Animal Crossing: amiibo And Harv's Island - How To Use amiibo In New Horizons

Let's face it — many of us Animal Crossing fans made a fairly significant financial investment in Animal Crossing amiibo cards and amiibo figures during the New Leaf days. We then held onto our hoards, hoping they would come in handy once the mythical new Switch game released.

So, now that Animal Crossing: New Horizons has arrived on the scene, are we able to put those tens (or hundreds) of amiibo cards and figures to good use?

• Every Animal Crossing Amiibo Card For New Horizons And New Leaf

Yes — and in fact, you can do even more with them in New Horizons than in New Leaf. So dust off those multiple Isabelle amiibo on your shelf, because we took the time to scan every single character for you - yes, every one - and we'll walk you through all of their functionalities, step-by-step.

If you're after information about Cyrus, Reese and Wedding Season, you'll want to check out our Wedding Season guide.

Amiibo functionality in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

So far, there are five different functionalities for amiibo cards and figures in Animal Crossing: New Horizons:

• Set up photo shoots with models by scanning amiibo on Harvey's Island
• Purchase posters of scanned Animal Crossing amiibo in Nook Shopping at the Nook Stop kiosk
• Invite amiibo characters to visit your campsite on your island
• Invite visiting campers from these amiibo to move to your island
• Invite villagers for coffee in The Roost

Setting up photo shoots with amiibo models on Harvey's Island

Which amiibo can you invite to photo shoots on Harv's Island? Most of the general and "Welcome Amiibo" Animal Crossing-specific cards and figures can be invited to your photo shoots - with the following exceptions (we bet functionality for others could be added in the future):

• Non-Animal Crossing-specific amiibo (that's right — no Epona or Inkwell... for now)
• Villager from Smash (although this is an Animal Crossing amiibo from the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate line - and it was interactive in New Leaf - Villager cannot come to photo shoots)
• Sanrio "Welcome Amiibo" cards (although we really wanted to do a photo shoot with Marty and his hat...)
• Some special (SP) character figures and cards (including Digby, Resetti, and any other characters who have yet to make an appearance in the game)

How many amiibo can you invite at once to a photo shoot? Feel free to scan up to 10 of your amiibo into the picture party!

What can you do with the amiibo once they've arrived at the shoot? Although we have yet to set up many photo shoots, it's clear there is a lot of creative freedom here. From dressing up the characters, to positioning them on sets, to giving them emotions, we're sure we'll see some fantastic photos from players in the future. Unfortunately, these models are essentially ghosts of their characters, and cannot be interacted with directly by your player.

From Harv's Island, you can also unlock posters of each of the scannable amiibo - even some of those characters who can't come to the shoots - and purchase them for display in your home. And let us tell you - the designs are awesome, we want them all.

Unlocking & purchasing posters of amiibo characters at Nook Stop

Can you get anything from the amiibo that can't be invited to the photo shoots? As we mentioned, most scannable Animal Crossing-specific amiibo - even some that are un-invitable to photo shoots or your campground - will unlock unique (and adorable) posters of themselves for purchase via Nook Shopping at the Nook Stop kiosk (located in either Nook's tent, or your Town Hall).

For example - our beloved Sanrio amiibo cards (which we dearly hope will have more added functionality in the future) can still unlock some of the cutest posters of the bunch at your kiosk when scanned at Harvey's Island. Yes, we plastered them all over the walls of our house.

Inviting visitors to your island campsite via amiibo

How do you invite amiibo characters to your island? Ah, the Golden Trout of amiibo questions. And just like catching a Golden Trout, this one takes some patience.

In order to invite your favourite characters directly to your island in full interactive glory, you must first build a campsite. Once you've got a functioning campsite, you must wait for one random camper to visit (in our testing, this usually only takes a day). We recommend going through the motions to have them move onto your island - not only does this help move the game forward, but we're fairly certain it's required in order to access amiibo functionality for your campsite.

After going through this process, Tom Nook should mention to you that amiibo functionality has been added to the Nook Stop kiosk. The next time your campsite is empty, head to Nook Stop and scan in one of your favorite villagers - immediately after which, they should appear at your campsite. It should be noted that only one villager can visit your campsite per day.

Which amiibo can be invited to the campsite? Again, not all amiibo can be invited to camp on your island. Most of the general and "Welcome Amiibo" cards can be invited. Below are the amiibo which cannot be invited:

• Non-Animal Crossing-specific amiibo (again, hopefully those Zelda and Splatoon crossovers will be added back in the future)
• Villager from Smash (while the game will detect this Animal Crossing character, he isn't available for photo shoots or campsite visits)
• Sanrio "Welcome Amiibo" cards (fingers crossed we'll see these villagers again down the line)
• Special character figures and cards (while some, such as Isabelle, will scan in and appear with a message, others will not be available to scan at all - and none of the special characters can visit your campsite)

(For more on how to get more villagers to move to your island, check out our guide!)

Inviting campsite visitors to live on your island

So - once you've got your favourite villager camping on your island, how do you convince them to move in? This is where your patience will truly be put to the test. With any of the amiibo characters you scan to your campsite, it will take three separate tries - a minimum of three days in the game - to get them to move in.

And that's not all it takes. On each of those days, you'll need to follow multiple steps to get to the point of asking them to move in - be prepared to get turned down on the first two tries.

Each day, the process is similar: begin by speaking to the villager a couple of times until you trigger their request to craft them an item. The bonus here is that you'll get a new recipe each time (unless you've already learned the recipe for the item they're requesting).

Craft the item they want before the day is through, as they'll move out the very next day. Give them their item, and then talk to them a few more times - eventually, you'll get the opportunity to ask them to move in. Again, the first two days you ask them to move, they'll decline - but they'll also allude to the fact that they would like to continue visiting.

Finally, on the third day of furniture-making servitude and humble begging, they'll accept your invitation to move in. We recommend ensuring you purchase a lot from Tom Nook and set it up for their arrival prior to this exchange, to ensure they have a place to move in.

While time-consuming, this process is handy both for stocking your island full of your favourite characters, as well as moving closer to unlocking K.K. Slider and the Island Designer Terraforming app.

Of course, the maximum number of villagers who can live on your island - not including yourself or special characters - is 10. If you go through this process after you've hit your limit, you'll have the option to ask one of your existing villagers to move out and make space for this newcomer - but that's up to you, Resident Representative!

Which amiibo do you plan to use first at your campsite or Harv's Island? Will you invite your favorite villagers, or let fate decide your neighbors? Let us know in the comments!

This article is part of our Animal Crossing: New Horizons walkthrough, which includes a Complete Fish List, Complete Bug List and Complete Sea Creatures List. If you're looking for specific fish or bugs, we can tell you how to catch the elusive Coelacanth, Mahi-Mahi, Giant Trevally, Stringfish, Golden Trout and all the Sharks and Beetles, along with a full list of critters leaving at the end of the month (unless you visit Kapp'n's Boat Tour islands, of course!).

We can also help with How to Spot Redd's Fake Paintings and Statues, How to Make Bells Fast, How to Breed Flowers, How to Get more DIY Recipes, How to Upgrade Nook's Cranny, where and when to find special characters like Gulliver, Sable, Label, Wisp, Celeste, Pirate Gulliver and Jack, plus tips on using the Star Wand, Tool Ring, Rock Trick, Cutting Down and Moving Trees, using amiibo on Harv's Island, How to Back Up Your Island Data, How to Time Travel, How to Get a 5-Star Island Rating and a whole lot more.

If it's new content you're looking for help with, we can help you find gyroids, unlock Brewster's café, use the new Pro Camera App for selfies, enact new ordinances, get the beloved Froggy Chair, and even learn How to Cook.

And finally, Where to Buy Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch, if for some reason you haven't yet picked up the game, and How To Buy The Happy Home Paradise DLC, too!