Animal Crossing: New Horizons starts you off with two villagers. At some point in time, you’ll want to increase this number. The game allows you to have a maximum amount of 10 villagers per island and this guide will show you how to get them to move in.
There are five ways to make villagers move to your island.
One of the first ways you’ll recruit a villager in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is through Mystery Islands. Go to the banking machine at the Town Hall and purchase a Nook Mile Ticket. After, go to Dodo Airport at the bottom of the island and travel to a Mystery Island.
Normally, a random villager will appear that you can recruit on the island. If you wish to recruit them, talk to them and ask them to move in.
After building the Town Hall up from a tent, Tom Nook will sell plots of land for 10,000 Bells each. You’re given the freedom to place the construction sites for future buildings anywhere on the island.
Eventually, a random villager will move into the location where you chose if you have not asked a specific villager you met through alternative means to move in.
Eventually, you’ll have to place a Campsite on your island. Random villagers will occasionally drop by your island and you can go to the campsite to recruit them. To recruit them, you must pay Tom Nook 10,000 bells and reserve a plot of land on the island.
Go back to the Campsite and talk to the villager you want to recruit until they mention that they would like to move in. Accept and they should move into your island the following day.
If a villager is packing up to leave a friend’s island you visit, you can also recruit them to your island. Visit the friend through the friend list or dodo code, talk to them and invite them to your island so that they move into your island. Make sure you purchased a plot of land from Tom Nook for 10,000 bells at your island’s Town Hall or free up space before doing this. This method is how players trade villagers in the game.
Although not a free method, Amiibo cards are another option that can be used to recruit specific villagers to your island. To use the Amiibo card, go to the Town Hall on your island and choose the Amiibo option via the banking machine.
