Animal Crossing: New Horizons – How to Get a Shovel

Wondering how to get a shovel in Animal Crossing: New Horizons? We have your answer here. We’ll go over how you can go about getting this tool, from crafting one to buying in-store.

In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the shovel is just one of several tools you’ll need to manage your island. Luckily, you can score its crafting recipe from fairly early on, and you can even purchase ready-made tools once you’ve made enough progress. Once you have one, you can start planting flowers and vegetables, digging up fossils and gyroid fragments, and collecting other valuable resources like iron nuggets. Here’s how to get the crafting recipe for a shovel and the materials you’ll need to make one in New Horizons.

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise – Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]

• Take in-game photos of your designs and add them to your portfolio. Show them to other characters and you may get more requests to create vacation homes. Share the photos with other players using the in-game Showroom in the Happy Home Network app and they can tour your personally-designed resort islands or go tour theirs for some relaxation and inspiration.
• Purchase the Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise DLC from Nintendo eShop, or download and play it as part of an active Nintendo Switch Online plus Expansion Pack membership at no extra cost.

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How to Get a Shovel in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

There are actually a couple of ways you can go about getting a shovel in New Horizons, depending on how much progress you’ve made. If you’re just starting out, you’ll need to purchase the crafting recipe for a Flimsy Shovel at Nook’s Cranny. This will set you back just 280 Bells — a great early-game deal.

With time, however, you’ll be able to purchase ready-made tools from the newly remodeled store, including various styles of shovels. This is more expensive in the long run, but higher-quality tools tend to last quite a while, so it’s decidedly worth it if you don’t want to go through the trouble of crafting new tools each time they break. And believe me, flimsy tools break all the time.

How to Craft a Shovel in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Early on in New Horizons, you can craft a Flimsy Shovel as a starter tool. You’ll be able to craft higher-quality tools later on, given you have a lesser variant on hand. Just go to your workbench to get started, then look for the Flimsy Shovel in your recipes. You’ll need the following materials to craft one:

• x5 Hardwood

With a Flimsy Axe made, you can collect enough Hardwood for a Flimsy Shovel in no time. Once you have these starter tools, you can easily craft a standard Shovel, which is much more durable. You’ll just need the existing Flimsy Shovel and one iron nugget.

For more on Animal Crossing: New Horizons, check out these related guides from our team:

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons – How to Get a Ladder
• Animal Crossing: New Horizons – How to Get Iron Nuggets
• How to Restart Animal Crossing: New Horizons