Elves Invade Forest

Yesterday, I received my bean-tossing kit in the mail…although I’m just going to refer to them as beans. You can throw the beans, but the process isn’t as enjoyable as it was in New Leaf. The “launch” isn’t as powerful, the beans don’t go as far when you toss them, and they disappear before they hit the ground.

In New Leaf, the beans would sometimes bounce around after hitting the ground, and it was just so satisfying. Also, people and animals don’t make surprised faces when hit with beans any more. So it feels like they downgraded the beans.

I was working on my obstacle course last night, and I came to the conclusion that I needed to remove an incline to give myself enough room. So the ramp that went up to the campsite is now gone…along with the western half of the campsite area. 😛 It may return in the future, though.

Today, Rizzo informed me that he just patrolled the island for any shady characters, and he assured me that all is well. Having Rizzo watch out for shady characters is like a fox guarding a hen house.

Rizzo: I just patrolled the island for any shady characters, so you can set your mind at ease that all's well!

Apple was talking about moving out of town, but I told her to hang around town. On an apple tree.

After I came out of Nook’s Cranny, I walked towards my house…and I saw a snowball spawn on the path! It was completely on-screen and it appeared out of nowhere! I always thought that would happen just off-screen, but that’s not the case.

At about 10:00 tonight, I opened my gate for Friday Night Forest. Logan and Timo were the first to show up. We threw beans at each other, shook our new maracas, and yelled through our megaphones…all items that were newly added with the recent game update.

By 10:15, still no one else had joined in, so I let Logan and Timo make a practice run on my new obstacle course. I actually ran along with them. But as soon as we were done (Logan won), Nami came over. We talked for a bit, and then hung out in my house.

About 11:00, Xavier joined in. Fortunately, everyone had their Elf outfits. After a brief discussion about tacos, I led the four elves over to the obstacle course. The theme is holiday movies (and specials), so I tried to recreate some elements from several of them. Here’s a quick summary of what they’re based on, and what racers had to do at each place.

  • Elf: Start on a sleigh, cross a chair in an elf classroom, and “make a toy” by launching an RC helicopter.
  • Frosty the Snowman: Use a magic hat and then move through a field of snowmen.
  • Rudolph: Beware of the Abominable Snow Monster (called a “Bumble” by Yukon Cornelius) by using a vaulting pole to cross a small lake to safety. Bumbles can’t swim.
  • National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation: Use a water pump to flush away the sewage from Cousin Eddie’s RV.
  • Charlie Brown Christmas: Activate a doghouse to “pet Snoopy.”
  • Cross an ice bed (this one isn’t based on a movie, I just thought it would be a good obstacle to add).
  • A Christmas Story: “Lick the light post” by turning on the lamp.
  • Race back to the starting point. On the return trip, no tasks needed to be completed.
My holiday movie obstacle course.
My holiday movie obstacle course.

Logan was the first one back to the starting point, followed by Timo. But I thought it looked like Logan missed one of the tasks, so I checked my video to confirm it. And indeed, he missed the magic hat. It looks like he was standing beyond it and basically grabbed the side of a sign instead. Sorry Logan, but I had to disqualify you. Timo wins! The prizes were 99k bells and ten large snowflakes.

After a bit, Logan went hiding and wanted to be found, while some of us just went swimming and diving. We eventually regrouped on the northwest beach, where we sat on clams and Logan changed his appearance to look like Nami first, and then me. 😛

Hanging out on the beach by the rocks.

About midnight, Logan and Nami left. Timo, Xavier, and I admired the northern lights up in the sky.

Admiring the northern lights in ACNH.

I threw some beans in Timo’s eyes, we vaulted across the river, and then we beat up Rizzo. 😛 It was a pretty good night. About 12:30, I ended the session for the night. Thanks to all who came!

I’ll be posting my video of the obstacle course at some point this weekend, but it probably won’t be until Sunday morning. Have a good weekend everyone, and I’ll see you all next time!