How to Build Useful Public Works Projects in Animal Crossing New Leaf
Check your approval rating., Perform actions worth 3 points., Perform actions worth 1 point., Play Animal Crossing: New Leaf daily., Visit Town Hall., Sit in the mayor’s chair., Check out the different Public Work Projects., Choose a project., Show...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Check your approval rating.
Before considering what kind of project to start, you must first have achieved a 100% approval rating from your villagers.
To know how much approval rating you currently have, journey to the Town Hall (the purple marker on the map at the bottom screen).
Enter the Town Hall and sit in the mayor’s chair located behind Isabelle’s desk.
Isabelle will approach you once you sit down, and speak to you, giving you a variety of options.
Select “Check approval rating” to see how the villagers view you.
If it is not yet 100%, there are several things you can do to quickly reach the perfect goal.
If it is perfect, proceed to Part
2. -
Step 2: Perform actions worth 3 points.
There are several actions that can raise your approval rating by 3; however, you will only receive points the first time you complete each option.
Changing the town music—Speak to Isabelle in the Town Hall.
She will give you the option to change the town music, but only if your town is two in-game days old or more.
Changing the town flag—Speak to Isabelle in the Town Hall.
Putting something up for sale at Re-tail—Visiting Re-tail (the pink arrow icon on the map at the bottom of the screen), and talk to Reese, the pink alpaca.
Posting something on the bulletin board—Go to the bulletin board next to the train station (northernmost part of town) and hit “A” on your console, and then enter your message.
Donating a fish, bug, or fossil to the museum—This can be done after capturing a fish with the fishing rod, catching a bug with the net, or digging up a fossil with the shovel.
Enter the museum, which is on the far left side of Main Street, and talk to Blathers. , These actions can be repeated:
Removing trash from the water by fishing—At times when you fish, rather than pulling up an animal, you will come up with a piece of junk, which can later be disposed of.
Note that this is a random occurrence.
Introducing yourself to villagers—This can be done by approaching villagers and hitting the “A” button to converse with them.
Sending letters—Buy letter paper at the Nookling Junction.
Open it in your inventory, enter a message, and send it by giving it to the duck working at the Post Office (found on the left hand side of Main Street).
Pulling weeds—This can be done by standing over weeds, which appear as brownish green sprouts of grass, and hitting the “Y” button.
Watering flowers—This can only be done if you own a watering can, which can be purchased at the Nookling Junction.
With the watering can equipped, stand in front of the flowers and hit the “A” button to water them. , You will earn 3 extra points per day simply by playing. , After you have gained the authority to begin projects, take a look at what your options are.
Enter Town Hall, which can be found by locating the purple icon on the map at the bottom of the screen. , Go past the counter, and sit in the same mayoral chair you use to check your approval rating. , When Isabelle asks what you would like to do, select the “Public Work Projects” option.
Depending on what your villagers want, there will be a variety of different options, with up to 13 available at a time:
Permanent Buildings—These are independent businesses, and offer a variety of services to the player, ranging from dance clubs to a police station.
Each one has very different extra features that can enhance the game.
These are the café, campsite, Club LOL, Dream Suite, Fortune Teller Shop, Museum Renovation, police station, and Reset Surveillance Center.
Remodeling Projects—Remodeling projects do not serve a utilitarian function; they are merely a way to change your town’s aesthetics.
If you want to impress visitors to your town, or want a change of scenery, Remodeling Projects are a good investment.
These are the Zen Town Hall, Fairy-Tale Town Hall, Modern Town Hall, Fairy-Tale Train Station, Zen Train Station, and Modern Train Station.
Utility Structures—Utility Structures are interactive objects placed throughout towns.
Players and villagers can sit on the furniture, or ring the bells.
These can make your town like a large playground.
Utility Structures are Camping Cot, Outdoor Chair, Hammock, Bell, Zen Bell, Benches, Picnic Blanket, Tire Toy, Pile of Pipes, Chair Sculpture, Bridges (only 3 bridges can be constructed in one town), Bus Stop, Clocks, Drinking Fountain, Fence, Fire Hydrant, Fountain, Garbage Can, Instrument Shelter, Signs, Street Lamps, Traffic Signal, and Water Well.
Public Art—Public Art is not interactive; its function is to make your town more beautiful.
Like the remodeling projects, they make your town more visually impressive and provide a nice change in atmosphere.
You can select among 3 different types of arches, Archway Sculpture, Cube Sculpture, Custom Design-Sign, Face Cut-Out Standee, Fire Pit, Flower Bed, Hot Spring, Illuminated Heart, Illuminated Tree, Jungle Gym, Rack of Rice, Sandbox, Scarecrow, Stadium Light, Statue Fountain, three different kinds of Topiaries, Torch, Video Screen, Water Pump, Wisteria Trellis, and Zen Garden.
Landmarks—Landmarks are like Public Art, but a bit pricier to fund.
They often are small scale models of famous landmarks, giving your town an extravagant feel.
These include Drilling Rig, Geyser, Lighthouse, Moai Statue, Parabolic Antenna, Pyramid, Solar Panels, Sphinx, Stone Tablet, Stonehenge, Totem Pole, Tower, Windmill, and Wind Turbine. , Depending on your playing style, any of these projects could appeal to you.
If you want a very interactive town, you’ll want a lot of utility structures.
However, if you desire a gorgeous town, Public Art is probably the best choice.
In particular, bridges are very useful because they make your town easier to navigate.
A trash can is also useful for throwing away rotten food, rather than paying for Reese to dispose of it.
All the permanent buildings offer their own unique experience, so their construction highly depends on what sorts of activities you’d like to have around town.
After looking through the options Isabelle offers, hit the “A” button to select your desired project (note only one project can be in construction at a time). , If it is not a permanent building or remodeling project (these take places in pre-determined zones that the player cannot control), Isabelle will ask you where you want to place the project.
She will follow you as you run around town, and depending on the size of the project, you will need to find a plot of land relatively free of trees and houses.
If there are too many trees in an area you’d like to build in, you can remove the trees using an axe and shovel.
Swing at the trees with the axe equipped, then remove their stumps with the shovel.
Both the axe and shovel can be purchased at the Nookling Junction. , When you have decided on a project’s location, face Isabelle and hit the “A” button to talk to her.
Tell her that this is where you wish to begin the new project.
If the area is too small, Isabelle will suggest you find somewhere else , After agreeing on a spot with Isabelle, a fence and gyroid will be placed in the future location of the project.
The gyroid will accept monetary donations that are put towards the project.
Once it reaches the desired amount, the project’s construction will be completed.
Unfortunately, your villagers won’t do much in terms of contributing to your project, so you will have to donate most of the bells yourself.
Simply face the gyroid, hit the “A” button, then select the “Donate” option.
Each project’s price varies widely, from 10,000 bells to nearly half a million bells. -
Step 3: Perform actions worth 1 point.
-
Step 4: Play Animal Crossing: New Leaf daily.
-
Step 5: Visit Town Hall.
-
Step 6: Sit in the mayor’s chair.
-
Step 7: Check out the different Public Work Projects.
-
Step 8: Choose a project.
-
Step 9: Show Isabelle where to construct the project.
-
Step 10: Confirm the location with Isabelle.
-
Step 11: Start donating to the project.
Detailed Guide
Before considering what kind of project to start, you must first have achieved a 100% approval rating from your villagers.
To know how much approval rating you currently have, journey to the Town Hall (the purple marker on the map at the bottom screen).
Enter the Town Hall and sit in the mayor’s chair located behind Isabelle’s desk.
Isabelle will approach you once you sit down, and speak to you, giving you a variety of options.
Select “Check approval rating” to see how the villagers view you.
If it is not yet 100%, there are several things you can do to quickly reach the perfect goal.
If it is perfect, proceed to Part
2.
There are several actions that can raise your approval rating by 3; however, you will only receive points the first time you complete each option.
Changing the town music—Speak to Isabelle in the Town Hall.
She will give you the option to change the town music, but only if your town is two in-game days old or more.
Changing the town flag—Speak to Isabelle in the Town Hall.
Putting something up for sale at Re-tail—Visiting Re-tail (the pink arrow icon on the map at the bottom of the screen), and talk to Reese, the pink alpaca.
Posting something on the bulletin board—Go to the bulletin board next to the train station (northernmost part of town) and hit “A” on your console, and then enter your message.
Donating a fish, bug, or fossil to the museum—This can be done after capturing a fish with the fishing rod, catching a bug with the net, or digging up a fossil with the shovel.
Enter the museum, which is on the far left side of Main Street, and talk to Blathers. , These actions can be repeated:
Removing trash from the water by fishing—At times when you fish, rather than pulling up an animal, you will come up with a piece of junk, which can later be disposed of.
Note that this is a random occurrence.
Introducing yourself to villagers—This can be done by approaching villagers and hitting the “A” button to converse with them.
Sending letters—Buy letter paper at the Nookling Junction.
Open it in your inventory, enter a message, and send it by giving it to the duck working at the Post Office (found on the left hand side of Main Street).
Pulling weeds—This can be done by standing over weeds, which appear as brownish green sprouts of grass, and hitting the “Y” button.
Watering flowers—This can only be done if you own a watering can, which can be purchased at the Nookling Junction.
With the watering can equipped, stand in front of the flowers and hit the “A” button to water them. , You will earn 3 extra points per day simply by playing. , After you have gained the authority to begin projects, take a look at what your options are.
Enter Town Hall, which can be found by locating the purple icon on the map at the bottom of the screen. , Go past the counter, and sit in the same mayoral chair you use to check your approval rating. , When Isabelle asks what you would like to do, select the “Public Work Projects” option.
Depending on what your villagers want, there will be a variety of different options, with up to 13 available at a time:
Permanent Buildings—These are independent businesses, and offer a variety of services to the player, ranging from dance clubs to a police station.
Each one has very different extra features that can enhance the game.
These are the café, campsite, Club LOL, Dream Suite, Fortune Teller Shop, Museum Renovation, police station, and Reset Surveillance Center.
Remodeling Projects—Remodeling projects do not serve a utilitarian function; they are merely a way to change your town’s aesthetics.
If you want to impress visitors to your town, or want a change of scenery, Remodeling Projects are a good investment.
These are the Zen Town Hall, Fairy-Tale Town Hall, Modern Town Hall, Fairy-Tale Train Station, Zen Train Station, and Modern Train Station.
Utility Structures—Utility Structures are interactive objects placed throughout towns.
Players and villagers can sit on the furniture, or ring the bells.
These can make your town like a large playground.
Utility Structures are Camping Cot, Outdoor Chair, Hammock, Bell, Zen Bell, Benches, Picnic Blanket, Tire Toy, Pile of Pipes, Chair Sculpture, Bridges (only 3 bridges can be constructed in one town), Bus Stop, Clocks, Drinking Fountain, Fence, Fire Hydrant, Fountain, Garbage Can, Instrument Shelter, Signs, Street Lamps, Traffic Signal, and Water Well.
Public Art—Public Art is not interactive; its function is to make your town more beautiful.
Like the remodeling projects, they make your town more visually impressive and provide a nice change in atmosphere.
You can select among 3 different types of arches, Archway Sculpture, Cube Sculpture, Custom Design-Sign, Face Cut-Out Standee, Fire Pit, Flower Bed, Hot Spring, Illuminated Heart, Illuminated Tree, Jungle Gym, Rack of Rice, Sandbox, Scarecrow, Stadium Light, Statue Fountain, three different kinds of Topiaries, Torch, Video Screen, Water Pump, Wisteria Trellis, and Zen Garden.
Landmarks—Landmarks are like Public Art, but a bit pricier to fund.
They often are small scale models of famous landmarks, giving your town an extravagant feel.
These include Drilling Rig, Geyser, Lighthouse, Moai Statue, Parabolic Antenna, Pyramid, Solar Panels, Sphinx, Stone Tablet, Stonehenge, Totem Pole, Tower, Windmill, and Wind Turbine. , Depending on your playing style, any of these projects could appeal to you.
If you want a very interactive town, you’ll want a lot of utility structures.
However, if you desire a gorgeous town, Public Art is probably the best choice.
In particular, bridges are very useful because they make your town easier to navigate.
A trash can is also useful for throwing away rotten food, rather than paying for Reese to dispose of it.
All the permanent buildings offer their own unique experience, so their construction highly depends on what sorts of activities you’d like to have around town.
After looking through the options Isabelle offers, hit the “A” button to select your desired project (note only one project can be in construction at a time). , If it is not a permanent building or remodeling project (these take places in pre-determined zones that the player cannot control), Isabelle will ask you where you want to place the project.
She will follow you as you run around town, and depending on the size of the project, you will need to find a plot of land relatively free of trees and houses.
If there are too many trees in an area you’d like to build in, you can remove the trees using an axe and shovel.
Swing at the trees with the axe equipped, then remove their stumps with the shovel.
Both the axe and shovel can be purchased at the Nookling Junction. , When you have decided on a project’s location, face Isabelle and hit the “A” button to talk to her.
Tell her that this is where you wish to begin the new project.
If the area is too small, Isabelle will suggest you find somewhere else , After agreeing on a spot with Isabelle, a fence and gyroid will be placed in the future location of the project.
The gyroid will accept monetary donations that are put towards the project.
Once it reaches the desired amount, the project’s construction will be completed.
Unfortunately, your villagers won’t do much in terms of contributing to your project, so you will have to donate most of the bells yourself.
Simply face the gyroid, hit the “A” button, then select the “Donate” option.
Each project’s price varies widely, from 10,000 bells to nearly half a million bells.
About the Author
Jeffrey White
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