My flat mushroom and Happy Home Academy Crew

Lyle:  Oh.  Your flat mushroom?  Really?  You left it on the floor of the first floor main room?   Bit controversial!  My crew?  Thought you were some kind of cutting-edge artist at first...  Realised you're just kind of messy.  Bam.  Penalty for you!  Each item on the floor?  One-point deductiion.  Hoe you understand.  Just how it works.  Ka.  Boom.  Might wanna straighten up a bit for next time.

Your place?  Interior theme?  Way to go!  My team?  Gave you big points.  Big points!  You?  Floored 'em!  Good pieces you got.  Tie together.  Tell a story.  Keep the theme.  Lotsa themed furniture in a room.  Really makes a nice scene.  My crew?  Loved it.  Felt a real... Quirky vibe.  Specifically mentioned your spooky sofa.  And a few other pieces.  Bam.  You wowed 'em.

Iguanadon model.  Worth 1,351 points.  That's a lot!  You're really impressing Ol' Lyle.

Katrina:  A special charm is yours... for only 10,000 Bells.  Are you interested?
Then, to you, I give this...  As long as you wear this special celebration hat all luck will flow the way you wish, i htink...  May you be protected by the stars of Scorpio... Farewell.

Interesting Facts of Little Consequence

Did you know that each of the Lucky Cats has its own 'Meow'? 

Squirrels and their best gifts

Cally:  Birthday is 4 September, the same as mine!

Best gifts:  Green and Formal, dislikes Sporty

Formal and Green Gifts:
  Only outfits

Formal, non Green:
  Includes all Editor Furniture, all Office Furniture and all Writing Furniture

Green, non Formal:
  All Bamboo Items, including Bamboo Wall and Bamboo Flooring

Other Recommended Gifts:

All Card Furniture, all Classic Furniture, all Exotic Furniture, all Gold Furniture, All Gorgeous Furniture, all Gracie Furniture, all Lovely Furniture, all Mermaid Furniture, all Regal Furniture


Poppy: 5 August

Favourite:  Modern and Green, dislikes Crazy

  Pointsettia

Modern, non-Green
  Includes all Gracie Furniture, all Harvest Furniture, all Chess Items, all Modern Furniture

Green, non-Crazy
  Includes all Green Furniture, all green plants

Other Recommended:
  Aurora Borealis, all Blue Furniture, all Card Furniture, all Cabana Furniture, all Exotic Furniture, Harpsichord, Princess, Ranch, Regal and Rococo

OTHER ANIMALS I LIKE
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Julian:

Introduction:  Hi, my name's Julian.  And yes, before you ask, I am a real horse.  Let's get that cleared up first.

  Favourites:  Gorgeous and Aqua
  Includes Golden, Gorgeous, Regal and Rococo

Aqua Items:
  Mermaid, Princess,

Other Recommended:
  Albine, Blue, Cabin, Card, Classic, Egg, Deer Scare, Gracie, Green, Harpsichord, Hinaningyo, all Posts


Ed 16 September

  Crazy, Black, Dislikes Old

  Recommended:  Creepy, Sleek, Sloppy, Shogi Piece, Moon, all Gorgeous, Sword, all Blue, all Cabana, all Card, all Classic, Deer Scare, Flower Table and Chair, all Golden, all Gracie, all Green, Harpsichord, all Mermaid, Mermaid Statue, Merlion
CATS AND THEIR GIFTS
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Rosie:
  Fancy, Red, dislikes Sporty
   Card, Flower and Jingles

Fancy, Not Red
  Includes:  Egg, Lovely, Mermaid, Ice, Sweets, Pave

Other Recommended:
  Blue, Classic, Cabana, Daffodil, Deer Scare, Exotic, Golden

Ankha:  22 September
  Old, Yellow, Dislikes Rock

Almost anythng Egyptian obviously:  Phonograph, Pyramid, Throne, Sphinx, Treasure Chest,
 

Other Recommended: Golden, Regal, Exotic, Ice, Jingle, Harvest, Mouth of Truth, Mermaid, Princess, Ranch, Rococo


DEER and THEIR GIFTS
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Beau
  5 April
  Favourites:  Safe and Beige, hates Rock

  Safe, non Beige
  Includes:  Blue, Green, Classic, Ranch,

  Other Recommended:

   Sweets Furniture, Flower Table and Chair, Gorgeous, Golden, Gracie, Ice, Mermaid
  Taiko Drum, all Chess Pieces, Tanuki Wall Clock, Harpsichord, Potted Ivy

WOLVES and THEIR GIFTS

Kyle: 6 December:

Rock and Grey, Dislikes Gorgeous

Other Recommended:
   All Pots, Drums, Creepy, Classic, Cabana, Exotic, Ayers Rock, Card, Mermaid, Ranch, Shogi Piece, Ebony Piano, Sitar, Sweets, Tiki Torch, Black Katana, Pagoda, Moon, Mouth of Truth, Asteroid

Island Items Prices

There are no comprehensive Island price guides anywhere on the internet, including the very good Thonky site, so I thought I would add them as I see them:

Sanshin: 40 Medals

Ukelele: 30 Medals

Mermaid Furniture: 40 Medals each

Cabana Furniture: 40 Medals each

Treasure Chest: 150 Medals

Whirlpool Bath: 70 Medals

Island Kitchen: 30 Medals

Beach Table: 30 Medals

Diver Dan: 60 Medals

Wet Suits: 40 Medals  (Think this is true of all colours)

Straw Hat: 15 Medals

Captain's Hat: 15 Medals

Sailor's Hat: 15 Medals

Wave Breaker: 35 Medals

Life Preserver: 20 Medals

Life Ring: 20 Medals ?

Captain's Hat: 20 Medals

Hibiscus Hairpin: 20 Medals

Tropical Floor: 100 Medals

Assuming that the Tropical Vista costs 100 Medals as well but will confirm.

Where have all the Nintendo Hot Zones gone???

Nintendo has opened the floodgates to rare items that only were available previously in Japan but at the same time, all the Hot Zones that once existed appear to be no more.  I made a rather shameful visit to the local McDonald's in order to obtain a rare item from Nintendo only to find there were NO access points.  I went then to Starbuck's with my daughter only to discover the same sad reality.  At least she bought me a delicious frozen drink they call a frappuccino.  Really lovely but hideously overpriced.

I strongly suggest that Nintendo make these items available instead at our local post offices within our games because fewer and fewer players are playing New Leaf and it is terribly depressing to be offered a rare item one then cannot obtain either for love nor money.  Nintendo always has had my utmost respect for the sturdy game consoles and handheld systems they make as well as the games they produce.  Back in the day, they even made systems that always were 'backwards-compatible' which was even better, because it showed that they knew that their old games were as worthwhile to keep playing as the new ones and moreover, that they weren't using cheap tricks simply to force people to buy a new system.

At the same time that Nintendo is inundating players within the game with announcements of special items available at Hot Zones, ALL of the Hot Zones are gone.  Even Best Buy no longer operates as a Nintendo Hot Spot.  I contacted every single local business that was listed on the official Nintendo site only to discover that this option is DEFUNCT.

How foolish and counterproductive is that???  On the plus side, the announcement that StreetPass would be available for players throughout the world for a week did appear to be true as I received hits from players in the Netherlands and France.  Why limit this to a week though?

Now, however, with the popularity of the 'smart phone' and the 'tablet' and a proliferation of online games, Nintendo is hurting financially.   It is pointless to make rare items available theoretically if you cannot renew your contracts with the places that once offered Hot Zones.  Please do reconsider this strategy one way or another.

Purchases from Villagers

I do not think you increase your friendship level with your Animal Neighbours by purchasing furniture or other items from them.  Often the prices are very inflated as well.  The reason I doubt that friendship increases is because you do not hear the little jangle that accompanies any action that raises friendship.

Why then should you purchase anything that an Animal offers?  First of all, sometimes they offer items from Redd that they purchased 'at the station' from a shifty looking fox.  Those items can be fakes and there is no way to tell before you purchase them but often they are genuine as well.  If you lack the item for your Art Museum, it is worth the gamble to purchase it.

Secondly, if the Animal is selling something that you have not added to your Catalogue yet, it makes sense to purchase it even at an inflated price.

Other than that, I do not think there is much reason to make a purchase that does not benefit you in the least.  Furthermore, there are occasions where the Animal offers the item for sale and, when you refuse, simply will make a gift of it to you.

Good friends randomly give Gifts.

Amelia:  You deserve a reward for putting up with me.  You always stick by me despite, you know, how fussy I can be.  So thanks, Princess.

Weeding Day

Weeding Day is one of the most frustrating events in New Leaf.  It occurs on different days in different lands but, in North America, it is the first Friday in April.   On that day, Leif will shut his little stall or shop, depending on how many upgrades your village has had in that department, and will stand in the middle of your square below the Tree.  When you speak to him, he will tell you to pull weeds and will give you, when asked, the total number of Weeds in your village.  When all the Weeds have been pulled, he will give you a special prize in the form of one item from his furniture series.

Here is the difficulty, however:  In New Leaf, you can enact a Town Ordinance to make your village 'beautiful'.  A Beautiful Village is one where few weeds grow, no flowers wither and no cockroaches invade your homes, however many days or weeks or even months you have been absent from said home.  It is my favourite ordinance and most players probably agree.

Even with the Beautiful Ordinance, a few weeds will sprout.  From experience in other Animal Crossing games, I instinctively would pull a weed whenever i encountered one.  Only for the sake of having weeds on the ground for Weeding Day did I desist... but lo and behold, after counting at least a dozen weeds the night before Weeding Day, when the day actually dawned, not a single Weed could be found!

If there are NO Weeds, Leif will unlock three new topiaries for your list of Projects.  This is nice, but not as valuable as his furniture.

Enormously frustated by the fact that, after saving my Weeds, they had disappeared, I was thrilled to discover that, even if your primary Character as Mayor is told that the topiaries have been unlocked instead of receiving a furniture gift, ALL OTHER CHARACTERS WILL BE GIVEN FURNITURE!!!

I did not realise this in my first village, alas, so lost the opportunity to gain three pieces of furniture.

In my first town, unfortunately, I went the traditional route initially, cancelling the beautiful Ordinance and thereby allowing weeds to proliferate while all my hybrid flowers withered or vanished and ultimately, cockroaches appeared in every home.  Not worth the effort!!!

Now I simply will count on the three subsidiary characters to obtain furniture from the series.
There is another problem, however, and this one has to do with AC Luck.  As with Saharah, the Golden Furniture, Redd's Gallery and every other situation where you can obtain items that cannot be bought in any shop, there are certain items that are 'common' and others that are 'rare'. 

In Leif's series, the common items include: Cosmos Fan, Violet Screen, Rose Sofa and Lily Record Player.  No matter how many times I reloaded, I kept receiving the same items.  If you have Katrina ensconced in her own place on Main Street, you can improve your luck somewhat but I keep missing her and she therefore only comes to the Square on occasion still.  Meanwhile, I have more than one of each of the 'common' items and do not have the others.

Some Surprising Custom Furniture Options from Cyrus

Having played all the Animal Crossing games so far, I probably tend to assume certain facts.  This can be helpful but it can lead to some holes in my knowledge...  It is only by taking furniture into the Re-Tail Shop that you sometimes find new options.  For example, I only recently discovered that furniture that is given by Leif on Weeding Day can be customised.  Here are some of those options:

Rose Sofa:
  Change colour to White or Yellow

Violet Screen:
  Change colour to White or Blue

Lily Record Player:
  Change colour of flower to Yellow or Red.

Furniture purchased in the Museum Shop obviously can be customised but I did not know that the Museum Chair could be changed.  It is not very interesting but the following can be done:

Museum Chair:
  Change colour to Black

More surprising was the discovery that some of Gracie Grace's special furniture can be customised.  Where the Card Series is concerned, you can change the back of the Card that forms the basis of each piece as follows:

Card Furniture:
  Change colour of the back of the card from Red to Black.  N.B.  Not very attractive!  I had thought it would be the white background that would change which would have offered a nice contrast.

No surprise to veteran players but still one of my favourite options is the colour change that is available for the gorgeous Rococo Furniture.  (sic: game spelling) You can change the trim as follows:

Rococo (sic)  Furniture:
  Change trim to Gothic White, Gothic Yellow or Gothic Black
  Note that these colours are far more lovely than they appear to be.  Gothic White actually is Pink.  Gothic Black actually is Lavender.  Yellow is gold.

Ranch Furniture:
  Surprisingly, a change of colour in the wood makes an entirely different type of furniture.  The wood colour can be changed to:
  Beige or White

When pieces like the Table are changed to white, they match perfectly with the Regal Series, incidentally.

Alpine Furniture:
   This was a surprise to me as although I liked some of the pieces, I never filled any room with this series.  I discovered, however, that it is one of the MOST versatile of the furniture series in terms of refurbishment.

First, you can change the colour of the wood either to Beige or Dark Brown.  Then you can change the pattern either by choosing one of Cyrus' options, or using a piece of clothing or a custom design.  Really an amazing number of options.  I experimented with some of Cyrus' suggestions but they all were very modern.  I found ultimately that the use of the Noodle Tee with beige wood was quite attractive.  When you use clothing, however, you must have an item of clothing for every piece of furniture you refurbish.  This is a little annoying as it involves a great deal of ordering and receiving in your post box.

Cyrus' suggestions for patterns are:  Square, Rain, Wave, Leaf, Mechanical, Modern, Tree.  The tree is one of the worst, as it is nothing more than a single shape that resembles a candle flame in the centre of the fabric.  Some players may like his suggestions but I did not care for them.

In using clothing, I thought the tie-dye might be pretty but did not care much for the result.  The Noodle Tee really is lovely.  I think the lace tank might be pretty as well.

Another favourite of mine is the ability to make tiny models of all the Dinosaurs.  This is not financially profitable to the player but it is not only a way to place favourite Dinosaurs on tables in your house without using tremendous amounts of space but a way to use the fossils once you have completed the Museum collection.  Note, however, that a Dinosaur such as the Diplo, with five parts, costs almost 10,000 Bells to reduce to a Model.

Ordinary Furniture:

Chaise Lounge:
  Pink, Brown

Golf Clubs:
  Green, Red or Black for the colour of the Bag

Cushion:
  An amazing array of possibiilities.  One can use Cyrus' list, use any Custom design or use any item of clothing.  A friend of mine created a Japanese teashop with cushions that all used different Asian designs from clothing items

Claw-foot Tub:
  Pink, Blue, Beige, Marble

Ores:
xxxxx

Note that many pieces can be customised using Ores, including the items received from the Post Office as Rewards, such as the Piggy Bank.

April Fool's Day

Once upon a time, I believe that I wrote the longest, most definitive guide for Animal Crossing.  It was more than 250 pages and contained every bit of information I could cram into it.   Now there are many excellent sites on the internet with information about every aspect of the game.  I therefore only will give a few tips to the game on my site, trusting that players will be able to find the details they seek about most aspects of the game elsewhere.

It is fitting to post about April Fool's Day on April Fool's Day.  I have experienced this event a few times now.  It is primarily an opportunity to obtain the picture or 'pic' of every Villager without too much trouble.  You can begin the game early in the morning by finding Blanca in the Square.  Speak to her and she will declare her intention of performing pranks of professional quality.  Remember Blanca?  She is the cat with the blank face who once wandered from village to village asking players to draw a face for her.   It makes sense that she would be able to impersonate any villager.

To play the game, you need to enter a Villager's house.  A Villager is at home if you can see smoke emanating from the chimney.  I found it very entertaining to discover that Kyle, a Wolf 'rock star' had star-shaped smoke coming from his chimney when he was at home.

Enter and if you have chosen the right house, you will see double in effect, two of the same Animal puffing and huffing, facing one another.  You then have to choose which is the imposter by handing that individual a washcloth to wipe off the disguise.  If you have chosen correctly, Blanca will appear, perform a little twirl and disapppear in a puff of smoke, indicating her intention of playing the same prank with another villager.

The genuine Neighbour then will give you a picture or 'pic' of himself/herself.

Tabby:  Now I know you actually listen to me when I talk!  I'll give you this picture of me as a special thanks!

You will have to judge based on the Villager's family tree, birthday, motto or ambition in life.  Easiest is the birthday or motto.  I do not quite understand how players could remember the family tree of any Animal, even if that Animal ever divulged it!

Tabby: third of five children, born on 13 August

Luck in New Leaf

Luck is always an interesting aspect of any Animal Crossing game.  Good Feng Shui contributes to good luck but there are many different types of luck and a visit to the fortuneteller Katrina can let your character know what really is going on in your life.  She will offer a partial solution in the form of an accessory or item of apparel that either will increase your good luck or partially negate bad luck. 

There are five types of luck:  Money Luck, Friendship Luck, Love Luck, Item Luck and Physical Luck.

Money Luck operates as follows:

Good Money Luck:  Money Rocks drop more Bells and Villagers give you more Bells as well.

Bad Money Luck:  Money Rocks drop fewer Bells and Villagers give you fewer Bells as well.

Friendship Luck:

Good Friendship Luck:  It is easier to increase your friendship level with Villagers of your gender and you will experience more special dialogues with them.
Bad Friendship Luck:  It is more difficult to increase your friendship Level with Villagers of your gender and you will be able to initiate fewer special dialogues.

Love Luck:

Good Love Luck:  It is easier to win points with Villagers of the opposite gender and you will be able to experience more special dialogues with Villagers of the opposite gender.

Bad Love Luck:  It is harder to increase points with Villagers of the opposite gender and you will be able to experience fewer special dialogues with them.

Items Luck:

To me, this is one of the most important forms of Luck as it deals with the special Items given out at Festivals or by special Visitors.

Good Items Luck:  More likely to obtain exclusive items from Saharah or the rare items from Leif at the end of the Weed Day pulling.  More new items given at any special Festival or Contest as well as from Fortune Cookies, Easter, Fireworks Festival and so on.  More new seashells appear on the Beach.

Bad Items Luck:  Far less likely to obtain exclusive Walls and Carpets from Saharah, the rare items from Leif and less likely to obtain new items at any Festival, Contest, in any Fortune Cookie and fewer new shells on the Beach.

So you see how important Items Luck can be as some of these Contests or games occur only once in a year.

Physical Luck: 

Good Physical Luck  Encounter fewer jellyfish when diving, fewer mosquitoes and bees will move more slowly when flushed out of a tree.

Bad Physical Luck:  Encounter more jellyfish, more mosquitoes, bees move to strike more swiftly and your character will trip and fall frequently.  Moreover, to his/her utter chagrin, a seat will make a squelching noise when he/she sits!