Am I Really not privy to island development options because I am the second resident?

[Spedicus]

I was really looking forward to this game, so I pre-downloaded it Thursday with the intention of playing it Friday morning. I woke up to my girlfriend talking to Timmy and Tommy, which is fine because she has been looking for something to do during the quarantine. I made breakfast and watched while she played, and I joined the island later and put in my 8 hours that afternoon/evening.

Day 2, I have hoarded all kinds of iron ore because my friend told me about building the store. I am going about my business and hear nothing about it, so I think maybe tomorrow.

Then my girlfriend mentions that Timmy told her about the store, and asks me to give her my fat stack of 40 iron ore I have saved up. Does this mean I cant play any role in island development in my own game? Is there no way to change rules or anything later on?

If this is the case, I will be very annoyed. My GF and I both expect me to put a LOT more time into this than her, but I still want her to be a part of it and I have no desire to revoke her privileges or anything, I trust her with all of the stuff, I just wish I wasnt locked out of doing this stuff. We have put a lot of effort I to this town, so neither of us want to restart either. She would be kind of annoyed too, because she would think i am being elitist. I'm not, I just want to be able to enjoy all aspects of this game...

Am I really locked out of the majority of game content like island construction because my GF woke up earlier than I did yesterday? Am I missing something?

 

[Lady Timpani]

This is what I've heard on reddit from those who have multiple people playing on one Switch. :/ I can neither confirm nor deny it myself, but from what I'm seeing, it does appear to be true. I have no idea if this is something that might change as the game progresses-- if maybe you'll be able to contribute toward things like bridge building, for example. It seems that "island representative" is basically this game's version of a mayor, though.

 

[DJStarstryker]

Yes. There are things that only the Island Representative (aka the first player character) can do. It's almost like the New Leaf Mayor in that sense.

If you and your GF are sharing the same island, I would suggest making major decisions for your island together. I'm my island's representative, but my husband is the second player and this is what we do. He helped me decide where to place Blathers' tent yesterday, and today we were working together looking for the materials for the shop.

 

[Spedicus]

Thanks for the replies. That's too bad. I know it's silly, but if there are days where she doesnt feel like playing I feel like I have to play her character instead. What a weird choice by the designers. They are basically making it impossible for people in the same household to get the full experience without buying more consoles.