animal crossing time travel penalty

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Should You Time Travel? | How-To Change Time

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Should you time travel? Find out with our complete Animal Crossing: New Horizons (ACNH) guide! Learn how to time travel backwards and forwards, how far you can time travel to, and the penalties for doing it.

List of Contents

Should You Time Travel?

Penalties for time travel, how to time travel, related guides, yes but not neccesary.

Should you time travel? Well, it depends. If you want to experience the game a lot faster, then time traveling is definitely for you! Here are all the benefits you get::

No Significant Penalties

It seems that the game doesn't attempt to significantly discourage time travel. For example, Penalties like flowers wilting and villagers moving away seem to be gone in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

However, there will still be some changes to your game if you time travel.

Turnips will rot

Don't set the in-game clock back if you have turnips in your inventory. They will rot automatically. Keep this in mind when time traveling!

Cockroaches will appear

Cockroaches will appear if you don't play for more than a month or if you skip ahead in time with Time Travel.

The more time passes, the more Cockroaches will spawn, so check in often to avoid your house being taken over by them!

How to Get Ride of Cockroaches

Flowers will overgrow

Prevent overgrowth by building fences around your flowers!

List of Flowers, Shrubs, and Bushes

Weeds will grow untamed

Be careful when time traveling as weeds increase over time. This can greatly affect your Island Star Rating .

Residents will get lonely

Newer events are time locked

As of version 1.6.0, new events are time locked, meaning you can't time travel to access the events before the specified event date.

Once officially released, you can time travel to them at any time, even after the event has ended.

1. Close and Save the Game

2. Close the software from the HOME menu

Press the X Button on the Switch Main Menu to close the software.

3. Select System Settings

On the Switch Main Menu, select System Settings -> System -> Date and Time -> Set “Synchronize Clock via Internet” to OFF

4. Change the System's Date and Time

After selecting the Date and Time, you'll be able to change the setting manually so you can time travel freely!

5. Start Animal Crossing: New Horizons

You're now able to start the game with the time and date you chose. Happy time travelling!

All Tips & Tricks

>>21 nope, sorry to say it but it doesnt work that way, you also cant go back in time and meet the mother of timmy and tommy nook... may she rest in peace... or enjoy her permenent vacation whatever it may be lol

before holloween event, after update, i time traveled to it ahead of time, you just need update to be made!!!

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Time travel

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Time travel [1] refers to the player manually changing the time of their game or game system to immediately return to, or advance to, a specific point in time. There are both positive and negative consequences of time traveling across the Animal Crossing series.

• 1 Developers' perspectives
• 2.1 In Animal Crossing
• 2.2 In Animal Crossing: Wild World
• 2.3 In Animal Crossing: City Folk
• 2.4 In Animal Crossing: New Leaf
• 2.5 In Animal Crossing: New Horizons
• 3 References

Developers' perspectives [ edit ]

Time traveling is not considered "cheating" by the games developers, although they do discourage it for the most enjoyable casual experience. Series producer Hisashi Nogami stated that he and director Aya Kyogoku "think that in order for the players to play for a very long time, and also for players to share the experience with their friends or family, we do think that playing without traveling would probably be the ideal way." At the same time, they did not intend for seasonal updates to be a way to "shun away time travel," simply to keep the game enjoyable throughout the year. [1]

Animal Crossing: New Leaf director Isao Moro similarly stated that "I'm sure there are plenty of players who have fiddled with the clock when playing the game, but this is a shame as a really nice aspect of Animal Crossing is the sense of unity that comes from time passing in sync with the real world. It means that everyone gets to share that sense of the seasons and the time passing, so we were keen to retain that element of the game." This was part of the inspiration for him and Kyogoku to implement the town ordinances that change the operating hours of shops and bedtimes of villagers, to still allow the player "to adjust things to fit [their] own lifestyle." [2]

In-game properties [ edit ]

In animal crossing [ edit ].

In Animal Crossing , the player can adjust the time and date using two methods: either by changing the Nintendo GameCube clock, or accessing the in-game clock during the start-up sequence. Changing the system clock provides the least interference with gameplay, as the in-game clock dictates the growth of trees , the way letters are sent, and how the police station and dump restock items. While the furthest date supported by the system clock is December 31, 2099, the highest the in-game clock can go is December 31, 2030, after which the date will reset to January 1, 2030. (In Doubutsu no Mori , due to the Nintendo 64 not having an internal clock, the game uses a battery-powered clock in the cartridge that can only be changed in-game.)

The ability to travel to any date immediately allows the player to attend any event , access any fish or bugs , or purchases any seasonal items that are restricted to certain dates or date ranges. By time traveling forward, letters can be received sooner, but the player's mailbox may fill completely, which prevents incoming mail until the mailbox is emptied. Additionally, the process of a villager moving out from the player's town can be expedited, as well as new villagers moving in. Time traveling forward can also force fruit to regrow on trees and stores to refresh their current item selection.

Time traveling any amount, forward or backward, causes all turnips in the player's pockets or storage to rot. Weeds will grow at a faster rate if time traveling, and too many weeds can harm the town's environment rating until enough weeds are removed (however, all weeds can be removed by Wisp if the player catches his Spirits and asks to "Pull weeds!"). Time traveling forward may result in villagers moving away without asking the player, or cause the player to miss events , birthdays , or One Day Sales from Tom Nook's store .

In Animal Crossing: Wild World [ edit ]

The player can also change the time and date in Wild World through the Nintendo DS system clock or the in-game menu. The furthest date supported by both the system and game is December 31, 2099, after which time will reset back to January 1, 2000.

Time traveling to future months now allows the player to accrue interest on their savings account.

In Animal Crossing: City Folk [ edit ]

Animal Crossing: City Folk also allows the time and date to be changed by changing the Nintendo Wii system time or editing the in-game time during the start-up sequence. While changing the time via the in-game settings will affect fruit and weed growth, flower wilting, and savings account interest, changing the system time does not. The furthest date is now December 31, 2035; after this, time loops back to January 1, 2000.

In City Folk , the player can once again use Wisp to remove weeds. Additionally, time traveling can now cause bed head , which affects the player's hairstyle.

In Animal Crossing: New Leaf [ edit ]

Time and date settings in New Leaf can be edited through the Nintendo 3DS system clock, or through the start-up sequence by telling Isabelle "I need help first...". The furthest date is December 31, 2050, after which time resets to January 1, 2012.

Any processes relating to building, demolishing, or moving infrastructure (such as bridges , Public works projects , or buildings in Main Street ) can be completed immediately by time traveling to a different day. Any facilities that require multiple days of commitment, such as talking to Sable to access the sewing machine , can also be unlocked more quickly.

The Beautiful Town ordinance can prevent weeds from spawning and flowers from wilting, removing these consequences from time traveling. Weeds can also be cleared using Leif 's weed-pulling service if his Garden Shop is available. However, time traveling will cause Phineas to not appear for a while. [ citation needed ]

In Animal Crossing: New Horizons [ edit ]

New Horizons is the first game in the series that does not have an in-game option to change the time. However, by disabling "Synchronize Clock Via Internet" in the Nintendo Switch system settings, the system time can be manually changed, which is reflected in the game. The furthest date supported by the system is December 31, 2060, and while the game can progress into January 1, 2061, going beyond this date will result in an error message, warning the user that the date is unsupported and that they should set their time in between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2060. [3]

As seasonally restricted content has expanded to DIY recipes and Nook Shopping seasonal events , the associated items can also be obtained at any time via time travel. Time traveling to previous visits by shopkeepers such as Redd will re-roll their stock, allowing the player to purchase new items from them. In 1.9.0 , traveling back in time five days or more resets the visiting special characters for the target week. In all other versions (both before and after), this limit is only in place if the target and present date are in different months. Outside of version 1.9.0, NPC visitors fill up seven slots within a given week after the day moves from Sunday to Monday. Time traveling between specific days in a given week will initiate that specific visitor (e.g., Leif will always be present on Tuesday unless the day moves to another Monday).

Villagers will no longer move out without notice after longer periods of time, now requiring the player's explicit permission to leave. Weeds still occasionally spawn on the island, but they will no longer negatively impact the environment rating unless the quantity of weeds on the island is above 100. In addition, Rafflesia no longer spawn in islands with the worst rating. Bed head has been changed to be only temporary, and is now unlocked as a hairstyle option when it occurs for the first time. However, in addition to turnips rotting after any time traveling, turnip prices will reset if time traveling backwards. Flowers may end up overpopulating the island by either duplicating or breeding if nothing is done to prevent new flowers from spawning in grass or dirt tiles. Overgrowth of weeds can again be dealt with using Leif's weeding service if his commune is available on Harv's Island .

Before version 2.0 , events were more difficult to experience by using time travel, as many events were gradually introduced through updates . Some events were unable to be accessed until their real-world starting date, such as Bunny Day , Nature Day , May Day , International Museum Day , Wedding Season , Turkey Day , Toy Day , and Festivale . Events could also be locked after being unlocked in a previous year, such as Bunny Day's date range of April 1–12, 2020 being disabled in the 1.9.0 Free Update in favor of the new dates of March 28–April 4, 2021. Since version 2.0 , all events can now occur every year; however, as of version 1.9.0 , the Nature Day event is no longer accessible, due to its replacement by the Nature Day Nook Shopping seasonal event .

References [ edit ]

• ↑ 1.0 1.1 Elise Favis (March 23, 2020). "Nintendo explains philosophy behind Animal Crossing’s big changes, such as gender expression and terraforming" . The Washington Post . Retrieved Septe,ber 23, 2022.
• ↑ Nintendo (2012). "Iwata Asks - Animal Crossing: New Leaf" . Iwata Asks . Retrieved September 23, 2022.
• ↑ If you GO to 2061, this happens There is a WARNING message that I 've never seen where I can't go!?
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All Your Questions About Animal Crossing Time Travel Answered

Animal Crossing time travel is an infamous cheat that has been with the series since inception and New Horizons is no exception. Like those before it, ACNH takes place in real-time based on the Nintendo Switch's system clock. That means changing the system clock will change the in-game time. This simple time travel cheat can be used to speed through days, letting you get through the game faster, get more resources or cash (Bells), enjoy the day/night cycle on your schedule, check out missed events , and jump to seasons at will to catch different bugs and fish .

But messing with time itself always has its dangers. In previous Animal Crossing games, time travel has resulted in lots of weeds, dead flowers, villagers moving out, and much more. So I had to know... what happens if you do the biggest possible time jump? And how much do I stand to lose and gain by breaking this game completely?

Every Animal Crossing: New Horizons Villager

“Why Would You Ruin Animal Crossing with Time Travel?”

I realize time travel is an upsetting concept to many who may be wondering why I would want to “ruin my game” or why I would “pay $60 to skip parts of the game.” The short answer is: for science. I was assigned to write our Animal Crossing: New Horizons Time Travel Guide , so I was doing this for the silent, large group of players who don’t mind taking advantage of a well-established exploit if it lets them enjoy their time a bit more - for numerous, valid, reasons.

Some people have limited time to play and can’t or don't want to wait until the next real-life day to progress New Horizons projects. Others may only be able to play at night and wouldn’t be able to see the sun or even buy turnips without some clock manipulation . And, of course, some of us just want to be filthy rich so we can shop to our heart’s desire and move buildings without having to grind for a quick 50,000 Bells a dozen times over.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Visiting Characters

All of this started out as mere research but I have to admit, by the end of the project, I was time traveling just for me. Sure, there are plenty of legitimate strategies to getting money plus some grey area exploits , but for many of us the only way we can make extra money, real extra money, is to go out and cut a few corners. And after everything I’ve seen and dealt with, I’d absolutely do it again.

From 2000 to 2060 and Back Again

So, I began my experiment. I traveled small increments at first, but with each letter I got from Nook Bank awarding me interest, I became more and more curious about how much interest I could accrue. I went for the biggest time jump I could. I was surprised to see the Nintendo Switch clock can go back well before the Switch’s existence. It even predates the GameCube with 1/1/2000 being the earliest date you can set the clock to. I was even more surprised to see that, according to the Nintendo Switch clock, the world ends after the year 2060.

A few leaps from 2000 to 2060 was all it took for me to gain the max interest: 99,000 Bells. It got to the point where I could jump ahead in 2 years increments and net 99K Bells in a matter of minutes.

Later I discovered another, less surefire hack. At this point, you’ve probably realized that burying 10K Bells in the glowing spot that appears every day on your island will grow into a money tree that can turn your investment into a total of 30K. You may also be aware that, despite all the rumors and misinformation floating around, this is the only amount guaranteed from the money tree. Planting 11K and even 99K could grow into a 33K or 297K tree, respectively but it’s rare and totally random.

However, planting 99K Bells in the year 2000 and jumping to the year 2060 will ensure you grow a 297K money tree as long as you don’t use the same two dates twice.

So as I rinsed and repeated my way to my first million, I was hyper-aware of my island and all I might stand to lose. Turns out, it wasn’t much.

A Slap on the Wrist

For the most part, things were fine after extensive time traveling. I had a few extra weeds but my town didn’t turn into an abandoned lot the way it did in New Leaf. None of my villagers left me. A few roaches had spawned in my one-room house but entering, stepping on them, exiting and repeating got rid of them pretty easily. I had some wicked bedhead too, but my character automatically cleaned up (no cost required) which even gave me an extra hairstyle. The biggest negatives were things I didn’t account for.

Unforeseen Consequences

To me, the worst thing about time traveling was the fact that some surprises were ruined for me. Not only am I aware of what gifts mom sends but I also have several of each kind. They go for nothing at the store but are perfect for regifting. Thanks, mom. And also, I’m sorry mom.

One unfortunate time travel accident put me directly on my birthday so my real-life January birthday celebration happened to me in March. I even rang in a new year with my unaware, soft neighbors.

Using Time Travel to Cheat the Stalk Market

This was pretty difficult to test prerelease but now that the game’s out it’s clear that the Time Travel Stalk Market cheat is the best, easiest, and safest way to make money fast through time travel . It also requires a little help from a friend or person willing to let you on their island when they have good turnip prices.

First, find a friend who has good turnip prices. Set your clock back to Sunday between 5 am to 12 pm to buy turnips from Daisy Mae, but don't change the time after you've made your purchase. Fly to your friend's island and sell the turnips. Then, repeat this process as much as your friend allows, or until their turnip sales price changes at noon or Nook’s Cranny closes at 10pm). Your friend can’t time travel while you do this, but you can leave them money or buy turnips on their behalf. Depending on their prices, you can make over 2 million Bells each trip.

Back in Real-Time (Sort of)

Now that I’ve learned all there is to know about time travel I’ve spent most of the Bunny Day event playing in real-time. But then I got a text from a friend asking me to time travel so I could buy and bring turnips to her island: Nook’s Cranny was buying them for 512 Bells. So I put on my cheating, time traveling cape once again. I convinced myself it was for the greater good. She just wants to pay off her second loan; she needs the storage.

But hey, after buying over 300K worth of turnips for her at no charge I had to make it back somehow… and a little extra for my trouble. Moments later my coworker announced turnips were selling for 591 Bells on his island and provided a Dodo code. It was already Sunday in my game, so I gave into temptation and netted over 4 million before lunchtime.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons - All Bunny Day DIY Recipes

I understand and respect why people don’t want to time travel. Maybe one day, I’ll follow suit. But I have 155+ hours in this game and can honestly say time travel hasn’t ruined a single minute of it. I’m thrilled to spoil my friends and villagers rotten with my wealth until the next Animal Crossing comes out.

Time Traveling Tips and Reminders

At the end of the day whether or not you time travel is a personal decision. But if you’re looking to do it here are some important tips and reminders:

Don’t time travel with turnips or *they’ll spoil! (*jumping ahead one day at a time is fine but if you go back at all they spoil and they automatically go bad after 1 week so sell 'em before Sunday and before messing with time).

Do large time travel jumps early in the game because you have fewer villagers to risk and fewer rooms in your house mean fewer cockroaches you have to kill.

For more on manipulating time check out our time travel and cheats pages in our full Animal Crossing: New Horizons Wiki. Those playing by the book will want to make sure they catch all the April Fish and April Bugs they can while learning every Bunny Day and Cherry Blossom recipe out there.

Janet Garcia is an associate guides editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter to get a glimpse of her corrupt time travel island.

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Time Travel

Last updated: 3 April 2022

What is time travel?

Animal Crossing games are based on real time – for example, things that the game says will take one day truly take one real-life day to complete. “Time traveling” refers to the act of manually changing the time of the game to either be in the future or go back to the past.

Time traveling is not considered hacking. Time traveling also does not reverse/rewind progress. You keep all the progress, items, etc. that you’ve completed/acquired even if you time travel backwards.

How do I time travel?

To time travel, you must either close your game or go to the ‘Save Complete’ screen after doing a ‘Save and End’. You now need to change your date in your Switch settings:

• Open System Settings > System > Date and Time .
• Disable Synchronize Clock via internet if it is ON.
• Go to Date and Time and adjust to whatever time you would like.
• Return to the game and the new date & time will take effect!

What are the general effects of time traveling ( backward or forward )?

• Able Sisters’ mannequin will only change if you go outside of the week.
• Some items from Nook’s Cranny can only be purchased once a week. i.e. if you bought it once, it wouldn’t be restocked when time traveling to that day again in the same week.
• Saharah’s inventory does not change if you stay within the same week when time traveling forward or back. You have to go into another week for it to change.

What are the specific effects of time traveling forwards?

It is important to remember that time traveling forwards is no different than closing your game and then logging in at the new, manually input time. With that said, here are the effects of going forwards.

What are the specific effects of time traveling backwards?

If you time travel backward more than a day, it will be like going back to “fake” yesterday.

What happens to my other games when I time travel for AC:NH?

Time traveling for AC:NH will not affect other time-based games unless you launch them whilst the system time is changed.

Do I have to wait to time travel after someone invites my villager to live on their island?

No, and likewise, you don’t have to wait to time travel after inviting someone else’s villager to live on your island either.

Can I time travel to play events that have passed?

Yes, as of the 2.0.0 update, all events for all years of the game’s lifespan have been unlocked, including all seasonal Nook Stop items.

Player birthdays can only be experienced once every in-game year , and TTing back to the same birthday date won’t restore it. You must go to a future or past year.

I time traveled to Festive season, but why are none of the cedar trees decorated?

Make sure you have time traveled forward into the season (rather than backwards) and you have at least 1 cedar tree. For more information on how cedar trees are decorated, refer to the infographic here .

How do I time travel to farm an NPC visitor?

If the NPC is on a weekday except Monday:

• Toggle the date between the day the NPC is there and a day they are not. If you are farming an NPC that sends you gifts via mail, be sure to go forward to receive their rewards.

If the NPC is on a Monday:

• Time travel forward a day to Tuesday, then go back to Monday (after 5 AM)

Will my villagers move out if I time travel too much?

Nope! Though this was something that could happen in past installments of the game, villagers in New Horizons will not move out unless you give them explicit permission to do so.

Will my villagers dislike me/lose friendship points if I time travel too much?

Nope! They may have some dialogue about your disappearance if you do a big jump forward, but time traveling has no effect on friendship.

Do the developers know I time travel? Will they do anything to me about it?

There is actually a variable turned up by data mining called isTimeSly that determines whether or not the player has time traveled! With that said, there’s no indication whatsoever that the developers care, as there are no permanent in-game consequences or punishments for time traveling. Ultimately, it is your game, and you should play it however you want to!

What are BCAT or NTP unlocks?

BCAT and NTP unlocks are flags that gets flipped when the actual date of the intended release of an event or period has arrived in real time. Collectively, both of these are referred to as “time-locks”. There is no way to manually unlock these flags other than hacking the Switch. The difference between these two unlocks are:

*Note: These will likely not be used going forward as of the 2.0.0 update.

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How to Time Travel in Animal Crossing

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Progressing in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is intentionally slow, the game running in real-time. If you're fed up with waiting around, you can time travel in-game by changing your Switch's date and time settings.

There isn't danger of being banned or punished for time traveling. Still, in the Animal Crossing community, it is a controversial topic, with many arguing time-traveling unravels the game's carefully balanced economy. Be sure to think it over before jumping in yourself.

How to Time Travel in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Your Switch's system clock sets Animal Crossing's internal clock, so if you change the date and time on your Switch, your Animal Crossing world's date and time will change too.

It's easy to change date and time settings on the Switch with just a few button presses.

Open System Settings on your Nintendo Switch.

At the bottom of the settings list, select System .

Select Date and Time .

Make sure Synchronize Clock via Internet is toggled to off, and change your date and time to whatever you'd like.

Open up Animal Crossing and enjoy the fruits of your time traveling.

The Pros and Cons of Time Traveling

While the Animal Crossing community might be split on time traveling, there are things you need to keep in mind if you do time travel.

What Time Traveling Will Get You

Time-traveling in Animal Crossing will enable you to skip waits for anything and everything; play whenever you want in real life while still being able to enjoy day and night in-game; experience specific events whenever you want or over and over; and get access to more things to buy as well as more efficient ways to earn money.

What You Should Watch Out for

Be careful when time traveling. Huge jumps can cause problems sometimes.

At the Nook Stop, you get a streak bonus of extra Nook miles for checking in every day, but time traveling may well undo your streak. If you have turnips and time travel more than a few days, your turnips will go bad.

Depending on how far into the past or future you time travel, cockroaches may appear in your house, which can be removed by stepping on them. Lastly, depending on your relationships with your island's residents, time-traveling can make residents unhappy or even leave your island altogether.

The Takeaway

Ultimately, the possible inconveniences of time traveling scale with how far and how much you time travel, so if you're feeling nervous, try testing it out by just jumping forward or backward a few days. But if you've sunk hundreds of hours into Animal Crossing and you're tired of waiting to unlock more stuff, time-traveling is the answer!

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ACNH | Time Travel - How to Go Backwards | Animal Crossing

Read this Animal Crossing: New Horizons Switch (ACNH) guide on time travel guide. Learn how to change time forward and backwards, time travel penalties and more!!!

Table of Contents

Time Travel Guide

• Good Things By Changing Time
• Penalties By Changing Time

Should You Do Time Travel?

*In order to fully enjoy the real time gaming experience, we highly recommend you NOT to change the time with this method.

Change Time From System Settings

▲Change time from the Switch settings page

▲System Settings can be found here.

In order to change the time in Animal Crossing New Horizon, you need to change the devise time from Nintendo Switch's system setting. Follow the steps below to change your time.

Good Things - Change Time Forward & Back

You can change the season.

By skipping time, you can instantly experience different seasons. This will also allow you to catch Bug and Fish that only appear in certain seasons!

Rocks & Materials Respawn

The materials you can get by striking rocks with a shovel are limited. By changing the date, you can gather materials much more quickly!

Do Flower Breeding Faster

Want to make your island colorful? Floor breeding usually takes time but you can make it faster with time travel.

Get Interest From Bank

As you forward the time, you will get interest based on the amount of savings balance in ABD. At the start of the day, you will be notified by the bank about it by a mail

Penalties - Change Time Forward & Back

No major penalties.

There are no major penalties when it come to progression of your game. Villagers may move out from island if you progress the time too much.

Cannot Continue Daily Miles Bonus

Accessing ABD increases the bonus miles (max 300 per day), and time travel will reset the bonus mile gotten from ABD. You will need to start from day 1 bonus (50).

Lost Items Can't Be Returned

If you time travel while a lost item is in your bag, you won't be able to return it to anyone. It will be an unknown item in your inventory so be sure to return it first before moving time forward.

Warning: Turnips Will Spoil!

Unfortunately, Turnips in your inventory will all spoil if you change the time on your Switch ! This will cause you to lose a lot of money on Turnips, so be careful!

>>>Check Out More Info On Turnips Here!

Cockroaches At Your Home

Cockroaches will come to you and it affects home evaluation of Happy Home Academy.

Weeds Grow On Island

As you skip the time weeds on island grow everywhere, which may affect your island evaulation of Isabelle .

Not Recommended Basically

The game is designed for you to take your time to enjoy day by day. So, to enjoy the core essence of the game, time travel is not basically recommended.

Good Way If You Want To Progress The Game Faster

If you are busy and progress the game faster, time travel might be a good way. However, you may shorten life length of the game by travel you may shorten life length of the game by travel.

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time travel doesnt work as efficiently anymore. anybody got any tips on how to get more bells?

If you missed your ABD's bonus miles strike, try this. Travel to 7 days before today, check the ABD. Move to the next day, check ABD again. When you reach your current time, you will already at the 7+ days bonus (300 miles).

Turnips placed in your house don't spoil when you change the time.

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Animal Crossing New Horizons: How to Change Date & Seasons (Time Travel)

Your island getaway in Animal Crossing: New Horizons will experience all of the seasons that our real-life world does. You’ll also go through every day in our calendar year, and be able to take part in various events that take place on particular days. If you’re wanting to skip forward to a particular season, or just take part in a certain event without the wait, we’ve got you covered. Here’s how to change date and seasons in Animal Crossing: New Horizons .

Changing Date & Seasons in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Okay so, typically, the date and seasons will change in New Horizons as they do in the real world. Time passes at the same rate in the game as it does in the real world.

The game also runs off your Nintendo Switch’s clock, so the time of day, date, and subsequently the season in New Horizons will match up perfectly with real life.

As such, technically, there’s no proper way to change the date and seasons in the game. However, if you’re willing to do some fiddling and deal with some in-game penalties for doing so, you can actually change it.

How to Time Travel in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

To do so, you’ll first need to complete all of your daily goals and then talk to Tom Nook.

Next, save your game and return to the Home screen of your Nintendo Switch.

Head to the System Settings menu and scroll down to ‘System.’ Here, select the ‘Date and Time’ option and make sure you turn the ‘Synchronize via Internet’ option off. If you leave this on, you won’t be able to change date in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Change your date and time on your Nintendo Switch to whatever day you want to skip forward to. Keep in mind the further you jump ahead, the more severe the penalties you’ll receive. We advise just going a day or two ahead to start with.

Load up Animal Crossing: New Horizons again and you should now be playing ‘in the future’ so to speak.

That’s everything you need to know about how to change date and seasons in Animal Crossing: New Horizons . Check out our wiki for more tips and tricks. Alternatively, you can search for Twinfinite , or check out more of our coverage below.

How to 'time travel' in Animal Crossing: New Horizons to speed up time and skip days

• Time traveling in Animal Crossing lets you quickly progress the story, unlock new bugs and fish, and more.
• To time travel in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you need to change your Switch's date and time settings.
• If you time travel too far ahead, your villagers might move out and weeds will grow throughout the town.

In a lot of ways, Animal Crossing is a game of patience. You need to wait for buildings to be constructed, for special NPCs to arrive in town, and for new fish and bugs to appear. In other words: Few things happen quickly. And when you consider that the game moves in real time, you might be waiting for days, if not weeks.

But what Nintendo won't tell you is that there's a way to skip waiting: Time travel. And you don't need to craft any special items in-game to do it — you just need to open your Switch's Settings menu.

Here's a primer on how to time travel in Animal Crossing, how it works, and what the risks of skipping around too much are.

How to time travel in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Make sure to fully close Animal Crossing before you do this — don't forget to save and quit first!

1. Select the System Settings option on your Switch's home screen.

2. Scroll down to the very bottom of the Settings page and select System .

3. Scroll down again to select Date and Time .

4. At the top of the Date and Time page, you'll see an option called Synchronize Clock via Internet . Select this to turn it Off .

5. Once it's turned off, select the Date and Time option. Use the options to pick whatever date and time you want to travel to, past or future, then click OK .

Once you boot Animal Crossing back up, it'll be whatever date and time you chose.

How time travel works in Animal Crossing

As mentioned, Animal Crossing works in real time. When it's midnight in real life, it'll be midnight on your island, too. The game is able to tell what time it is by syncing with your Switch's internal clock — so if you change the time and date on your Switch, it'll change in-game too.

You can use time travel to skip days, weeks, even months ahead. Do you need a winter-exclusive fish for the museum, but it's August? Just skip forward six months and snag what you need. You can even then head right back to the present day and keep playing like normal.

Here are some other cool things you can do with time travel:

• When you ask Tom Nook to upgrade your house, skip forward a day to have him build it instantly
• Keep jumping forward day-by-day until a special NPC (Redd, Flick, etc.) appears in your town
• Switch days to refresh what the Able Sisters and Nook's Cranny are selling
• Experience both day and night on your island, no matter when you're actually playing
• Put some money in the bank and then skip forward a decade to collect the interest

Additionally, if you meet any NPC that gives you a single item on the day they appear, like Celeste or Gulliver, you can use time travel to quickly unlock everything they offer. Just get the special item from them, time travel one day forward, then time travel back to the day that they showed up. They'll appear again to give you another item.

Even though Nintendo doesn't support time traveling, you won't be punished for doing it. You can still play online with any other Animal Crossing player, even if your game is twenty years ahead of theirs.

The only thing you can't do is play through special holiday events before they happen, since your clock needs to be connected to the internet to trigger them.

The risks of time traveling in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Compared to past games in the series, there are less drawbacks to time traveling in New Horizons. But there are still some disadvantages that you should consider before skipping too far or too often.  

• Villagers might move out if too much time passes without speaking to them.
• If you time travel backwards at all, or ahead past the next Sunday, all your turnips will rot.
• The flowers in your town may wilt, and weeds will grow everywhere.
• Cockroaches will infest your home.
• You'll lose your Nook Stop bonus streak, which awards you with free Nook Miles for every day you use the machine in a row.  

If these cons seem worth the pros, go ahead and change your Switch's clock.

• Main content

Time travel

• View history

Time travel , often shortened to "TT", is when the player manually changes the time of their game to benefit from seasonal events, bugs , fish , moving villagers out, moving villagers in, upgrading shops, progressing story, etc, in their  Animal Crossing series games. It is also used to manipulate the ABD interest where, by the end of each month, a certain percentage is added to the player's Bell amount in their bank accounts.

It is considered a type of cheating by many but it is not known if it is cheating or not, and is controversial among the community. All players who time travel take the risk of their town becoming populated with weeds , downgrading Tom Nook's Store , the likely possibility of villagers moving out, bedheads, interrupting the growth of trees , and, depending on how far they have traveled, rafflesia growing.

Because the games only track real-world time up to the end of a certain year, said year would rollover after December 31. As a result, time travel would also be necessary to reach a year within the clock's range that is identical to the post-limit year, in order to maintain synchronization with the real world.

• 1.1 In Animal Crossing
• 1.2 In Wild World
• 1.3 In City Folk
• 1.4 In New Leaf
• 1.5 In New Horizons
• 2.1 Positive
• 2.2 Negative

How to time travel [ ]

There are different ways to change the clock time in each console the games were released on. Below addresses how to change the clocks:

In Animal Crossing [ ]

To change the time in Animal Crossing there are two options - the Nintendo GameCube clock or the in-game clock. These are accessed through the in-game options. The ideal option is to change the GameCube's internal clock because the in-game clock affects the growth of trees , the way letters are sent, and how the Police Station and Dump restock with items.

In Wild World [ ]

The clock adjustment feature in Wild World .

Changing the date and time in Wild World is easier than it is in the original Animal Crossing . To change the time in-game, load the game and when at the character select, click the phone and follow the option that goes to the Date and Time settings.

To change the DS time, turn on the DS then touch the screen/press "A". Next, instead of loading Animal Crossing , press the DS icon at the bottom of the touch screen. Click the second menu, the blue one, with the clock and calendar on it. The top button (that resembles a calendar) changes the date, and the right button (that resembles a wall clock) changes the time. Press "B" until the DS says "The system will now shut down," then press "A" to have it turn off. Restart the console, and launch the game again, and the time/date in-game will have changed according to the system time/date.

In City Folk [ ]

Like in the original Animal Crossing , there are two options to change the date and time settings for City Folk . The easier option is to change the Nintendo Wii date and time instead of the in-game date and time settings. This is, again, due to the in-game settings affecting bank interest, plants , and trees.

To change the Wii time settings, go to the Wii Menu and click the 'Wii' button at the bottom left of the screen. Once there, go to 'Setup' and find the menu which opens up the Date and Time settings.

To change the time in the title screen menu, pick 'Other things', and then click 'Set date/time' and change the date and time to the date and time that is desired.

In New Leaf [ ]

Joan mentioning that time travel affects turnips

Most advantages and disadvantages from previous installments are present, although if the Beautiful Town Ordinance is in effect, time travel will not affect the environment, thus, weeds will most likely not appear and flowers will not die.

Unlike previous games, time-traveling has fewer negative effects. Turnips will not rot until the player travels past the next Sunday, and turnip patterns will act normally. The player can use the catalog at any time, and stores cannot downgrade or lose stock. Villagers will also call the player a time traveler in this version as one of their rumors .

The character with a bedhead in New Leaf

A negative side effect of time traveling in New Leaf is grass deterioration . Some players may play the span of 2 or more days in one real-time day. Each time the town is loaded, the grass deteriorates more. Thus, time traveling (e.g, loading the game several times in one real-time day) can be a detriment to the town's grass.

In New Horizons [ ]

There is no in-game option to change the time in this installment of the Animal Crossing series . When talking with Tom Nook in the game menu to discuss settings, there is no option to change the date or time. Time travelling is not considered cheating by the developers, but the game has a flag which determines if a player has time travelled backwards at any point. The flag does nothing.

To change the time in New Horizons , the player must change the time of the console, which can be done by: Entering Settings, scrolling down to System, selecting Date and Time. It is necessary to turn off "Synchronize Clock via Internet" otherwise it will make changing the time impossible. Once you've done that, select Date and Time, and change the date and time to whatever you feel.

Most disadvantages with time traveling in New Horizons are similar to those in New Leaf . Turnips could rot, some islanders may ask to move, and cockroaches may appear in your home. Weeds will appear more quickly and spread in your island, and the player's mailbox may be filled.

One of the disadvantages exclusive to New Horizons is losing your Nook Stop bonus. Each day, you are given Nook Miles for opening up the Stop, whether it is for Nook Shopping, ABD , or to redeem Nook Miles . By trying to time travel, you can lose your streak and be unable to collect some Nook Miles for opening up the Nook Stop .

The game must be restarted when the player has changed the time, so it is recommended you close the software before you change the time. However, it doesn't appear to affect the game until you restart it anyways.

It is still possible to play online even if the clock is not in sync with the real world. There are no effects if the player does so, and the player's turnips will not rot.

In the 1.6.0 Winter update both Turkey Day and Toy Day are locked events that the player could not travel in advance to. However, after the day has passed the player is able to travel back in time to which the event took place.

The effects of time traveling [ ]

As previously mentioned, there are advantages and disadvantages to time traveling. Below are the positive and negative effects on the game:

Positive [ ]

• Allows the player to attend their favorite events.
• Allows the player to receive mail sooner.
• Allows the player to receive bank interest.
• New villagers will move in sooner.
• Fruit will grow on trees sooner.
• Different items available at all stores.
• Ability to catch out-of-season fish and bugs .
• Fast-forward through renovations.
• Grass will regrow. (Grass does not regrow in New Leaf while time traveling.)
• The player can get multiple K.K. Slider songs without having to wait for next Saturday night.
• Allows the player to get the Golden Shovel faster ( Wild World and City Folk )
• Ability to partake in things that would normally be closed at certain hours in real-time.
• Unwanted villagers can be moved out faster.
• Speeds up hybridizing flowers.
• Bushes and trees will grow at a faster rate. (4-5 days)
• Allows the player to participate in their birthday or their villagers' birthdays more quickly.
• In New Horizons, the player can time travel to kick out any villager they want.

Negative [ ]

• There will be more weeds. (Using Wisp by finding his lamp can solve this or Beautiful Town ordinance in Animal Crossing: New Leaf.)
• Flowers will shrivel or die. (Won't happen if Beautiful Town ordinance is in effect in New Leaf.)
• The player will miss out on some items for sale in the in-game shops.
• The player's mailbox may fill up, which will not allow for any more mail until emptied or tossed. (In New Leaf , mail will simply be backed up. Any and all unsent letters will be sent the following day and continue doing so until all scheduled letters are sent.)
• The player will get bed hair if they travel forward in time more than a week.
• Phineas will not appear for a while. (Doesn't include New Leaf.)
• Turnip prices will stay low. (Doesn't seem to happen in Animal Crossing: New Leaf.)
• Turnips will die when a player time travels backwards.
• Villagers will talk about how long the player was away for.
• Cockroaches will appear in the player's home unless the Beautiful Town Ordinance is in effect.
• Tom Nook's Store has the possibility of downgrading in Wild World and City Folk .
• In Wild World , the player will be unable to use the catalog.
• Snowmen in town will melt. This includes traveling backwards, even if the snowman was "alive" on the player's destination day.
• Villagers may feel neglected due to a lack of interaction and move out. This does not apply in New Horizons.
• In New Horizons, time travelling backwards with an open plot past 5AM previous day may cause the plot to fill up.
• In New Horizons, time travelling more than a day forwards or time travelling backwards can cause an already sold plot to glitch out.
• The player can prevent turnip deaths by burying them, time-traveling, and then digging them back up, and the turnips will remain fresh. (This does not work in New Horizons.)
• Animal Crossing
• 2 Fish (New Horizons)

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Animal Crossing now limits time travel a bit

You can still do it, though

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While controversial for some, adjusting your Nintendo Switch’s clock to fast-forward the time or day in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a tradition that stretches back since the beginning of the series. But with the game’s big winter update , fans say that Nintendo has changed what you can and can’t do while time traveling .

First, the good news: You can still time travel. What’s changed, according to many time-traveling players, is that Nintendo has tweaked — or rather, reinforced — how events work. Previously, the company announced that you would be unable to trigger big seasonal events ahead of time , because the game would actually check if your clock was correct. But, as many fans found out, Nintendo wasn’t consistent in enforcing these rules. For example, prior to this new update, you could time travel to Halloween and enjoy the festivities. A handful of recent events have worked this way as well.

No more! Polygon tested it out, and you can’t just adjust your clock to make it Turkey Day (aka Thanksgiving) anytime you’d like. Fans are reporting that you can still travel backward to events that have already transpired in the real world, but you cannot experience new content by jumping forward.

Some fans are rolling with the punches here, and aren’t bothered by Nintendo doing exactly what the company said it would do. Plus, it’s not as huge of a deal if you can still go back and enjoy things later; the only limitation is in getting there faster. Others, meanwhile, bemoan the change — because there are legitimate reasons to time travel in the first place.

“This really sucks for people with busy schedules who don’t have time to do all of the events right when they take place,” one player wrote on a Facebook group dedicated to time-traveling fans . “Especially for events like Toy Day and Turkey Day/the Harvest Festival when people are going to be spending time with their loved ones ... I know you can go back and do them, but it just doesn’t feel the same. Doing them before feels a lot more festive because everyone is still exited about the event.”

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Screen Rant

Biggest risks of time-traveling in animal crossing: new horizons.

Time-traveling in Animal Crossing: New Horizons can lead to the loss of time or Bells if players are not careful. Here are the biggest risks.

In   Animal Crossing: New Horizons , players are notorious for using time-traveling to advance time in the game; however, it does come with some risks.  Like other Animal Crossing games, New Horizons is synced with real-time (per the player's Nintendo Switch), so time passes just like it does in real life. While this can make the game more relatable to players, it also can become tedious when trying to get certain things done. Time-traveling in Animal Crossing  is a great way to speed up processes or go back to any holidays players have missed.

Now that it has been out for more than two years, many  Animal Crossing: New Horizons players have restarted  - or are thinking of restarting - their island. Players will be spending quite a bit of time grinding through tutorials, unlocking terraforming again, building bridges and inclines, and moving buildings around. Tom Nook only allows the player to build one infrastructure item per day and move only one building per day. If players are redesigning their whole island, this can take up a lot of time. This is where time-traveling in ACNH comes in.

Related:  Next Animal Crossing Game: Why ACNH's Sequel Needs Multiple Towns

When it comes to time-traveling in  Animal Crossing: New Horizons , players do take a bit of a risk. It can, however, be worth the reward of saving time and getting things done - or traveling to experience different seasons and holidays. Players can easily  time-travel in ACNH by saving and closing their game, changing the date on their Nintendo Switch in the settings, and reopening the game. Some players refuse to time-travel whereas others wouldn't play the game any other way.

Problems With Time-Travel In Animal Crossing: New Horizons

When time-traveling in  Animal Crossing: New Horizons , players need to have a strategy or they will end up with more work, and fewer Bells, than they started with. One of the biggest risks of time-traveling is weeds. Each day at 6 am, three new weeds appear on the player's island and they will continue to grow each day. A few days or longer of time-traveling in  ACNH  without keeping up with daily weeding can lead to an abundance of weeds that will need to be picked since the game believes the Animal Crossing island is being ignored . This can take a bit of time but is worth it in the end, especially since the player can sell the weeds to Leif for 20 Bells per weed.

Every Sunday, Daisy Mae comes and sells turnips to the player in  Animal Crossing: New Horizons . These turnips are bought and sold at varying prices, similar to the real-life stock market. If players have not invested in any turnips, time-travelers will not have to worry about this issue. However, if a player invests thousands of Bells on turnips on a Sunday and then time travels either backward or forward to the following Sunday, all of their turnips in  ACNH will be spoiled , and spoiled turnips are worth absolutely nothing. Many players, even without time travel, have forgotten to sell their turnips and ended up with a major loss of Bells. This can hit the player hard depending on the state of their bank account.

If players are planning on time-traveling in  Animal Crossing: New Horizons , they need to be willing to take a few risks. It can definitely be worth it with the chance at speeding up some of the more tedious tasks in the game or being able to experience missed holidays and seasons. Hopefully, in the future, the  Animal Crossing games will make it a little easier to either time travel or get more done in a single day - without having to worry about such risks.

Next:  Animal Crossing Villagers We Don't Want To See In The Next Game

New Restrictions Placed On Time Travel In Animal Crossing: New Horizons

You'll just have to wait for Toy Day

• by Liam Doolan Fri 20th Nov 2020

Time travel in Nintendo's lifestyle simulation series Animal Crossing has always been a bit of a controversial play style. While some players are eager to see what the future may bring, others believe it's the equivalent of cheating, as it allows you to unlock special items, earn Bells fast and participate in certain events ahead of schedule.

While this style of play is still a thing, it appears the latest Winter Update for the game has made some minor adjustments to time travel. Players who skip forward will no longer be able to activate certain events in the future (such as Turkey Day and Toy Day) if they haven't actually played out yet in real life. They can, however, travel back to events that have already occurred.

As you might have guessed, there's been some mixed reactions to this discovery - with some claiming they don't always have time to play the game on a specific date and others glad to hear events will no longer be revealed before their set date.

https://twitter.com/pastel_gutsu/status/1329247696893452291

https://twitter.com/theforestgnome/status/1329518488591929346

What are your thoughts about no longer being able to participate in events ahead of time? Leave your thoughts below.

[source polygon.com ]

About Liam Doolan

Liam is a news writer and reviewer for Nintendo Life and Pure Xbox. He's been writing about games for more than 15 years and is a lifelong fan of Mario and Master Chief. He's also got a soft spot for Sonic the Hedgehog.

• Author Profile

Comments 66

• nessisonett
• Fri 20th Nov 2020

It might be cheating but you’re only cheating yourself. Like peeking at cards in solitaire, where’s the fun?

• Anti-Matter

Hah ! I knew it. Oh, well... I still have a lot time to play other games or keep time travelling for other events to exploit the items. Time traveller will never give up ! 🤟

I approve. The more they implement to deter time travelling, the better.

I appreciate this! It's always a bummer to catch spoilers when browsing around online before an event even happens.

Look anyone who has a issue with them restricting it BA to you bc you cheating is cheating and if you don't want to play the game like everyone els then don't buy it. But How I feel I really love that they did this, its nice to not have spoilers, its nice to know that you have to wait for that time xmas day like in real life.

• Kimyonaakuma

Evah Destruction's tweet gets featured before Isabelle herself? Didn't realise Nintendolife were Dragula fans

I don't need Christmas right now anyway, too many DIY recipes to get before November is over...

• jamesthemagi

I don't time travel, but sucks for the people that do I understand everyone schedule is not the same and wanting to get a head start As long as TT are respectful and don't post anything online to spoil surprises I don't care and think people should be able to play the game how they want

The most annoying thing about the Halloween update was DAY 1 of it being out all the time travelers were bragging online showing off their fully decorated Halloween towns with everything unlocked. I’m so glad this is no longer a thing. We all share the same internet communities, it is RUDE to jump ahead and show others what happens. End of conversation.

Did people really not expect this?

@Kimyonaakuma "I don't need Christmas right now anyway"

• StardusterEX

No problems with that here. I’d prefer not to have AC events spoiled ahead of time, especially the month-long ones. I work second shift and don’t always have time to play, especially during the day, so it’s nice that I can still turn time back if I miss out on something, though.

@jamesthemagi if the people that TT are busy and miss it they can TT back and do it that way

• MarioVillager92

Nothing against time travellers, but I'm glad that Nintendo did this, honestly. No more holiday spoilers!

All the articles are saying it's a new restriction, but Bunny Day did this too.

Toy day was always the best holiday in any AC game because the music and the snow!

theres no harm in time travelling for a single player game

The spoilers thing I can kinda understand, though how are people being spoiled so easily. I haven't even played they game since June and I have no clue what the other holidays look like. This article actually spoiled more for me than anything else, haha.

I don't see a problem with people doing what they want single-player. I get not wanting spoilers though, I hate spoilers.

I love Nintendolife, but WOW they report on stuff that isn't new as being new a lot.

Was the same for Bunny Day, a patch contained the data ... it wasn't part of the games code until you patched, so you can't "time trivial" to use a feature that isn't part of your freaking game code yet.

That is ALL that happening here. Using time trivial as click bait by suggesting this is a change to that "style of play" is honestly shameful, and horrible journalistic integrity. The headline should say

"Yo, you can't play toy day yet because you don't have the datafiles. Dah."

Stopped playing this a month after it came out but good for people who still care.

Animal Crossing should be enjoyed however a player wants to enjoy the game. It's a mostly relaxed, single player experience that's personal to that particular player. TT should be perfectly fine as the player should have the option to dictate the game's pace not the other way around. I haven't played New Horizons since a little after Bunny Day, so there's plenty for me to take in when I do decide to pick up the game again.

BUT I WANT IT TO BE CHRISTMAS NOW !!!! I’m a GROWN UP!!! Christmas plays by MY RULES!!’ NOT the other way around!!! WHY DOES NInTENDO continue to treat us like BABIES!???!! I’M a ReSPONSiBLE, WELL ADJUSTED ADULTTTT!!! YOU CANT HOLD MY TOY DAY TO RANSOM NINTENDO!!!

NOT FAIR!!!!

How can the game even tell the difference between the clock being skipped forward and it being the actual day in reality?

• ChromaticDracula

Really wish I knew how to post a gif here because I would post one of Cher’s music video for If I Could Turn Back Time.

• sonicmeerkat

Make everyone angry by selling time travel passes for real money.

@Sam_Loser2 Well, on System setting menu, you can set your time manually or sycnh with your actual Time Zone. To able join in Festival events, your time clock must be sycnhed with actual Time zone, not by manual adjustment that considered as Time Travel time setting.

I'm so happy Nintendo finally found a way to stop those cheaters. I like to be surprised in the game and not know weeks in advance what is going to happen.

• Pandy-the-Panda

I hate People who time travel forward, if your busy on the day you can still time travel backwards to participate

@Kitoro There is when they post about it online

I'm not fussed either way, it's nice to have a few surprises now though.

I mean, if you don't have the time you can play them later. I'm not sure why that's so much worse than playing earlier.

I did appreciate having guides that tell me how many things I can find at what time, especially for the wedding event with its arbitrary order limit the game never tells you about until you actually hit it. I would have missed out on so many items because I tend to save up first to know what I can actually afford.

@nessisonett Until they start posting spoilers online. I've seen our local resident time traveler post spoilers about what's to come on here. It kinda does take the fun out of it, reading about it online instead of finding out yourself. Which wouldn't be a problem if this wasn't possible, because then everyone would find out at the same time.

And yet all the new items for Turkey Day and Toy Day have been spoiled online. Hackers are even selling the items for real money. Well done Nintendo.

Time travelleres killed the fun out of this game. Nintendo already designed it so that special events are longer than just a few days to make it easier on people with a tight gaming schedule. I hope the next game bans these cheaters, at least in its first year.

@Tokujo I think is difficult who to blame there, should it be the hackers that get the 'hate', or Nintendo for leaving the holes.

It seems to me that there are little that the hackers can't break into, which begs to ask why there is so much reliance on the technology.

I never did any time travel as I always wanted to play at the pace Nintendo intended, and enjoyed the game for the 'game.' I knew this was going to happen though, and in my opinion it should. Some things you just need to wait and enjoy as it comes time...stop fancying yourself Dr. Strange.

I'm fine with this. As long as we can travel backwads in case we missed an event. And I only think that option is fair in case I or someone else has to send in their Switch for repair. I'd be fine if Mr Resetti came out to chew time travellers out too. ^^

I’m personally in the “don’t time travel” camp. However I don’t see TT’ing as cheating and I don’t begrudge those that do it.. doing it. It’s a game and people should be able to play it how they want

How are they doing this, technically speaking? Is there going to be a micro-update to download for each holiday? Can’t remember how it went for Creepy Rabb.. err, Bunny Day

The tears sustain me

I mean I never time travel and I don't really agree people who do, but... Why do this? It's so unnecessary.

@HeadPirate am I missing something? I saw loads of people skipping ahead to 31 October for the Halloween event. The news here is that people can no longer do that because the system checks whether the real-world date is correct...

• Ferdinand_Von_Aegir

I just don't like that you have to wait for the day of the event to get cool decorations for the event. Like I wanted to make my Island all spooky but I had to wait for Spooky day to make it all spooky so it kinda defeats the point.

Also every Holiday is just a few fetch quests

There should be a ban on anyone doing time travel. It created a toxic community where anyone who doesn't tt is attacked because their islands suck, aren't pretty, etc. And the interest rate, nerfed because of time travellers. The list goes on, by now I believe we all know the side effects of tt. Ban it Nintendo, grow some balls!

• Mountain_Man

All the people saying, "Why does Nintendo bother when this is a single player game," have you forgotten about the online component?

You can go ahead and do the event as soon as the game files are there. Always has been that way, always will be that way. Bunny day the game files showed up the day of the event. Halloween they were part of the fall patch for some reason, which is why you could skip ahead. Toy day and Turkey day are not part of the winter patch, so it's like bunny day ... we likely wont even have the files until the day of the event.

The important part is nothing has changed in the way this is being handled, even if it's pretty arbitrary, It's misleading to say this has anything to do with Nintendo making some sort of blanket change to how it's going to handle all events and/or it has anything to do with blocking time travel.

• thesilverbrick

I don’t take issue with people time traveling, but I loathe seeing YouTube thumbnails of holiday events weeks before they actually happen. The game might be a solitary experience, but irresponsible time travelers ruin surprises for those who want to play the game the way it was intended to be enjoyed. I for one am so glad for this change.

I actually think time travelling ruins the game. I'd be playing the game normally and my girlfriend was TT'iing, all my friends were too. I go to their towns and then they go to mine and think I'M the n00b! B***h please, I was playing AC long before you!

I'm only being half serious. I do think it wrecks the game's spirit, though and I'll actually be bowing out of the series from here on. I'll just take my memories and leave. Hope everyone else continues to enjoy it though.

But a bit of a prediction: The next game in the series won't sell anywhere near the same numbers.

• Heavyarms55

Outrage culture is so exhausting...

I dont think TT was such a problem for previous games in the series but now with the advancement of social media since New Leafs era its incredibly hard to avoid spoilers (save for absconding from the internet entirely 😅). Its reassuring to know that people can TT backwards to events they may have missed however so all is not lost for players who do like to TT, doing it this way keeps everyone happy & even those who are completley against TT no longer have an argument against it.

• ShinyUmbreon

So they finally notice that good for them

@CodyMKW Oh ok, didn't know that That's cool

Is toy day christmas eve or christmas?

• PBNightmare

@TheSmashTheorist Toy day is December 24th.

I timetraveled on my first island....

I have nightmares, and have only done it twice on my second island

@Pandy why?

@Kieroni As did Wedding Season. It’s not a new thing.

First of all, this isn’t new. Major events like Bunny Day and wedding season were timelocked too. Secondly, Nintendo must be getting as tired of the time travelers whining about no content when they blast through everything as we are of hearing it. Deserved honestly.

• Red_Silurian
• Sat 21st Nov 2020

If you don't invest 20 years of your life's research, in a flux capacitor you don't deserve to timetravel... But that's just my 2c

• Chibi_Manny

This is awesome, I love that Nintendo did this. No more spoilers, now everyone has to wait fair and square which is fair for the developers as well as it is the way they intended the events to be played. People complaining that they don't have time to wait for the event or that they don't have time to play on the actual day will have to suck it up because the fact that we are allowed to time travel backwards to experience the events incase we miss them means all their whining excuses are 100% invalid and just makes them look bad lmao

• GannonBanned

@nessisonett a lot of people would TT - get all the unique items - return to the present and trade them for bells/NMTs.

The Facebook/Youtube/Reddit social component of the ACNH can’t be forgotten.

Patients is a virtue.

Christmas is the most anticipated holiday of the year so it seems only fitting to make everyone wait.

Put yourself in the Devs shoes. If they intended you to get something on a specific day and you manipulated your clock(Outside of the game) to get it early that must be annoying to them. I’ve been playing since wild world when they had actual consequences doe tting. It could be so much worse.

• Kitsune_Rei
• Sun 22nd Nov 2020

I'm good with this, so long as they don't hurt you for going back. I was busy a lot of October so want to go back and play leading up to Halloween. I've never wanted to do events early, just be able to do what I missed.

I’ve got a problem with the holidays being called turkey day and toy day. As for me and my house we thankfully celebrate Thanksgiving, and we rejoice that Jesus came at Christmas. It’s not about the turkey or the toys. Don’t let the world make this holiday shallow with birds and toys. Games have no problems showing blood and gore but they want to take the good things out. Not in my house!

• Tue 24th Nov 2020

I guess I see a reason to stop people from snooping for presents. I would like to see Nintendo add a feature where one could play or replay holiday events they missed or want to revisit, w/o having to change their system date and time. They could limit this to 12 or 6 months or something. I hear so many people say they can't play games during most holidays, at least the adults.

• Mon 8th Feb 2021

@Snatcher you say "don't buy it" but what about those who have already bought it and now have it made so they cant play the events because they are too busy to participate, plus the whole piont of the game is to play your own way, yet they remove more and more of what helps to make your island your's. l plus it's a simple case of 'if you don't like time travelling, then dont do it.' What others do on their island shouldn't effect you and you shouldn't dictate what they can and cant do.

@joeynitro Some people just don't want to be spoiled. also for those who got the game I'm mostly talking about the people who are thinking about it or are mad about but still want to get it. Things like this happens with games all the time, were they will change somthing even after you have gotten used to it, sadly there is nothing you can do.

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This is why you shouldn't time travel in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Almost everything in Animal Crossing: New Horizons takes time to accomplish. Whether you're constructing a new building, waiting for someone to move into a plot of land, or trying to get fruit and money trees to grow, the main obstacle in the way of your island's advancement is the clock. Therefore, many players have taken to "time traveling"; that is, manipulating the Nintendo Switch's system clock to make the game think that time has passed.

This tactic is undeniably useful, but that doesn't necessarily mean you should use it. Time traveling arguably undercuts what makes the Animal Crossing series special to begin with. In addition to that, time traveling can also seriously mess up your island paradise if you're careless. Ultimately, everyone can play their games however they want to, but we think you should avoid time travel. Here's why.

The joyful game the world needs

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is an uplifting and joy-filled life sim that's bursting at the seems with personality and charm. It will cheer up everyone who plays it, and it offers something fun and relaxing to look forward to playing every day.

It goes against what makes Animal Crossing special

The biggest reason why you shouldn't time travel is because it's pushing against the careful design of the game itself. Animal Crossing is meant to be played slowly and over a long period of time, giving players something new to look forward to doing each and every day.

The journey is more important than the destination.

The accumulation of in-game wealth, items, and progress towards your island paradise's development is simply less satisfying if you use time travel to cheat and obtain everything in one sitting. With Animal Crossing, making your way forward in the journey towards your destination is what makes reaching that destination such a special accomplishment. If I were to sit down and time travel my way to the completion of my island, I would probably quit the game because there would be very little to look forward to anymore.

I absolutely understand the frustration people feel with Animal Crossing's habit of time-gating things, but I would encourage these players to take a step back and consider being patient. Instead of looking at your island as a huge project that will take forever to complete, try splitting your progress up into smaller and more manageable objectives. Give yourself a goal to complete for each in-game day, and see how you feel when you finish them. If you're still feeling impatient and antsy to keep playing, then the path of the time traveler is for you. But who knows? Maybe you'll realize how much fun it is to make each new day an adventure.

You can mess up your island

Another reason you shouldn't time travel is because it poses a lot of risks to your island's aesthetic. Time traveling a few days or so won't cause any problems, but if you ever skip ahead more than that, your island will likely become infested by weeds. This is because a couple of weeds grow each day in the game, and when you skip a large amount of time, the weeds spread like wildfire without you there to pull them. Not only does this ruin the look of your paradise, but it will also cause your island rating to sharply decline, forcing you to spend time pulling weeds before things go back to normal.

Though weeds are the primary concern, some other bad things can happen too. Any fruit left on the ground prior to time traveling will go rotten and will start attracting ants, and turnips will most likely spoil too, which can be painful if you spent a lot of Bells on investing into the Stalk Market. In addition to this, cockroaches will also infest your house and tank your Happy Home Academy rating, forcing you to run around and squish them.

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Your villagers might think you hate them

Perhaps the most emotionally-distressing risk that comes with time traveling is that your villagers might become depressed because you haven't spoken to them for an extended period of time. If you time travel too far, they may leave the island entirely.

You can somewhat mitigate this by traveling in short increments of time and then making sure you talk to your villagers each time, but even if this prevents them from leaving, you'll still be harming the relationship you have with them because you still won't be talking with them as much as you would be if you played normally. If you care about having a quality friendship with your villagers, don't time travel!

You can't skip to future events

There's no point in skipping to future events; they don't exist yet!

One of the primary reasons people time traveled in previous Animal Crossing games was to experience special events and holidays, such as Halloween or Toy Day (Christmas), early. However, that isn't possible in New Horizons because of how Nintendo has chosen to implement events.

Instead of having all of them baked into the game at launch, Nintendo has opted to patch events in when it's time for them to happen and then remove them from the game until the event rolls around again. Essentially, this means that if you were to skip ahead to a future event day in New Horizons, it would just be a regular day — and as we established, there would be weeds and sad villagers everywhere. Don't do it!

Your thoughts

What do you think regarding the highly-debated topic of time travel in Animal Crossing? I respect the reasons why people choose to do it (after all, it is their game), but I do think that folks are missing out on how genuinely fun it is to play through the game slow-and-steady style. If you do end up choosing to time travel, at least make sure you do so carefully so you can avoid the risks discussed in this article.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available for $60 on Nintendo Switch.

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons has a time travel cheat, but there's a catch

This exploit comes at a grave cost.

Animal Crossing has always been a fairly relaxed video game franchise where all your achievements happen in real-time, meaning that if the game says a project will be finished "tomorrow," you'll have to actually wait until tomorrow. A day takes a full 24-hour cycle to get through. Because of this, progress can often feel frustratingly languid for certain players . If you're one of those players, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has a hack most players refer to as time travel . This popular strategy is still possible in New Horizons despite the auto-save feature, but there's a catch.

Even in Animal Crossing , time travel is a relative experience. No, you cannot build a time machine out of wood and stone from your tropical island, but it instead refers to the process of changing your console's internal clock to a date in the future so you can artificially progress the game, forcing your plants to grow and buildings to build.

You can experience 20 Animal Crossing days in just 15 seconds using this method, and it's sort of a mainstay of the Animal Crossing franchise that has been around for every title since the GameCube days. Despite pre-launch claims from the New Horizons' director, Aya Kyogoku, that the ability to time travel was removed , players have discovered that it's still easy to pull off. (That didn't take long.)

How to time travel in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

• If you're currently playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons, save your game and close the application. This is done by pressing the Switch's Home button, highlighting the New Horizons icon, pressing the 'X' button, then selecting Close.
• On the Home menu, go to System Settings by clicking the gear icon found on the bottom. It should be adjacent to the digital power button.
• In System Settings, scroll down on the left until you can select the "System" option.
• Once in System, select "Date and Time." Turn off the setting the says “Synchronize Clock via Internet.”
• Now you're free to change the date to anything you want! Change it to any point in the future.
• Return to Animal Crossing to reap the rewards.

Time travel can be a great boon for earning interest on the money saved within your Nook Stop account. Using it you can make tons of income, fast! But who needs that when you can get unlimited funds with ease? Be wary of leaning on time travel. If you jump ahead too much, the game will read your actions as having neglected this island, causing weeds to grow and certain islanders to depart for better living spaces.

Additionally, you won't be able to enjoy New Horizons holiday events, which require you to be connected to the internet to verify you're experiencing holidays as they happen in real life. According to a recent update on Nintendo's Japanese website , Bunny Day will last from April 1 to April 12. If you don't want to miss it, make sure your system clock is on April 1 when the real April 1 rolls around.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is now available on Nintendo Switch.

• Video Games

Animal Crossing Players With 500 Hours Playtime Are Only Just Realizing How Fishing Really Works

• Fishing in Animal Crossing is much calmer of an experience than many expect it to be.
• Completing the museum with all 80 fish in the game will be a long-term project, taking at least a year.
• Cozy games like Animal Crossing offer a meditative quality, aiding in reducing stress and providing mental health benefits.

Longtime Animal Crossing: New Horizons players are just now figuring out how relaxing the in-game fishing mechanic really is, with some players noting exactly how long it took them to figure out. There is so much to do in Animal Crossing: New Horizons and though players might lean towards other options first, fishing is an important part of the game. With the seasons bringing new varieties of fish to Animal Crossing , players will oftentimes find themselves standing near an ocean, lake, or a pond with a fishing rod in their hands waiting for a bite.

Reddit user junimo- shared that after 45 hours of playing Animal Crossing , a random decision opened their eyes to how fishing should really work. Most players decide to tap A furiously in order to reel in their catch, but junimo- said that all they really need to do is just press A once and the game takes over the rest. Another player, Own_Butterscotch_445, said they had never realized this was an option, writing:

"Wait what?... ive played this game for over 500 hours... ive restarted my island... multiple times... this is a thing?"

This revelation came as a shock to many, with numerous comments agreeing they didn't know this. The thread then quickly turned into players sharing their various other rituals to help them catch fish, including closing their eyes to listen for the audio cue to prevent them accidentally hitting the button too early - or too late.

Animal Crossing New Horizons: Fishing Tips & Tricks

Fishing in animal crossing is actually relaxing, cozy games should be a no-stress zone.

It does make sense that the fishing mechanics in the game are so simple. While Animal Crossing might not be as big as it used to be , it is still one of the most popular cozy games and cozy games aren't supposed to be stressful . Having players tap a button in that manner might detract from the ability to just relax and take in the game. Though sometimes this challenge was a welcome one, since junimo- mentioned they will miss the adrenaline rush they got from the way they used to fish.

Though the act of fishing itself might be less stressful for players thanks to junimo-'s discovery, those who want to complete their museum will find other things to worry about. Rare fish can be really difficult to find, like the ever-elusive oarfish in Animal Crossing . There are very specific requirements that need to be met in order to catch the rarer fish , like weather, time of day, and season. Hopefully, this will help players focus more on the type of fish they catch, instead of focusing on the fishing part itself.

Cozy Games Often Have A Meditative Quality

Fishing in animal crossing can be good for mental health.

One of the most endearing qualities of many cozy games is that they can often provide a truly calming, therapeutic sensation while completing simple tasks such as fishing or doing other repetitive chores. Fishing in Animal Crossing can often provide a chance to slow down and enjoy the calming virtual water while just taking a moment out of one's busy reality, and offers some unique benefits that are not found in the more action-oriented video games that lead the market. Therefore, it makes sense that the task is not an adrenaline rush, as that would take away from the tranquility.

This is one of the reasons why many cozy games have been heralded for their mental health benefits, particularly for players who may suffer from anxiety, as the quietness and peaceful moments that come from the slower pace of cozy, casual games can reduce stress. These escapes onto a virtual island to fish and pick flowers provide a space to unwind, while the simple act of fishing can offer a chance to think through problems or stresses in a safe, though virtual, space.

10 Best Cozy Games On Nintendo Switch

Fishing in animal crossing is a long-term project, the museum requirements will take at least a year.

Even with the gained knowledge that fishing in ACNH is less stressful than previously believed, that doesn't make it any less challenging. Completing the museum will require catching and donating one of each of the 80 fish in the game to Blathers. With fish such as the Coelacanth, which can only be caught while it's raining and has a very low spawn rate, and the Great White Shark, which can only be found in the ocean from 9pm to 4am between July and September, getting each fish in the game is a true feat.

Many of the fish are only available during certain seasons, and the game follows the real life calendar and clock for the players' location. This means that unless a player wants to fudge the system by changing their date and time in the Nintendo Switch's system settings, the museum will require a player to continue playing Animal Crossing for at least a full year to get 100% completion. However, the undeniable beauty and serenity found in walking around the completed aquarium section of the museum is meditative in its own right.

One of the best parts of Animal Crossing is how new ideas and ways to play the game keep popping up, regardless of the fact it has been out for four years. Many find the game to be worth continuing to go back to, whether for the peaceful nature of fishing and crafting, or to check in on their island villagers. From hilarious recreations, like this Willy Wonka Experience meets Animal Crossing scene , to new realizations like junimo- made, the Animal Crossing: New Horizons fandom will continue to thrive and enjoy sharing their love of the game all these years later.

Source: junimo-/Reddit , Own_Butterscotch_445/Reddit

Animal Crossing New Horizons

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a Nintendo Switch exclusive game that made a big impact over the last few years since it was released. This is a charming game in which the player moves to a small island town, with the goal of building up a new home, helping the town, and making new friends along the way. The game allows for online co-op, so you can join your friend's island and play alongside each other! Animal Crossing is a perfect game for kicking back, relaxing, and just tuning out and letting all the stress of the day go as you wander your island and slowly build up your home and town.

Franchise Animal Crossing

Platform(s) Nintendo Switch

Released March 20, 2020

Developer(s) Nintendo EPD

Publisher(s) Nintendo

Genre(s) Simulation

Platforms Nintendo Switch

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• National Media Release

CBP Releases March 2024 Monthly Update

WASHINGTON — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released operational statistics today for March 2024. CBP monthly reporting can be viewed on CBP’s Stats and Summaries webpage .

“CBP - in coordination with our partners across the Federal government as well as foreign partners - continues to take significant actions to disrupt criminal networks amidst unprecedented hemispheric migration activity,” said Troy A. Miller, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner. “Encounters at our southern border are lower right now, but we remain prepared for changes, continually managing operations to respond to ever-shifting transnational criminal activities and migration patterns.”

CBP continues to work closely with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to quickly process individuals encountered at the border and remove those who do not establish a legal basis to remain in the United States, delivering strengthened consequences promulgated by the Circumvention of Lawful Pathways rule and its associated measures. From May 12, 2023 to April 3, 2024, DHS has removed or returned over 660,000 individuals, the vast majority of whom crossed the southwest border, including more than 102,000 individual family members. The majority of all individuals encountered at the southwest border over the past three years have been removed, returned, or expelled. Total removals and returns since mid-May exceed removals and returns in every full fiscal year since 2011. 

Below are key operational statistics for CBP’s primary mission areas in March 2024. View all CBP statistics online. 

Ensuring Border Security and Managing Migration 

CBP continues to expeditiously process and remove individuals who do not have a legal basis to remain in the country. We are working together with our domestic and foreign partners to jointly disrupt irregular migration across the region, offering safe, orderly, and lawful pathways for intending migrants and taking action against ruthless smugglers who continue to spread falsehoods and show disregard for the safety and well-being of vulnerable migrants. We are also working alongside U.S. government partners to target transnational criminal organizations and smugglers who take advantage of and profit from migrants and taking new measures to stop individuals from exploiting traditional travel methods for migration.

In March 2024, the U.S. Border Patrol recorded 137,480 encounters between ports of entry along the southwest border.  In March, encounters between ports of entry along the southwest border were 45% lower than in December 2023 and 16% lower than March 2023.

CBP had a total of 189,372 encounters along the southwest border in March 2024, including U.S. Border Patrol encounters between ports of entry, as well as individuals who presented themselves at ports of entry (including those with CBP One™ appointments, detailed further below).

CBP continually analyzes and responds to changes in migration patterns, particularly irregular migration outside of lawful pathways and border crossings. We work with our federal and international partners to combat human smuggling. The fact remains: the United States continues to enforce immigration law, and those without a legal basis to remain will be removed. Migrants attempting to enter without authorization are subject to removal under Title 8 authorities.

The U.S. Border Patrol has undertaken significant efforts in recent years to expand capacity to aid and rescue individuals in distress. To prevent the loss of life, CBP initiated a Missing Migrant Program in 2017 that locates noncitizens reported missing, rescues individuals in distress, and reunifies decedents’ remains with their families in the border region. In March, the U.S. Border Patrol conducted 439 rescues, a 77% increase from January 2024. This brings the FY 2024 total rescues to 2,488 . 

View more migration statistics and rescues statistics .  

CBP One™ App   

The CBP One™ mobile application remains a key component of DHS’s efforts to incentivize noncitizens to use lawful, safe, humane, and orderly pathways and processes. Generally, noncitizens who cross between the ports of entry or who present themselves at a port of entry without making a CBP One™ appointment are subject to the Circumvention of Lawful Pathways rule. This rule presumes asylum ineligibility for those who fail to use lawful processes, with certain exceptions. DHS encourages migrants to utilize lawful processes, rather than having migrants take the dangerous journey to cross unlawfully between the ports of entry, which also carries consequences under Title 8.

The CBP One™ app allows noncitizens throughout central or northern Mexico who lack documents sufficient for admission to the United States to schedule an appointment and remain in place until presenting at a preferred port of entry for their appointment, reducing migrants’ need to crowd into immediate border areas. Use of the CBP One™ app to schedule appointments at ports of entry has increased CBP’s capacity to process migrants more efficiently and orderly while cutting out unscrupulous smugglers who endanger and profit from vulnerable migrants.

In March, CBP processed 44,000 individuals through appointments at ports of entry utilizing advanced information submitted in CBP One™. Since the appointment scheduling function in CBP One™ was introduced in January 2023 through the end of March 2024, more than 547,000 individuals have successfully scheduled appointments to present at ports of entry using CBP One™ instead of risking their lives in the hands of smugglers. The top nationalities who have been processed are Venezuelan, Haitian, and Mexican.

A percentage of daily available appointments are allocated to the earliest registered CBP One™ profiles, so noncitizens who have been trying to obtain appointments for the longest time are prioritized. CBP is continually monitoring and evaluating the application to ensure its functionality and guard against bad actors. 

CHNV Parole Processes

On January 5, 2023, DHS announced processes providing certain Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans, who have a supporter in the United States, undergo and clear robust security vetting, and meet other eligibility criteria, to come to the United States in a safe, orderly, and lawful way. These processes were built on the success of the process for Venezuelans established in October 2022; they are publicly available online, and DHS has been providing regular updates on their use to the public. This is part of the Administration’s strategy to combine expanded lawful pathways with stronger consequences to reduce irregular migration and have kept hundreds of thousands of people from migrating irregularly.

Through the end of March 2024, 404,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans arrived lawfully on commercial flights and were granted parole under these processes. Specifically, 86,000 Cubans, 168,000 Haitians, 77,000 Nicaraguans, 102,000 Venezuelans were vetted and authorized for travel; and 84,000 Cubans, 154,000 Haitians, 69,000 Nicaraguans, and 95,000 Venezuelans arrived lawfully and were granted parole.

Safeguarding Communities by Interdicting Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs

As the largest law enforcement agency in the United States, CBP is uniquely positioned to detect, identify, and seize illicit drugs before they enter our communities. CBP’s combination of interdiction and intelligence capabilities, complemented by its border search authorities, scientific services, non-intrusive inspection equipment, and canine detection teams, places it at the forefront of the U.S. government’s efforts to combat illicit fentanyl and other dangerous drugs.

CBP continues to conduct operations, including Operation Apollo, which target the smuggling of illicit fentanyl and other dangerous drugs. These operations leverage intelligence and investigative information to target drug traffickers’ supply chains and interdict items required in the production of illicit fentanyl, including precursor chemicals, pill presses and parts, movement of finished product, and illicit proceeds.

Nationwide in March, fentanyl seizures increased by 16.1% compared to February and heroin seizures by 19.6% .

To date in FY 2024 through the end of March, CBP has seized 10,026 pounds of fentanyl. CBP has stopped more fentanyl in the last two years than in the previous five years combined, and we continue to optimize our intelligence and field operations to stop these deadly substances from reaching American communities. 

Additional CBP drug seizure statistics can be found on the Drug Seizure Statistics webpage .

Facilitating Lawful Trade and Travel 

 As international travel continues to increase, CBP is leveraging technology to streamline efficiency and increase security at air and land ports of entry. Travelers are encouraged to utilize CBP’s mobile apps to enhance their travel experience, including the Global Entry Mobile Application and Mobile Passport Control , as well as new Global Entry Touchless Portals at nearly all international airports across the United States, which protect passenger privacy and expedite arrival processing by eliminating paper receipts.

Travelers arriving by air into the United States increased 13.9% from March 2023 to March 2024, passenger vehicles processed at ports of entry increased by 2.9% , and pedestrians arriving by land at ports of entry increased 10.8% over the same period.  

CBP works diligently with the trade community and port operators to ensure that merchandise is cleared as efficiently as possible and to strengthen international supply chains and improve border security. In March 2024, CBP processed more than 2.8 million entry summaries valued at more than $275 billion , identifying estimated duties of nearly $6.2 billion to be collected by the U.S. government. In March, trade via the ocean environment accounted for 39.67% of the total import value, followed by air, truck, and rail.

View more travel statistics , and trade statistics . 

Protecting Consumers, Eradicating Forced Labor from Supply Chains, and Promoting Economic Security     

CBP continues to lead U.S. government efforts to eliminate goods from the supply chain made with forced labor from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. In March, CBP stopped 749 shipments valued at more than $32 million for further examination based on the suspected use of forced labor.

Intellectual property rights violations continue to put America’s innovation economy at risk. Counterfeit and pirated goods threaten the competitiveness of U.S. businesses, the livelihoods of American workers, and the health and safety of consumers.

Consumers are encouraged to be alert to the dangers of counterfeit goods especially when shopping online as they support criminal activity, hurt American businesses, and often have materials or ingredients that can pose serious health and safety risks. Every year CBP seizes millions of counterfeit products worth billions of dollars had they been genuine. In March, CBP seized 1,633 shipments that contained counterfeit goods valued at more than $384 million . More information about CBP’s intellectual property rights enforcement is available at https://www.cbp.gov/trade .

CBP is on the frontline of textiles and trade agreements enforcement, combating textile imports that are not compliant with U.S. trade laws. Protecting the domestic textile industry and American consumers is vital to U.S. national security, health care, and economic priorities. Toward this end, CBP is intensifying its targeting and enforcement efforts to increase and expedite the prosecution of illegal customs practices. CBP’s efforts include de minimis compliance, forced labor enforcement, cargo compliance, regulatory audits, and public awareness. This month DHS announced an enhanced strategy to combat illicit trade and level the playing field for the American textile industry, which accounts for over 500,000 U.S. jobs and is critical for our national security. The plan details the actions CBP and Homeland Security Investigations will take to hold perpetrators accountable for customs violations, and safeguard the American textile industry.

View more UFLPA enforcement statistics , and intellectual property rights enforcement statistics. 

Defending our Nation’s Agricultural System  

 Through targeting, detection, and interception, CBP agriculture specialists work to prevent threats from entering the United States.  

CBP issued 7,105 emergency action notifications for restricted and prohibited plant and animal products entering the United States in March 2024. CBP conducted 106,410 positive passenger inspections and issued 841 civil penalties and/or violations to the traveling public for failing to declare prohibited agriculture items.   

View more agricultural enforcement statistics . 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the comprehensive management, control, and protection of our nation’s borders, combining customs, immigration, border security, and agricultural protection at and between official ports of entry.