Nintendo's Animal Crossing: New Horizons gives players numerous daily tasks to achieve. From watering flowers to collecting bugs, players can continually play the game without worrying about ever really finishing it. Although there are many activities to do on a player's island, one of the most entertaining ways to play is to buy items to put into a player's home.
Animal Crossing players can craft and purchase furniture, clothing, and structures to place all around their island and in their homes to show off their bells or to reflect their personality. In return, the game rewards players who have well put-together homes.
In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, players are rewarded from the Happy Home Academy (or HHA) for homes that are organized nicely. The HHA rates how well an Animal Crossing home is filled, how well the items in the house match when all together, and whether or not the home follows the game's rules of Feng Shui. Although this idea seems fairly straightforward, it can be tricky to raise a player's HHA score. Here are a few tips and tricks on how to raise HHA scores and show off those HHA trophies!
The Basics of Animal Crossing: New Horizon's HHA
Every week, Animal Crossing: New Horizons' HHA will evaluate and grade every player's home. This gives them a chance to see how well the layout for their homes is working. For every score that reaches the HHA scoring benchmark, the HHA will mail out trophies, plaques, and pennants to reward players. It gives players a little something to show off to other villagers and friends. The HHA rewarding system is as follows:
- Gold HHA Trophy - 150,000 Points
- Silver HHA Trophy - 100,000 Points
- Bronze HHA Trophy - 70,000 Points
- Gold HHA Plaque - 50,000 Points
- Silver HHA Plaque - 30,000 Points
- Bronze HHA Plaque - 20,000 Points
- HHA Pennant - 10,000 Points
Keep in mind, the above scoring system is only what has been found so far. There is potential for Animal Crossing: New Horizons players to earn more than 150,000 points, but the rewards for that are still up in the air.
In order to reach more points, players have to really evaluate the quality of their homes and how the furniture is laid out within it. For example, Animal Crossing furniture with a clear front and back but the front is facing a wall will actually lose points with the HHA. Although it sounds odd, it's just part of the way the scoring system goes. So what are some of the key factors that go into the HHA scoring?
Animal Crossing's Housing Size Matters
One of the most important ways to obtain a higher HHA score in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is to upgrade the villager's house. To ensure that a player's HHA score is continually rising, it is required that players expand their house. Yes, that means players will fall further into debt with Tom Nook. However, the increase in home space also means an increased chance of raising the score. The more space in the home, the more items that can be put into the room, which inevitably means the more points a player can earn. Players can add more items into a room and create more opportunities for more points to be added. It should be noted that it is easiest to get higher scores with three or more rooms.
In Animal Crossing, Furniture is Key
Although this sounds sort of basic, it's important to mention that furniture in Animal Crossing is the most important part of HHA evaluations. That means that players should use items in their homes that consist of the same sets and series. Players can use either crafted or purchased items of the same set, so long as all furniture is part of the same series within a room. The house can have different sets of furniture throughout the home, as long as a series is consistent within one room.
When evaluating a home, Animal Crossing: New Horizons' HHA looks not only at whether or not the furniture is part of the same set but also at whether or not the furniture is all the same color. Items that are the same color will score higher on the HHA evaluation. So be sure to utilize the customization tool! Additionally, remember to have a home that contains basic living necessities. These do not necessarily need to be in the same room, but it should be at least in the home in general. The most important items to have in the home are at least one chair, a table, a dresser or wardrobe, and a bed.
Additionally, remember that items like the HHA plaques will increase a player's HHA score even further. Also, pictures of villagers that players receive carry a hefty amount of HHA points as well. So if any of these items are in a player's inventory, be sure to put them out on display in the home! Another thing worth noting is to ensure that items are hanging on walls. Points will be added or deducted based on whether or not items are on the wall, so be sure to at least build a clock and hang it up!
Follow Feng Shui In Animal Crossing
The HHA evaluations also grade Island Representative homes on whether or not the notion of Feng Shui is followed. In Animal Crossing games, the Feng Shui system works in a way that addresses an item's color. Items of certain colors will garner more points when placed in certain spots in the room, which increases the overall HHA score. There are some areas of the room where two colors can be placed. For example, in the bottom left corner of a room, either a yellow or a green item can be placed to increase their score. However, players can easily increase that score by using items that contain both green and yellow.
With this system, it is important for players to utilize smaller items. By placing smaller items of multiple colors in the appropriate spot, Animal Crossing players can increase their HHA score and push their score to the next level. Doing things like adding in small items is important because the wrong item can also decrease score. Players can lose points for a number of reasons. From cockroaches in the house to items with no point value being placed to furniture with a front and back clearly facing a wall, losing points is not as difficult as it may seem.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is now available on Nintendo Switch.