How do you combat burnout with AC, and how do you get back into playing?

[oath2order]

I got burned out early on, then HHP brought me back.

 

[ShawnFuzz]

I got burned out early on, then HHP brought me back.

Same. I spent my first run earning bells and nook miles. I spent too much time with getting "rich" and paying off loans. HHP made me realize I need to focus more on designing my island, which was really lacking, and I have enjoyed designing more.

Sometimes I spend so much time collecting furniture, clothes, and museum items that I forget to just take a day and spend time with my villagers.

 

[sashoo]

I've been playing ACNH on and off since its release in 2020. As many others in the AC community have experienced, I get spells of burnout and boredom with the game. I usually take a break from it, anticipating that I'd return to playing within a week or two, but, I usually return months later because of some cute inspo I see on here or Instagram.

With me saying all of this, I wondered how you guys handle burnout with ACNH and how you get yourself to keep playing without developing boredom with the game. I've been wanting to start playing again, to pick up where I left off on my island, but I know that the cycle will repeat itself, and I will end up not playing AC for a few months.

My island was in an awful state because I started without really knowing what I was doing.
Flowers took over my cliffs and my island just ended up looking really bad . I loved the game throughout lockdown, but then eventually I kind of gave up, and tried many many times to revive the island but couldn't.
I wanted to restart, but because I liked my villagers and because I'd worked really hard on my island, I couldn't bring myself to do it for a really long time, but recently I did.
I left my important stuff on a friend's island while I restarted, then she gave it back to me.
Although I have some regrets, this has got me playing the game again and I'm really trying to fix my island.
Restarting can be a bit difficult, but if you make a DA and give your items to someone else to look after, it's probably worth doing.
Hope this helped

 

[Suguri]

During my first few months of playing (December 2022-March 2023) I focused on getting the 5-star rating for my island by decorating. Then I experienced this burnout that lasted until late December 2023-Early January 2024. I got back because during the burnout I finished the whole story in the Pokemon Scarlet DLC (I beat the main game prior). And then I got bored and decided to return. I also grew hyper-fixated on a character there (he's in my PFP) and I needed some way to express my love for him! Nowadays my priorities include completing my Critterpedia and museum, collecting recipes, working on the Nook Miles achievements, and experiencing the events I missed out on.

 

[Aznoth]

The problem with games where you are somewhat doing the same thing over and over again is that it can start to feel like a chore. As soon as the task becomes a chore, it starts to feel like an inconvenience and that usually leads to burnout if that cycle keeps repeating (at least in my case). One way that I try to combat this feeling is by only doing tasks that I'm currently in the mood for doing. Since it's a single player game, it's easy to just take a step back and turn the game off as soon as I feel like I'm no longer in the mood to accomplish anything in it. Another way you can combat it is by adding variety in what you do in the game or even what games you play in general. It's nice to have a few things to cycle through in terms of goals / tasks as well as games to play.

 

[airpeaches]

For me, I still don't play super often the way I used to. However, I do find it fun to pop on every now and then to do small things, decorate a couple houses on HHP, and pluck some weeds. I find doing things in small, manageable chunks and stopping as soon as I get the feeling of being "bored" with the game that day has been best with prolonging my interest. If I play too much after feeling bored it'll put me off for a while, and if I pick it up and I'm not really wholeheartedly in the mood to play I know it'll kill my interest even more. So I basically don't force myself, and it keeps the game feeling fresh and fun to come back to anytime.

 

[SkyKnight03]

I don't think this is a series that I can combat it. I need to keep up with my island/town, and when I falter this means I'm typically done playing or I will be abandoning my game soon.

 

[Hypno KK]

I wonder this too. I didn't really binge-play when the game came out like so many people did but I feel so stuck lol. There's still a lot I haven't done in the game. I don't know why I feel this way, it just feels like certain things are more of a chore than fun and like there isn't much variety in terms of what you can do, whereas in NL there's always something if I get bored of the one task, you know? I'm going to read through this thread now, maybe it'll help

 

[KittenNoir]

I like to watch other players island tours on YouTube for inspiration and entertainment. This helps me get back into the game I also liked to re-design an area on my island and changing it around.

 

[LambdaDelta]

I just stop if I start to get burned out and come back as I feel like

it's first and foremost a game and games are meant to be enjoyed. if I'm not enjoying myself, then what purpose is there in trying to find a means to justify continuing to play at the moment? to me, that just feels like making excuses

it's not like there's any real fomo either, nor is there a risk of villager moveouts, due to changes to the system from new leaf. so there's no need even remotely to have one try to keep themselves playing if they're not feeling it in the moment