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Does Tom Nook Choose Your Villagers in Animal Crossing: New Horizons?

The short answer is: sometimes, yes, but you have more control than you might think. Tom Nook, the beloved (or sometimes begrudgingly tolerated) raccoon tycoon of the Animal Crossing universe, does play a role in filling your island with new residents, but the extent of his influence depends on your actions and how far along you are in the game. Let’s delve into the intricacies of how villagers join your island and Tom Nook’s involvement in the process.

The Initial Villager Setup: Randomness and Your Influence

In the early stages of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Tom Nook does have a hand in deciding who moves onto your island. Here’s the breakdown:

Your First Two Villagers: When you first arrive on the deserted island, you’ll start with two villagers. These are completely randomly selected by the game from a pool of starter villagers. There’s no influencing this selection – it’s pure luck of the draw.
The First Three Plots: After you’ve established your Resident Services building, Tom Nook will task you with placing three new plots of land for incoming villagers. This is where things get a little more interesting. If you’ve invited any villagers to move in by visiting them on mystery islands or having them visit your campsite prior to setting up these plots, these invited villagers will take up the first spots. Otherwise, the game will randomly assign villagers to these three plots, with Tom Nook filling the plots automatically if you don’t act swiftly.

This is a key point – if you don’t invite villagers yourself within a couple of days after placing the plots, Tom Nook will select villagers for you. These random selections aren’t always the most desirable for every player, often leading to players wanting to go on a “villager hunt” to replace them later on. So, while you can be caught out by random selection, you have some level of control.

Expanding Your Island Population

Once you’ve moved beyond the initial set of villagers, Tom Nook’s role becomes more of a catalyst than a direct selector. Here’s what you need to know:

The Campground: After upgrading Resident Services to a building, Tom Nook will instruct you to build a campsite. This is where random villagers will occasionally visit. Isabelle will announce these visits, and you’ll be able to talk to the camper and potentially invite them to live on your island. Tom Nook’s involvement here is limited to enabling the campground; the selection of villagers is random.
Mystery Islands: You can use Nook Miles Tickets to travel to mystery islands. These islands often have a single villager roaming around whom you can invite to live on your island, provided you have a free plot. Again, Tom Nook’s role is indirect; he simply provides the means for you to encounter these villagers. You choose which villagers to invite, or none at all.
Moving Out and Filling Vacant Plots: When a villager decides to move out, their plot will remain empty for a day. If you don’t invite a new villager to take their place, Tom Nook will fill the space with a random villager within 1 to 3 days. This highlights that while you have the opportunity to choose who moves in, time is a factor, and if you delay, Tom Nook will select for you.

In summary, Tom Nook doesn’t directly choose your villagers beyond the initial random placements and auto-filling empty plots. He acts more as the facilitator of growth on your island, providing you with tools, like the campsite and Nook Miles Tickets, that enable you to find and invite villagers. However, he will step in if you don’t fill the vacancies quickly enough.

FAQs About Villagers and Tom Nook

Here are some frequently asked questions to further clarify how villagers populate your island:

1. Are the first three villagers random?

Yes, your initial two villagers are completely random. The third, fourth, and fifth villagers will be random if you have not invited anyone before placing their housing plots. If you have invited others before placing the plots, they will be the ones to move in.

2. How do I get Tom Nook to let me have more villagers?

You need to upgrade Resident Services to a building. After the upgrade, Tom Nook will talk about building a campsite for your island. After the campsite is built, random villagers can visit and be invited to your island.

3. Does Tom Nook count as a villager?

No, Tom Nook is considered a special villager, along with other characters like Isabelle and Blathers. These characters are unique and don’t count towards your island’s villager population limit of 10.

4. How many villagers are there in Animal Crossing: New Horizons?

As of the Series 5 amiibo cards release, New Horizons boasts a total of 412 villagers, excluding special characters like Tom Nook and Isabelle.

5. Why are there no villagers on mystery islands after inviting one?

After inviting a villager from a mystery island, no new villagers will appear there until a plot opens up on your own island. This prevents you from continuously inviting villagers before you have housing for them.

6. Why haven’t the villagers I invited moved to my island yet?

You need to build Nook’s Cranny and submit all the furniture requested for all the houses before any invited villagers will move in. Make sure you complete these requirements for Tom Nook.

7. Can I sell my town to Tom Nook?

Tom Nook will only offer to buy your town if you are going to completely erase it and start a new game. If your tree in the town plaza is level three or higher, he may offer this option.

8. How many times does Tom Nook upgrade his shop?

Nook’s Cranny will expand once, after roughly 30 days of playing and buying/selling 200,000 Bells combined. This is the only upgrade for the store.

9. What are the rarest villager species in Animal Crossing?

The rarest villager species are: Octopus (5), Non-Animal Villagers (6), Tiger (7), Cow (8), Bull (9), Lion (9), Rhinoceros (9), and Alligator (9).

10. How long do I have to fill an empty plot before Tom Nook does?

Tom Nook will automatically fill an empty plot within 1 to 3 days if you don’t invite a new villager. Act quickly if you want to choose your new neighbor.

11. Can Isabelle evict villagers?

Isabelle cannot directly evict villagers, but complaining about a particular villager repeatedly can eventually prompt them to move out. However, this isn’t guaranteed.

12. Is there a secret island in Animal Crossing?

Yes, the May Day island is a special type of mystery island that is accessible once per year during the month of May. It is accessed by using a one-use item, the May Day Ticket.

13. What is the most unpopular villager in Animal Crossing?

Some of the most disliked villagers include Jitters the Bird, Claude the Rabbit, and Derwin the Duck, though popularity is subjective and can vary between players.

14. Who is the richest villager in Animal Crossing?

The monetary value placed on villagers varies, but Coco the creepy rabbit is often considered to be one of the highest-valued in the game.

15. What happens if I don’t pay off Tom Nook?

Fully paying off your home loan from Tom Nook allows you to make any future exterior renovations for free and increase your home storage capacity with each upgrade. You can continue to play without paying but without the benefits of upgraded housing.

Conclusion

Ultimately, Tom Nook’s influence on your island’s villager population is more about setting the stage than directly choosing the cast. He provides the means for you to encounter new villagers and encourages growth on your island. While he does randomly select villagers to fill empty plots if you’re slow to act, you have significant control over your island’s residents if you use all the methods available to find your dream villagers. With patience, exploration, and a little bit of luck, you can create the perfect island community.

Does Tom Nook choose villagers?