Welcome to the Tip and Tricks page. Here you will find various tidbits of information that you might find useful while playing Animal Crossing for the Nintendo Gamecube. Got a tip or trick of your own? Submit it to axawebsite@megadoomer.com with a subject line of "TIPS AND TRICKS" and you'll be set to go!

Problem: Out of space? Is your basement full and it's come down to deciding between the Grand Piano and your bed?

Solution: Why not try storing those extra items in envelopes? Bet you thought they were just good for letters but you can use them to store your extra items. Simply drag and drop any item, providing it's not "living", in an open letter. You can also store the letters with the items in them at the post office, this creates a ton more space for storage and is a good way to store items that you can't reorder in case you want them later.

Problem: Can't find that Golden Shovel that's all the rage?

Solution: Well, money may not grow on trees but shovels do. Head over to Nooks and pick yourself up an extra shovel. Take that shovel and bury it in the "glowing" spot. With any luck you'll have a full grown Golden Tree in your village within a few days. Simply shake your new tree and voila..........a golden shovel will fall.

Problem: Does it seem that the insects are more afraid of you than you are of them?

Solution: Try pressing and holding the "A" button with the net equiped and you'll go into sneak mode. Now you can creep up and capture those wily insects before they fly away.

Problem: Have you finally paid off your mortgage only to find that you don't have any room for all the free and clear money you're pulling in?

Solution: Take a visit to the Post Office after paying off your final loan and you'll find that a savings account has been set up for you. Deposit enough money and you just might get a reward from the Post Office.

Problem: Do you yearn for summer weather year round?

Solution: Connect your GBA to and head to the dock. Didn't know your town had a dock? Well it does and you can find it on your map. You'll see a turtle (Kappa) called Kapp'n in a rowboat. Kindly speak to this chap and he'll offer to take you to the Island, free of charge no less. Once on the island you can enjoy fun in the sun year round.

Problem: Are you tired of your current roof color? Do you need the number of a good painter?

Solution: Well unfortunately getting a new paint job isn�t as easy as making a phone call. Luckily for you there are a number of ways to go about getting your roof painted. Every time you upgrade your home you will be presented with the option to select a new color for your roof. If you frequently converse with the locals they might surprise you by painting your abode in a color of their choosing. Lastly after the town store has been upgraded a number of times you will be able to buy a can of paint and Nook will through in the labor for free.

Problem: Does it seem that the Post Office is a little on the lazy side???

Solution: Ew, five letter limits. Well if you�re sneaky there is a very simple solution for all you bulk mailers. Once you�ve sent out the first batch of five letters simply step outside and then re-enter the Post Office. By using this method you can send as many letters as your heart desires.

Problem: Are you frustrated with the lack of items Tom carries?

Solution: Well if you want Tom to help you then you�re going to have to help him. No this doesn�t mean you have to apply for a job, you will have to come up with some money but that�s a whole other story entirely. You will find that if you support Tom by purchasing and selling items he�ll close down for a day and renovate his store, and the bigger the store the more items available. As well if you manage to bring some outside business to in to town (IE: a visitor from another town) you just might find that Tom will surprise you with a Department Store chock full of goods.

Problem: Did you accidentally sell that gorgeous Cabana Dresser that you got from Mitzi only to find that Tom doesn�t have any in stock???

Solution: Fear not, if you speak with Tom he will present you with the option to view your catalog. In this catalog is a list of every item you have possessed throughout your Animal Crossing Journey. Now you can order just about any item you have encountered for the standard retail price (unfortunately you will encounter some rare items that can�t be ordered from the catalog) To order something simply select it and Tom will quote you with the price, free shipping of course. Now you�re half way to getting that lovely piece of furniture back. As soon as Pete gets a free moment you�ll find that your item(s) is waiting for you in your inbox. Free same day delivery, you just can�t beat that service. Keep in mind that if you�re patience are running thin and you don�t mind a little �cheating� just save your game, quit, and reload and you�ll find that any items you have on order will have magically appeared in your mailbox.

Problem: Do you often wonder what in the world Pitfall, an old Atari game, has to do with Animal Crossing?

Solution: Well regardless of what you may think, this is a different kind of �pitfall.� In Animal Crossing a pitfall is a naughty little item used to play tricks on the unsuspecting. If you manage to come by a pitfall find a good place, preferably a high traffic area and bury it. Now when an unknowing party walks across the spot where the pitfall is buried they will be sucked into the ground.

Problem: What is the �stalk� market all about and why would I want to �stalk� any of my fellow villagers?

Solution: Worry not, participating in the stalk market doesn�t require any stalking whatsoever. If you want to take a little fiscal risk then make sure to wake up early on Sunday morning and track down Joan the Sow. If you speak with her she will offer to sell you turnips at whatever the growing rate is for that particular day. Here is where the risk is involved if you want to turn a profit. If you see Tom and discuss �other� things he�ll tell you his buying price for turnips. If his price is higher than the original purchase price then selling is a good idea, but if his price is lower than the original purchase price you�ll probably want to hold out in hopes that his buying price will increase. Be warned that if you hold out and neglect to get rid of your Turnips before Joan comes back to town that they will have gone bad and all of your money will go down the tubes.

Problem: Is there a Golden Axe?

Solution: You�re in luck, there is. Unfortunately attaining this fabled axe is a much more difficult task than just planting an extra axe in the ground. To get the Golden Axe you must get the Wishing Well to acknowledge that your towns status is �perfect.� If you think getting your town to the �perfect� status just try keeping it that way for two weeks as that�s what you�ll have to do in order to get the axe. Once you�ve completed the daunting task of maintaining a perfect town for two weeks go speak to the Wishing Well and Farley will pop out of the well and reward your dedication and hard work with the Golden Axe.

Problem: Are you in so much debt you can�t imagine seeing yourself through??? Are you afraid your little guy or girl is headed towards bankruptcy???

Solution: Keep you head held high because there is a simple solution to clearing your debt... Pay Your Bills. Easier said than done obviously, but here are some basic ideas for rolling in the big money. Grab all the fruit in your town and head over to the Island and drop it for your Islander, you�ll find that he is so grateful to have something other than coconuts he�ll reward you buy dropping bags of money. Believe it or not if you find your Islanders favorite fruit there is a chance that he�ll drop bags of money worth up to $30,000. Don�t want to travel that�s fine as there are many options to make money in town. Try your luck at the �stalk� market, fish, sell items to other humans in your town, and sell any items you no longer need at Nooks. Now you�re on the road to a steady income and becoming debt free will follow suit.

Problem: Golden Fishing Pole? Golden Bug Net? Huh?

Solution: To get the fishing pole you�ll need to catch one of each of the forty fish that can be found in your towns river, ponds, or down at the ocean. Granted this may seem like a simple task in theory it can be very difficult. Not only are some fish only in season at certain times of the year which means you�ll more than likely spend a nine or ten months just to catch these little guys in season. If you want the net you�ll have to catch one of each of the forty insects that can be found in town. Like fish, bugs go in and out of season so you�ll spend a considerable amount of time just tracking down some of the seasonal insects.

Problem: Are you tired of constantly hearing about people visiting your town only to find that you�ve missed them or worse you�ve searched the town over and still can�t find them?

Solution: This is where you friendly local Police Station can come in quite handy. Drop by the Police Station and speak with Copper. Not only will he inform you of any travelers headed to your town but once these visitors are setup in your town he�ll direct you to the exact acre where they are located.

Problem: Feeling Brave??? Brave enough to go on a ghost hunt???

Solution: If you�d like to play the role of a paranormal detective then lets hope you don�t require to much sleep as your search could last until the wee hours of the morning. While it�s true that if you town has become polluted with weeds you�ll be more likely to find Wisp but don�t worry if you�re a perfectionist and aren�t willing to leave the weeds as you still have a chance of spotting Wisp. If you find this friendly ghost he�ll explain that he�s in a bit of a mess. He needs you to help him capture some escaped spirits with your butterfly net. He�ll ask that you catch them, five in all, before 4:00AM and if you do manage to find them all he�ll reward you. If you manage to capture them all before time runs out then he Wisp will reward you with one of three different things. He�ll offer to pull all the weeds in town, paint your roof any color you desire, or give you a random gift.

Problem: Wouldn't it be nice if money grew on trees?

Solution: Well with Animal Crossing our dreams have come true. If you run across a �golden spot� you can bury a bag of money ($100, $1000, $10000, or $30,000) there, and if your tree reaches full size it will produce three bags of money each of which will be equal to that of the original amount you buried.

Problem: Is it time for a vacation? Want to do some shopping in another town?

Solution: Thankfully if you have friends you can go visiting. If you�d like to visit a friends town simply stick their town memory card into slot two and head to the Train Station. If you speak with Porter he will ask you of your intentions and if you tell him you�d like to travel he�ll get you all setup and on the train headed for your friends village.

Problem: Did your mother send you a peach and you can�t decide whether to eat it or sell it to Nook?

Solution: Have the best of both worlds, start up a peach orchard then not only will you have plenty of peaches to snack on but you�ll also have yet another steady source of income considering Tom will pay $500 for each piece of non-indigenous fruit. If you want to start a fruit orchard or just a fruit tree then all you have to do is pick a spot and bury a piece of fruit. Fruit trees produce three pieces of fruit each harvest and each tree will produce every few days after it has been picked clean.

Problem: Have you amassed quite the collection of fossils, insects, paintings, and fish in your basement? Are you wondering if there is something better do to with your collection than let it collect dust?

Solution: The best thing to do is head down to the local museum and start making some charitable donations. By donating items to the museum you�ll give everyone a chance to view these items and more importantly you�ll have the satisfaction of knowing you helped bring some culture to your tiny town. If you manage to complete all of the museums collections Blathers will give you a little reward to commend your efforts.

Problem: Want to see your name in lights? Want to have your own star on Animal Crossing Blvd.?

Solution: Well sorry to say but you can�t, however if you are a dedicated member of the community and you manage to completely pay off every last one of your mortgages you will be rewarded with something just as good. After you�ve made your last payment go back and speak with Tom. He�ll be so pleased with all of your hard work and your sense of responsibility that he�ll reveal he has a special surprise planned for you. In a day or so head to the train station and see if you don�t see something that strikes your fancy on the way to the station platform.

Problem: Suffering from insomnia? More into the nightlife than the hustle and bustle of the daytime hours?

Solution: While your village rolls up the streets pretty early you still find a number of things to keep you busy during the night. For starters you�ll notice that there are one or two animals in your village that choose to stay up all night so you can stop by and chat it up with them. You can always fish or do a little bug hunting. If you�re in the mood for a new outfit only to find that Tom has closed up for the day you aren�t completely out of luck, just head over to the Able Sisters Shop which is open until 2:00AM every day. Now you can design until the wee hours of the morning. On top of that if you�re feeling brave why not wonder around town in hopes of finding some paranormal entities.

Problem: Would it not be wonderful if you could play all of the great NES classics contained in Animal Crossing on your GameBoy Advance?

Solution: Well, Nintendo must�ve thought so, as playing NES games on your GBA is an extremely easy task to pull off. First make sure your GBA is hooked into one of the open controller ports, now walk up to one of your NES systems and press �A�, select Advanced play and follow the onscreen prompts. You�ll be playing Golf, Excitebike, Tennis, and all the others on the go.

Problem: Do you want the inside scoop on what�s going in on town? Want in on all the latest gossip?

Solution: You can learn a lot from talking to your villagers. Find the time to just walk around and converse with your villagers, you�ll become closer with them and you�ll also have the inside track on what�s going on in town. If you�re looking for a weather report or information on a treasure hunt then try checking out the town message board, you know that big thing in the middle of your housing complex. As well if you love getting mail but the only things you�ve been getting recently are fossils from the museum and the occasional sale flyer from Tom then you should try writing letters to your villagers. They appreciate long, easy to read, grammatically correct letters. You might even consider enclosing a gift, if you�re close to your villagers they just might send you a present in return.

Problem: Have you ever found a gyroid you like, but you worry that it will sound off-beat with your music?

Solution: Don't worry! The gyroids automatically speed up or slow down to the beat of the music! So jam with your gyroids without fear!

Submitted by Will Uhl.

Problem: Need a change of clothes in a pinch?

Solution: If you drag a shirt down to the second to last slot in your inventory, and instead of moving the last slot, move down--you'll find that you can swap the shirt you're carrying for a "Big Dot Shirt." Even better, whatever shirt you swapped for becomes the new background to your inventory screen.

Submitted by ANGEVIN02.