets for some reason. They allow you to change the color or style of many furniture items, just like Cyrus did in New Leaf.

Customizing a wooden wardrobe in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

As I exited his tent, I saw Louie doing some stretches in the plaza…as Harvey tried to hold his hand. (Just kidding about the last part). 😛

Louie does some stretches in the plaza in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

But that’s not all. Shari was also nearby, singing! This was the first time I’ve heard one of my animals sing.

Shari sings in ACNH.

Back at my house, Louie’s letter arrived. He sent me a public bench, but I don’t have any immediate plans to use it.

I had a tree right in front of my museum entrance, and I didn’t like it being right there. So I cut it down and planted two trees instead, on either side of the entrance.

When I went back over to Shari, she taught me the disagreement reaction. So I’ll be able to shake my head no. That’s a helpful reaction to have!

I’m still in the process of pulling my initial weeds in town, and I’m probably 90% done. But I didn’t get very far today because my pockets kept filling up. Between all the tools and crafting materials, there’s not much space left over! I know the pockets can be expanded at some point, but I hope it’s soon because it’s starting to get annoying.

After a much-needed nap, I took a plane out to Harvey’s island. He runs a photo studio called Photopia there. You can decorate the rooms of his house just for photo-taking opportunities, and you can bring in models (villagers, but you need their Amiibo cards) and choose their wardrobe. I like the concept, but I’m probably too lazy to fully decorate a room of his house just to take some photos. 😛

Harvey's photo studio.
This was the only room of the house that wasn’t completely empty.

I shot down two balloon presents today: One had a DIY recipe for a bamboo-shoot lamp, and the other was a recipe for a basket pack. I found a bottle message that gave me a recipe for firewood. Gee, I wonder what that’s made out of. 😉

If you haven’t yet seen Wi-Fi Moments #1, here it is! I hope you enjoy it!

Day 8: Friday Night Forest

I started up the game tonight to find my newly-expanded home. The Happy Home Academy sent me a gift for the occasion: a vacuum cleaner. Louie also sent me a gift in the mail, a piano bench. Tom Nook informed me my next loan will be 198,000 bells.

When I visited Louie, he was crafting in his house. He gave me a DIY recipe for a plain wooden shop sign. Nice!

After that, I went to meet my new neighbor, Marcel the clown dog. I reallllllly don’t like the clown face, but I do like the way his green fur looks for some reason.

Marcel: Oh! Nice to meet you!

At Nook’s Cranny, I saw they had party poppers for sale in the cabinet. I bought five of them.

I went over to Plot #3, and it said that it’s reserved for Midge’s new home. So I guess Midge will be the next villager to move in. Midge is alright. Not one of my favorites, but I don’t dislike her. So I’m okay with that.

But seeing the plot reminded me that I needed to craft an iron garden table for Plot #2. After I made it and put it in place, Tom Nook thanked me for completing all the plots. He gave me some fencing: 50 pieces of simple wooden fencing to mark off a yard or park. Pretty cool, although I’m not sure how I’m going to use it just yet.

At 10:00, I opened my gate for the first New Horizons version of Friday Night Forest. Bran, Marlie, Alex, Ros, Timo, T Zelda (TZ), and Benji came to visit. The process is slow, and people come one at a time, so it took about ten minutes for everyone to arrive.

My visitors all arrive.

I had four benches lined up on the beach, so I asked everyone to join me. We all took a seat, and then I dug holes in front of everyone. When the time was right, we all fell in. 🙂

Eight players fall into holes in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Alex pointed out that I had a message bottle on the beach. It was from Ellie, and it contained a DIY recipe for a wooden-block chest.

We all went around so that everyone could meet my villagers. We went to Shari’s house first, and I was surprised when I saw Benji teleport through Shari’s table! That’s right, there’s lag! And I say that as a good thing, because lag in City Folk made for some funny and entertaining moments. No joke!

Jeff: We're the eviction squad.

Next, we headed over to Louie’s house. He was still crafting, and (almost) everyone learned a new recipe from him. But the lag, combined with his hammering, made for some funny scenes. When someone spoke with him, he would turn to speak to them, and yet he kept hammering for a bit!

Louie hammers Ros in ACNH.

On the way to Marcel’s house, Alex said “Agent S? Not bad.” At first, I didn’t know what that meant…but then it hit me (like a hammer). I realized I never checked the sign on Plot #2 after completing it, so I rushed over there. Sure enough, it said Agent S was coming! YES! I know Midge will probably arrive first, but that’s okay. Agent S is the superhero that can save Forest! 😀

Anyway, we briefly said hello to Marcel, and then we went cliff climbing.

Climbing the cliffs in Forest.

We headed over to my private beach (after a brief stop at my, uh, private rock that I thought was my beach?). A couple people were tooting ocarinas.

Jeff: Who tooted?

We then had a vaulting spree near my waterfall and clifftop pond. It was surprisingly fun! 😀

Vaulting across the waterfall in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

After that, we made our way over the museum for some museum tag, which is basically hide-and-seek. I found TZ first, but she didn’t seem to want to become the seeker, so she sat on a bench. I continued on, finding Ros (and a few others) near the portholes in the aquarium.

Looking through portholes in the aquarium part of the museum.

TZ and Ros left, and David and Megan arrived. Alex was the next seeker, and it didn’t take long for Megan to be found. 😛 The game kinda dissolved into just hanging out in the museum. But Marlie said she hadn’t been found yet, so I suggested we all look for Marlie. David eventually found her.

I returned to the lobby to find almost everyone applauding for no apparent reason. It was kind of cool, and yet, kind of frightening. 😛

Lots of applauding in the museum.

I needed some fresh air after that, so we went outside and felt the breeze of a nice, relaxing, violent net fight.

ACNH net fight!

David gave me a DIY recipe for a shell bed. Thanks, David! We eventually went over to my house, which is so messy and cluttered that I don’t even want to post a screenshot. 😀 I have crafting materials all over my floor, and a poster of Vladimir (not wearing pants) on the wall. 😮

After we went outside, a message said that someone quietly left, and we all returned to the airport. I’m guessing that means someone (apparently Marlie) disconnected?

Looks like someone quietly left.

Jesse arrived, and we had a full town again. Over at the benches, Shari did her best Porter impersonation and made sure everyone was all aboard the train. 😛

All aboard!

We did the bench thing a couple more times (for those who didn’t participate earlier), and I ended the party about ten minutes after midnight. Thank you all for coming! I had a really fun time! 🙂

My old ACCF buddy Jorge wasn’t able to join in tonight, but I made a quick visit to his town Nova. I fell into a hole in his town, and I struck oil!

Jeff falls into a muddy hole.

It was raining in his town, so mud was splashing up all around me as I struggled in the pitfall! It didn’t seem like there should be that much mud!

Before long, I got disconnected. So I just returned to Forest and collected Wisp’s spirits. I asked him for something expensive, and he gave me a cardboard box. Seriously. 📦

When I ran into Shari again, she had an idea to give Forest some more personality. Apparently, this is the New Horizons equivalent of a PWP suggestion. She gave me a manhole cover to put in town…so I put it next to her house. 😛

Ros sent me an ocarina in the mail. Thanks!

My first New Horizons Wi-Fi Moments video will be posted tomorrow, and it will contain many scenes from tonight’s events. Have a great night, and Never Stop Crossing!

Day 7: Louie’s Birthday

I started off my day by crafting a slingshot. Believe it or not, I haven’t made one until now. So I’ll finally be able to shoot down those balloon presents! 🎈🎁

My town bridge is now complete, and I attended the opening ceremony for it. Yay for connecting land. 🎉

Shari, Jeff, Tom Nook, and Louie celebrate the opening of a new bridge in Forest.

Today is Louie’s birthday, so I bought a tambourine for him at Nook’s Cranny. I then headed over to the party; Louie and Shari were all dressed up for the occasion.

Louie celebrates his birthday with Jeff and Shari in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

I gave Louie the tambourine, and he seemed to enjoy it. He said we’ll be friends for life. 😛

While exploring up on my cliffs, I realized I could use the ladder even on the backs of cliffs. So this allowed me to visit my private, northern beach for the first time.

Jeff checks out his private beach in ACNH.

Near Resident Services, I shot down my first balloon present. I found a wall-mounted phone inside.

Shooting down a balloon present in Animal Crossing: New Horizons for Nintendo Switch.

After gathering materials, I started crafting furniture that I needed for the three house plots. I finished off Plot #1, and then Plot #3.

Plot 3 is finished in ACNH.

I returned to Tom Nook, and he told me we could have a new villager as soon as tomorrow! He told me the name of the villager would be posted to the sign for that plot. So I nervously headed over to the plot to see if the name was displayed yet. And…it was. I was not happy.

This spot reserved for Marcel's new home. -Nook Inc.

Marcel the clown dog is moving in! 🤡 I do not like villagers that look like clowns or mimes, and Marcel is even uglier than Shari! Ugh! Maybe I should rename Forest, and call it Clown Town. Or maybe I can craft a cannon and shoot them out of it, into the ocean.

This is starting to remind me of the early days of New Leaf Forest. Not only did my town start out with Harry (ugly), Rory (ugly), and Yuka (my mortal enemy), but then Tex (ugly) also moved in! I’m almost afraid to see who will be next.

In case you’re curious, here’s an updated version of Forest’s map:

A current map of Forest.

I spotted another balloon present and shot it down. There was a magnetic knife rack inside. Kind of risky to put knives in a balloon, isn’t it? 😉 I hung the knife rack on my wall; I may need quick access to the knives with all these clowns running around.

Wisp was in town again, so I collected his five spirits. His reward tonight was clothing, and I chose something expensive instead of something new. He gave me a pilot’s hat.

Wisp: Here, have... a pilot's hat!

Another message bottle was on the beach, and it contained a DIY recipe for a hedge standee.

I ran out of iron nuggets, so I didn’t complete Plot #2 yet. I’ll probably do that tomorrow. But I did manage to pay off my debt to Tom Nook before I ended my game for the night. My house will be bigger tomorrow.

But the most exciting thing about tomorrow is that I’ll be hosting my first Friday Night Forest! It starts at 10 p.m. Eastern (U.S.) time, which is 7 p.m. Pacific. Anyone on my friend roster is welcome. I’m not looking to add new friends now, unless it’s someone that I already know. But it should be fun, and I’m hoping to have my first Wi-Fi Moments video up on Saturday. 🙂

See you tomorrow! And Never Stop Crossing!