How to Play Monopoly: Animal Crossing New Horizons (Rules and Instructions)

When Animal Crossing New Horizons first released on Nintendo Switch it immediately became a pretty big hit. With how many new Monopoly games are released each year, it is not surprising that Monopoly: Animal Crossing New Horizons was made. As the idea of trying to bankrupt your friends doesn’t really fit the relaxed laid back feel of the video game, changes had to be made to the main Monopoly gameplay. Instead of trying to bankrupt the other players, you are trying to obtain the most Nook Miles by purchasing Decorations for your house and completing other objectives.

Year: 2021 | Publisher: Hasbro | Designer: NA | Artist: NA

Genres: Economic, Family, Roll and Move

Ages: 8+ | Number of Players: 2-4 | Length of Game: 45-60 minutes

Difficulty: Light | Strategy: Light | Luck: High

Components: gameboard, 4 Character Tokens, 4 Skill Cards, 35 Decoration Cards, 14 Chance Cards, 14 Nook Miles Cards, 160 Resource Chips, 40 Five-Bell Coins, 54 Bell Coins, 40 Player Markers, 1 numbered die, 1 Nook’s Cranny die, instructions

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Objective of Monopoly: Animal Crossing New Horizons

The objective of Monopoly: Animal Crossing New Horizons is to acquire the most Nook Miles.

Setup for Monopoly: Animal Crossing New Horizons

Choose someone to be the banker. Separate the Bells and Five-Bell Bags into two different piles.
Each player will receive five Bells and one Five-Bell Bag.
Shuffle the Chance, Decoration, and Nook Miles cards separately. Place each deck on the corresponding spaces on the board.
Take the top three cards from the Decoration deck and place them face up on the three corresponding spots on the board.
Separate the Resource Tokens by their type and color. Randomize each group of tiles. Place each pile by their corresponding space (color and resource) on the gameboard. The tokens should be placed where the numbers are face down.
Place the four Skill cards by the GO space.
Each player will choose a character and place it on the GO space. They will also take the corresponding Player Markers.
The players will take turns rolling the number dice. Whoever rolls the highest number will get to start the game. Play will continue clockwise (left).

Playing Monopoly: Animal Crossing New Horizons

You will begin your turn by rolling both of the dice.

Dice Roll in Monopoly: Animal Crossing New Horizons — This player has rolled both of the dice. They have rolled a three and an apple. The player will move three spaces and have the opportunity to sell apples.

The number you rolled on the number die determines how many spaces you will move your character. You move clockwise around the board. Depending on where you character lands, you will take an action (see the Board Spaces section below).

Movement in Monopoly: Animal Crossing New Horizons — The purple player rolled a three so they moved their character three spaces on the board.

You will then look at the symbol you rolled on the Nook’s Cranny die. This symbol will determine which of your resources you can sell. For more information check out the Selling Resources section.

At this point your turn will end. Pass the dice to the player on your left who will take the next turn.

Monopoly: Animal Crossing New Horizons Board Spaces

Islands

The property spaces from the original Monopoly game have been replaced with islands in Monopoly: Animal Crossing New Horizons.

The first player to land on each island is credited with discovering it. They will place one of their Player Markers on the space to show that they discovered the island.

Discovering an Island — The purple player was the first player to land on this island. They will place one of their Player Markers on the space to indicate that they discovered it.

They will also take the top Resource token from the pile corresponding to the space they landed on.

Taking a Resource Token — The purple player discovered this island so they will get to take the top resource token from the pile.

You can look at the back of your own Resource Tokens at any time, but you shouldn’t show the other players.

Resource Value — This brown apple token is worth two coins if you sell it to the bank.

The next time a player lands on an island, the player who lands on the space will take a corresponding Resource Token. The player that discovered the island will also take one of the tokens. If there is only one Resource Token left for the space, the player that just landed on the island gets to take it. When there are no tokens left, neither player gets to take one. If the player that originally discovered the island lands on it again, they will get to take two Resource Tokens.

Landing on a Discovered Island — The green player has landed on this island. The island has already been discovered by the purple player. The green player will get to take the top brown apple token. The purple player will then get to take the next brown apple token.

GO

When you pass or land on the GO space, you will get to take a number of different actions.

The first time you pass GO you will get to choose a Skill Card. These cards give you a special ability that you can use for the rest of the game. Each player will only get to take one Skill Card. Once you have chosen a card, you will place it face up in front of you.

Skill Card in Monopoly: Animal Crossing New Horizons — A player has passed go. They will get to choose one of these four Skill cards. The chosen card’s effect will aid them throughout the rest of the game.

Each time you land on/pass the GO space, you will get to shop at Nook’s Cranny. Before looking at the shop, you will take the action corresponding to the space that you landed on.

You can then look at the Decoration cards face up in the middle of the table. Each card has a cost printed on it as well as a Nook Miles value. Nook Miles will determine the winner at the end of the game.

Browse Shop in Monopoly: Animal Crossing New Horizons — The current player has three different options for Decoration cards that they can purchase. They can purchase the Snow Globe, Frozen Arch, and/or the Iron Garden Table.

If you would like to purchase a Decoration card you will pay the bank the number of Bells printed on the card. You will then place the card in front of you. You may buy as many Decoration cards as you want on your turn.

Purchasing a Decoration Card — This player has decided to purchase the Frozen Arch. The card will cost them 20 coins. They will place the card in front of themselves for the rest of the game.

When you are finished shopping or there are no Decoration cards left, draw from the top of the Decorations deck to fill in empty spaces on the board. Your turn will then end.

Refilling the Store — The current player purchased two Decoration cards from the store. Two new cards will be drawn to fill in the two empty spaces.

Chance

When you land on a Chance space, you will draw the top card from the corresponding deck.

You will read the card out loud and take its action immediately. After taking the action you will return the card to the bottom of the deck.

If you owe Bells due to a Chance card but can’t afford it, you can sell Resource Tokens back to the bank for the value printed on the back of the token. You can sell as many tokens as you want, and you don’t have to roll the Nook Cranny’s die to determine which you can sell. Any tokens you sell will be returned to their corresponding pile.

If you can’t sell enough resources to pay the cost of the card, you don’t have to pay the card’s cost.

Nook Miles

When you land on a Nook Miles space, you will draw the top card from the corresponding deck. These cards are not read out loud. You can choose to complete these cards at any time before the end of the game.

Some of the cards will give you the opportunity to trade Resource Tokens for Nook Miles. When you want to redeem the card, turn in the corresponding number of Resource Tokens to their corresponding space. These tokens will be placed on the bottom of their corresponding pile. You will then flip over the Nook Miles card. This card will stay face up for the rest of the game. It will reward you with the corresponding number of Nook Miles at the end of the game.

Nook Miles Card — This player has given four fossils to the bank to complete this Nook Miles card. The tiles will be returned to their corresponding space. The player will then keep this card in front of them for the rest of the game. The card will be worth ten Nook Miles at the end of the game.

Other cards will require you to pay Bells to either gain or avoid losing Nook Miles. These cards are turned face up when you acquire them. When you pay the bank the corresponding number of Bells, you will flip them over.

Dodo Airlines

Landing on this space allows you to move to another space of your choice. You will choose a space between your current space and the next Dodo Airlines to move your character to. You will then take the action corresponding to the space you moved to. If you pass GO, you will have the opportunity to purchase Decoration cards from the store.

Free Parking

When you land on Free Parking, you take no special action.

Just Visiting

When you land on Just Visiting, you take no special action.

Go To Jail

Players who land on this space will move their character immediately to the Jail space. They will not pass GO and won’t get to shop at the store. Their turn ends immediately.

While in jail you can still collect and trade Resource tokens.

There are two ways to get out of Jail.

You can pay five Bells at the start of your turn. You will then take a normal turn.
You can roll the number die. If you roll a six, you will get to leave Jail for free. You will then take a normal turn. If you don’t roll a six your turn ends.

You can try to roll a six for three turns. If you fail three times, you will get out of Jail for free. You will then take a normal turn.

Selling Resources

Depending on what you roll on the Nook’s Cranny die, you will have the opportunity to sell one type of Resource Token each turn.

If you roll a bug, fish, fossil, or fruit; you will be able to sell the corresponding Resource Tokens. You can sell as many tokens as you want of that type. Each tokens is worth Bells equal to the number printed on the back. When you sell the tokens, you will receive money from the bank. You will then return the Resource Tokens to their corresponding piles. The tokens will be placed on the bottom of the pile.

Selling Resources — This player rolled the apple symbol. This allows them to sell these three apple tokens.

If you roll a wild, you can choose one type of resource to sell. You can sell as many tokens as you want of the chosen resource.

You can also choose to buy, sell or trade resources with other players at any time.

Monopoly: Animal Crossing New Horizons End of Game

When a player purchases their seventh Decoration card, the end game is triggered. No player may purchase more than seven Decoration cards. The player that purchased their seventh Decoration card will stop on GO and will take no more turns.

End of Game in Monopoly: Animal Crossing New Horizons — This player has acquired seven different Decoration cards. This has triggered the end game.

The rest of the players will continue playing the game. When each player reaches GO they will stop moving. They will have one last opportunity to purchase Decoration cards. They will then take no more turns for the rest of the game..

The game ends after each player has reached the GO space and have had a chance to buy Decoration cards.

Each player will then add up their Nook Miles as follows:

You will earn the Nook Miles printed on each Decoration card that you purchased.
You will receive the corresponding Nook Miles for any Nook Miles cards that you successfully completed.
You will lose Nook Miles for any Nook Miles card that has a penalty that you didn’t pay off.

Final Score in Monopoly: Animal Crossing New Horizons — One of the players acquired the following cards during the game. They will score 200 Nook Miles from their Decoration cards (40 + 30 + 20 + 30 + 20 + 20 + 40). They also completed the three Nook Miles cards at the bottom. They will score 20 Nook Miles from the cards. They earned a total of 220 Nook Miles in the game.

The player that acquired the most Nook Miles will win the game.