Animal Crossing ordinances guide: How to enact and change an ordinance (2024)

If you haven't been too distracted by the Happy Home Paradise DLC, you may have noticed that a new feature called ordinances has arrived in New Horizons with the Animal Crossing 2.0 update.

But what are these Animal Crossing ordinances, and how do you enact or change an ordinance? Those questions may well by flitting around in your head like frantic villagers running riot, but luckily we've got the answers for you further down this page.

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And so, for the ultimate skinny on Animal Crossing ordinances, keep on reading for all the essential details that will help you wrap your head around this new gameplay mechanic!

What is an ordinance in Animal Crossing?

An ordinance in Animal Crossing is basically a rule that you can set for your island - you can set an ordinance for all sorts of things, including what time your islanders wake up and how much they help you out with island maintenance. However, you can only have one ordinance active at any given time. You can't currently have multiple ordinances running at once, so choose carefully...

• Buy Animal Crossing: Happy Home Paradise DLC (£22.49 from Nintendo)

How to get ordinances in Animal Crossing

Ordinances are not in Animal Crossing when you first start the game - you have to earn this feature through gameplay! Follow the main quests in the game until you unlock Resident Services, which will bring Isabelle to your island. Once Isabelle exists in your game, she should tell you about ordinances when you update Animal Crossing to the latest version.

Animal Crossing ordinances full list and what they do

The four ordinances available in Animal Crossing: New Horizons at the time of writing are the Beautiful Island ordinance, the Early Bird ordinance, the Night Owl ordinance and the Bell Boom ordinance. This is what they all do:

• Beautiful Island ordinance: your islanders will "pitch in" with weeding, watering flowers and removing trash from the water
• Early Bird ordinance: shops will open earlier and your islanders will be more active in the mornings
• Night Owl ordinance: shops will stay open later and your islanders will be more active in the evenings
• Bell Boom ordinance: you will make more money from selling things, but prices will go up in shops as well

How to enact Animal Crossing ordinances

To enact an ordinance in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, head to the Resident Services building and speak to Isabelle. Select the option to 'Review island features' and then 'Discuss ordinances', then you will see a list of four ordinances to choose from. Select which one you want to enact and that ordinance will come into effect the following morning. Simple.

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How to change an Animal Crossing ordinance

To change an ordinance or swap to a different one, simply follow the same steps as above - speak to Isabelle in Resident Services, select 'Review island features' and 'Discuss ordinances', then pick which one you want to put into motion. It will come into effect the following morning as everyone on the island bows to your whims. Unlimited power!

Read more on Animal Crossing:

• How to get Brewster in Animal Crossing
• Animal Crossing Gyroids guide - where to find them
• How to update Animal Crossing and get the new DLC
• Animal Crossing's best and most popular villagers
• The best Animal Crossing dream islands to explore
• Animal Crossing shooting stars guide
• How to restart your game in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

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