12 tips for starting Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

This one time, at Pocket Camp…

It’s been a long wait, but after teasing us for a year and a soft launch down under, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is finally available for players worldwide. I’ve been at it for a month now and I think it’s a darn good mobile game. Players who have enjoyed the Animal Crossing series thus far should have no problem finding their footing with Pocket Camp and its eccentricities.

However, even if you’re a veteran of the series, there are still some aspects of game you might be unfamiliar with. So, allow me to help you with your first week in the game with this list of tips I’ve learned over the past month:

• Tip #1: ABC: Always Be Checking (to see if anyone needs help accessing Shovelstrike Quarry).
• Tip #2: Link up to your MyNintendo account and use the Leaf Tickets reward to unlock the second crafting slot. Otherwise, save your tickets for future exclusive items you may want. Some people might say it’s also worth it to expand your carrying capacity using Tickets, but that is slowly expanded as you level up. Best to play for a day or two to decide if you need to spend tickets that way.
• Tip #3: If you go over 10 of one item, start selling it.
• Tip #4: Save your nets and honey. You get one free of each. Wait until you’re having trouble catching a specific fish or bug to use them.
• Tip #5: Check the crafting time before you start. It’s easy to miss. Craft the quick items first and save the longer items for overnight or anytime you don’t expect you’ll be playing the game.
• Tip #6: The Market Box is not storage. If you put something in it, you can either sell it to another user or lose it. Items placed in the Market Box are not sold individually!!
• Tip #7: Log in everyday (obviously).
• Tip #8: Befriend everybody who shows up in your game. The more friends, the more likely it is you’ll find people to help you enter Shovelstrike Quarry.
• Tip #9: When you change camper style, your paint style will not carry over. You can go back to your old style if you miss it by getting your camper painted again with the style you unlocked. You don’t have to take out a loan when you change the camper style, only when you expand the interior.
• Tip #10: If you want a campground you can easily move around in, objects need at least one full tile space of separation to allow you to walk between them.
• Tip #11: There is a good chance you might not care for the game after your first day. Day one serves two purposes: to introduce you to the structure of the mobile title and to clearly show you its limitations and restrictions. From day two on, it’s all about adjusting your play schedule to match that found in the game for maximum enjoyment. Characters move around and think of new requests in three-hour intervals. Fruit regrows in three hours. Use this knowledge to your advantage to get the most progress daily without spending any money.
• Tip #12: We’re all in this together, so let’s agree to be nice to one another and help our fellow campers. With real money you can make this game work for you, but it’ll take a village to make the experience as wonderful as possible for those who choose not to or simply don’t have the spare cash to drop on a mobile game. Help people out by using your Market Boxes to their full potential. It may not make you rich but it can free up some valuable space in your inventory and may just help a friend complete a request. Check your friend lists to see if anyone needs help. Visit a campsite and give them kudos even if their designs suck. Let’s embrace the spirit of the series and put Animal Crossing’s chief lesson on the value of community to work. Together, we can Make Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Great For The First Time, or MACPCGFTFT.