Animal Crossing: New Horizons Halloween guide — Tips and tricks for Jack on October 31 (2024)

Animal Crossing is sneakily one of the best Nintendo Switch games for Halloween. There are plenty of activities to keep you busy leading up to the last day of October when Jack, the self-proclaimed "reigning Czar of Halloween," makes his appearance. Not sure what this guy's deal is? Well, we're here to tell you all about it and how to prepare to meet him.

Note: In order to participate in the Halloween festivities, Resident Services must be upgraded in your game.

How to get ready for Halloween

Here's what you should be doing throughout October to get ready for Halloween night in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. There's plenty to do making this one of the best Nintendo Switch games for Halloween.

• Buy candy every day in October: As we mentioned before, Jack will ask for treats on Halloween, and if you don't comply, he'll be unhappy. With this being the case, we recommend having a stash of at least 15 pieces of candy on your person throughout the day. The thing is, you can only purchase one piece of candy per day from Nook's Cranny, so spend the month of October adding to your candy horde.
• Grow pumpkins for DIY recipes: You can grow your own little pumpkin patch. Once you have some available, you'll be able to craft them into special Halloween decor.
• Buy candy from friend's islands. When you visit a friend's island, you can buy candy from the Nooks, even if the island's owner already bought their candy for the day.
• Get DIYs while visiting others' islands. When visiting a friend's island, check in on the resident making a DYI. If it's a recipe you already know, that resident will give you a piece of candy instead.

Animal Crossing Jack the Czar of Halloween

On October 31, players will get to celebrate Halloween festivities with their villagers and a special holiday character named Jack. Jack is a specter with a pumpkin head who has appeared in several previous Animal Crossing games.

Jack start time and date

• Date: October 31
• Time: 5:00 PM to Midnight (your local time)
• Where: Somewhere near Resident Services

Starting at 5 PM, spooky music starts to play, and a creepy atmosphere fills your island. Villagers will either decide to stay inside their homes to give out candy or will dress up and wander about outside looking for candy.

What to do on Halloween

• Dress up!: Get your avatar all dressed up using your favorite Halloween costumes and face paint.
• Have candy on you: You're going to want to give candy to Jack and your villagers, so make sure to have a decent stash on you at all times.
• Meet Jack: Jack will appear on your island near Resident Services and will ask for candy. Oblige his sweet tooth and he'll reward you with Spooky Set decorations or even a Jack costume. You'll be able to give him multiple pieces of candy as the night goes on.
• Go Trick or Treating: Starting at 5 PM, go outside and give each of your villagers candy, or ask for candy from them at their homes. Some of them might reward you with something extra special.

What happens if I don't have any candy?

If one of your villagers or Jack asks you for candy and you either don't have any candy for them or choose not to give them any, they will play a trick on you. This might include painting things on your face or swapping your clothes for something different. Then they'll likely still give you something else. So if you don't want them to play a trick on you, you should always have candy on you.

How to dress like Jack

Yes, you can acquire Jack's ensemble in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It will make for an awesome Halloween costume. Here's how to get both his robe and his head.

Tips and tricks for Halloween & Jack

• Get multiple pieces of candy from villagers: Each of your villagers will decide to either stay inside and give out candy or dress up and go looking for candy. Villagers giving out candy in their homes will hand out another piece to you every five minutes or so. To get candy from a villager outside, simply enter a building, exit, and then return to that villager to get another piece. If you're lucky, they will give you a lollipop.
• Collect lollipops for Jack: Jack loves lollipops and will reward you with special gifts for giving them to him.
  • Lollipop #1: Spooky Carriage
  • Lollipop #2: Spooky Carriage DIY Recipe
  • Lollipop #3: Spooky Wand DIY Recipe

• Jack's Animal Crossing amiibo card is now working!: Jack's Animal Crossing amiibo card can be purchased on Amazon. When players scan the card at Harvey's Island, Jack will appear for you to pose with. Have fun taking pictures with this spooky specter.
• Don't leave your candy on the ground: Ants will quickly swarm on your hard-earned candy if you drop it outside somewhere. You're going to have to put it somewhere safe or keep it in your inventory until Halloween night.
• Keep open slots in your inventory: If Jack tries to reward you with something, but you don't have room to receive his gift, then you're going to have to take time away from the Halloween activities to drop things off somewhere. Save yourself the hassle and make room before doing anything else on Halloween. We recommend having at least five slots open.

Jack's amiibo Card

If you happen to have Jack's amiibo card, you can invite him to The Roost for coffee or to Photopia for a photoshoot. If you happen to have the Animal Crossing: Happy Home Paradise DLC, you can also scan his card to create his dream getaway.

Happy haunting!

That's everything you need to know about Jack. The actual day of Halloween is an exciting one as your villagers get all dressed up and a special visitor named Jack comes to your island.

Make sure to stock up on candy throughout October, so you're ready for his arrival on October 31. Then on the day, do all you can to acquire lollipops and then give them to Jack so he rewards you with fun items.