Animal Crossing: New Leaf isn't just a game, it's a way of life! Imagine the excitement of moving to a new town, a place where you don't know anyone and can start from scratch – that's Animal Crossing! From the train journey there and meeting talking animals for the first time to building a life in your new home, the possibilities are endless. You don't just play Animal Crossing: New Leaf... you live it!


Welcome to your new home… Mayor! It may feel like a mix-up when you first arrive at the train station, but a little help from Isabelle (your secretary) and support from all the animals in town will soon make you feel right at home in the job. Put your new-found mayoral powers to good use and help turn your town into a wonderful place to live!


Whenever you play Animal Crossing: New Leaf, there's always something to do or see in your town! Whether it's a new visitor coming to say hello, a delivery waiting for you at the post office or even a special event that's also being celebrated in the real world, you'll always have a reason to stop by and see what's going on!


Don't keep your perfect town to yourself… share it with your friends too! At the station, you can either open your town up to visitors or take a trip to one of your friends' towns – up to four players can be in a town at once, giving you plenty of opportunity for fun! Set up your own fishing tournament or bug hunt, trade custom designs and fruit, introduce your citizens to your friends and much, much more. What you do is up to you!


If you and your friends fancy taking in some different scenery, you can all sail out from the town dock as a group and head for Tortimer Island. This tropical paradise is the perfect place to unwind from the stresses of being mayor – go for a swim in the ocean, catch all kinds of bugs and fish found only on the island and relax with your friends as you have fun in the sun!

You can also go on tours with your friends: a range of mini-games that are both exciting and rewarding! Work together to complete tasks and if you do well, you'll earn Tortimer Awards and medals; use the medals to buy souvenirs that you can't get anywhere else before the boat ride home! You can also go on tours alone or with other randomly-selected players over the Internet.


Using StreetPass, you can interact with other Animal Crossing: New Leaf players and have them come to your town! Check out the HH Showcase to the north of Main Street to meet them (and maybe even collect a gift!), then visit their home in one of the three HH Showcase plazas. And if you see a piece of furniture in a house that you like, no problem – most items can be ordered from the HH Showcase catalogue and delivered in the post, meaning you can add to your own personal collection too! (Only items available to buy on Main Street can be purchased; rare items cannot be ordered. Up to five items per player can be ordered in one day.)

Nintendo-created homes will also be added to the HH Showcase from time to time via SpotPass.


Once the Dream Suite is built as a public works project, you can use it to visit other towns all over the world, including those belonging to people you've never met! Lie down on the couch and drift off to a distant town – search for towns to visit by name, the special address found on a player's Town Pass Card or a random choice plucked from the dream world.

Since your visit is only a dream, nothing you do will be seen by the owner of the town... feel free to make as much of a mess as you like! And if you see a custom design that you like while you're there, talk to Wendell the walrus and he'll let you take it home to use in your own town.

You can also use the Dream Suite to upload a dream of your town to the Internet, allowing anyone in the world to visit it and see what a great town you've created!


New items are being delivered to your town all the time! Downloadable content for Animal Crossing: New Leaf allows you to receive gifts containing exclusive furniture and other items in your game for free – you just have to go and collect it!

There are two types of regularly updated free content that you can receive. To download the first, visit the post office on Main Street and talk to either Pelly or Phyllis, then select 'Ask about a present' from the menu. They'll check to see if you've got an gift waiting for you – if you do, it'll be delivered immediately! Alternatively, the second type can be received in your mailbox directly from Pete the postman; simply play the game while connected to a wireless Internet connection and if an item is available, it will be delivered. Each type of free content offers different items, so be sure to grab it all!

Free downloadable items are only available for a limited time and once they're gone, you won't be able to get them again. Make sure you grab each one while you can!

Be sure to follow the official UK Animal Crossing: New Leaf Twitter feed, where you'll see announcements of when new downloadable gifts become available.


Life in Animal Crossing: New Leaf passes by in real time, matching the world around you. When you play alters what's happening in your town – thankfully, the download version makes it easier to play at any time, day or night!

To purchase the download version, just use the outer cameras of your Nintendo 3DS or Nintendo 3DS XL system to scan the QR Code below. A wireless Internet connection is required to download software from Nintendo eShop. 1GB (8,192 blocks) of free space is required on the SD Card of your Nintendo 3DS system to save the download version.


The eShop version costs £34.99 direct from the eShop. You can also buy a code on GAME's website for £29.99.


A new life, a new Nintendo 3DS XL! With its stylish design that's both cute and cool, you can show all your friends that you love Animal Crossing by carrying this special edition handheld wherever you go! This system comes with a pre-installed download version of Animal Crossing: New Leaf, playable whenever and wherever you like – no Game Card required! The download version is also available from Nintendo eShop.



Pre-order Animal Crossing: New Leaf with GAME and you will receive an exclusive Isabelle and Town Hall Figurine Set.


Use Nintendo's free eCard mailer and welcome your friends to the world of Animal Crossing: New Leaf! Tell them how much you're looking forward to your new life as mayor, organise a get-together, let them know what you're up to or just say hello – just as you can live however you like in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, what you write is entirely up to you!


The Nintendo 3DS Image Share service makes it easy to show off special moments from your favourite games, such as Animal Crossing: New Leaf, where you can share your unique creations! Simply take a screenshot and share it directly on Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook – or all three at the same time.

Please note that you may only post images and comments using the Nintendo 3DS Image Share service. You must access your Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr accounts separately to update account information or edit and/or delete your posts.

You can also access the Nintendo 3DS Image Share website by taking a photo of this QR Code with your Nintendo 3DS Camera application.


In Europe, the Nintendo 3DS Image Share service is currently only compatible with Animal Crossing: New Leaf on Nintendo 3DS.


Read about Mayor Martin's Animal Crossing adventures on his blog!


Future has been including a free promotional brochure with subscriber copies of its magazines. You can also download it!


Mr Iwata talks to some of the developers behind Animal Crossing: New Leaf.


Isabelle brings you all the latest Animal Crossing: New Leaf news on Twitter!


Join the Animal Crossing: New Leaf Facebook community!


Make friends with other B&Bers who are getting the game! Please PM me to be added to the list.

EvilRedEye: 1590-4867-7427
optimark_prime: 1848-1651-3645
Birdorf: 4382-3173-0928
Subbax: 0387-9259-2259
Fentonizer: 2277-6738-2006
Mal0wner: 0645-5742-2145
Skondo: 3496-9948-8649
b0r1s: 5327-2209-8260
isanbard: 0361-6861-4525
cindemon: 3437-3233-9772
Mikemsp: 3668-8117-9395 (corrected 19:56 14/06/2013)
(^Updated 00:06 06/06/2013)
regmcfly: 2234-7232-9528
Hodgepodge: 0001-3575-4341
revelthedog: 0146 8922 2426
vicinity_of_pie: 5129-0990-3187
MattyJ: 4313-0452-3409
pandajimmy: 2809-8024-1882
(^Updated 20:59 12/06/2013)
@KiltedMoose: 3394-3522-4844
darkglobe: 1891-1149-0016
mk64: 3308-4584-1073 WARNING: has time travelled to the future
SpaceGazelle: 2449-5820-0894
Kow: 2449-4754-5905
mistercrayon: 1821-9693-6199
Wookienopants: 4725-7938-9169
Sasukekun: 3926-4952-0699
ZMM: 3909-7529-6498
WorKid: 4725-9249-6970
(^Updated 23:31 14/06/2013)
SLEdge: 4398-9256-7611
Tempy: 2793-1832-4451
@OiBecky: 4656-6567-3042
BtRnutlet: 0602-6313-2789
Dogfingers: 4038-6383-6798
@Krautmick234: 2750-2228-6262
(^Updated 13:38 16/06/2013)
handsofblue: 2492-5317-7523
graphure: 4527-7270-5372
Nina: 4296-4234-0289
Surveyor: 2938-6687-0011
fullspectrum: 3308-5764-4531
pc71: 3480-3585-1355
@Stevotatersdeep: 2406-5265-9366
(^Updated 23:21 18/06/2013)
Vastik: 0688-5299-4157
Raiziel: 2148-9356-2676
AndCallMeCharlie: 2878-9640-1728
(^Updated 21:39 24/06/2013)
guthrieg: 4124-5842-9568
vicinity_of_pie: 5129-0990-3187
zonipoi: 0774-4235-8747
(^Updated 21:06 30/06/2013)
JMW: 4339-2462-8343
Kazuo: 0834-1429-7666
Elmlea: 3265-5213-9206
(^Updated 20:58 07/07/2013)
Outlaw: 4313-0593-0648
MuseChick: 0533-4966-4307
(^Updated 23:07 09/07/2013)
bibidybobbidyboo: 1332-7697-2389
(^Updated 20:08 23/07/2013)
acemuzzy: 4613-7291-1486
(^Updated 14:28 08/09/2013)