What Is a 5-Star Island?
In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Isabelle evaluates your island's development and assigns a rating from 1 to 5 stars. The highest rating — five stars — is a milestone many players work toward, and for good reason: achieving it unlocks the Golden Watering Can recipe and allows rare Lily of the Valley flowers to spawn naturally on your island.
But beyond the rewards, a 5-star island is genuinely satisfying to walk around. It means you've built something beautiful and functional — a space that feels alive and complete.
This guide breaks down exactly how the rating system works, and gives you a practical planning roadmap to get there.
How Does Isabelle's Rating System Work?
Isabelle doesn't just look at how fancy your island looks. Her rating system evaluates two main factors:
1. Development Score
This measures how much infrastructure and activity your island has. It goes up when you:
- Have more villagers (aim for 10)
- Build shops, bridges, and inclines
- Place more outdoor furniture and items
- Have lots of trees and flowers
2. Scenery Score
This measures the overall appearance and tidiness of your island. It goes up when:
- You decorate with furniture and fencing
- You have a variety of flowers (especially hybrids)
- Areas look intentional rather than cluttered or empty
You can check your current rating any time by talking to Isabelle inside Resident Services and selecting "island evals." She'll also give specific feedback about what's bringing your score down. Pay attention to her hints — they're genuinely useful.
Common Reasons Your Island Isn't at 5 Stars Yet
Before diving into planning tips, here are the most common stumbling blocks:
- Not enough villagers — You need at least 6, ideally 8–10
- Too many weeds — Clear all weeds and maintain them daily
- Dropped items left on the ground — Pick up everything
- Not enough outdoor decoration — The island needs to feel "lived in"
- Too few trees or flowers — Bare areas bring the scenery score down
- Buildings not yet unlocked — Museum, Nook's Cranny, and Able Sisters all contribute
If Isabelle mentions any of these, address them before focusing on aesthetics.
The 5-Star Planning Roadmap
Phase 1: Build the Foundation First
Before worrying about terraforming and decoration, make sure you have:
- ✅ At least 8 villagers moved in
- ✅ Museum open (donate 15 fish + 15 bugs to Blathers)
- ✅ Nook's Cranny open
- ✅ Able Sisters shop open
- ✅ At least 6 bridges or inclines built
- ✅ All weeds removed
These are hard prerequisites. No amount of beautiful decoration will get you to 5 stars if you skip these.
Phase 2: Plan Your Island Zones
Once your foundation is solid, it's time to design your layout intentionally. Before moving a single building, use a planning tool like Happy Island Designer to sketch out your zones first.
A well-organized island has distinct functional areas:
Residential Zone Group your villager homes into a neighborhood. This makes daily visits easier and creates a cohesive community feel. Leave small gardens or pathways between houses — tight clustering looks messy.
Commercial District Place Nook's Cranny and Able Sisters near each other and near Resident Services. This creates a natural "town center" that looks lively and is practical to use daily.
Nature Area Reserve a portion of your island for forests, flower gardens, and scenic terrain. This brings up your scenery score and makes the island feel like an actual island rather than a theme park.
Entertainment Zone (optional) A dedicated area with outdoor furniture — benches, stalls, a café setup, or a plaza — adds personality and decoration points.
Your Personal Area Your own house and garden. Make it reflect your taste.
Phase 3: Terraforming
Once you've unlocked the Island Designer app (requires 3-star rating), you can shape rivers and cliffs. For 5-star planning purposes, focus on:
Rivers
- Avoid straight, unnatural channels — they look boring
- Meander your rivers organically across the island
- Add small ponds for additional scenery interest
- Each waterfall on a cliff edge adds visual appeal
Cliffs
- Multi-level designs (2–3 floors) add depth and elegance
- Use elevated areas for scenic lookout spots or private gardens
- Rounded cliff edges look more natural than perfectly straight ones
Bridges and Inclines You're limited to 8 of each. Plan their placement carefully so every area of the island is accessible without annoying detours. Place bridges at visual focal points where possible — crossing a curved river is more satisfying than crossing a straight canal.
Phase 4: Infrastructure — Don't Skip Fences
A detail many players overlook: fences significantly boost your islandrating. They're one of the most efficient ways to raise your scenery score.
You don't need to fence every inch of your island, but wrapping fences around:
- Your residential area
- Flower gardens
- Property boundaries around your house
...adds considerable decoration points while making the island look intentional and designed.
Phase 5: Fill Empty Space with Outdoor Furniture
Isabelle explicitly penalizes empty areas. Open grass with nothing on it brings your score down. The solution is outdoor furniture — but be thoughtful about it:
High-impact items:
- Benches and lamp posts along pathways
- Market stalls or food stands in your commercial area
- Park amenities (swings, slide, sandbox) in a community space
- Outdoor dining setups
- Decorative items from seasonal events
DIY crafted items also count — in fact, using items you crafted yourself is specifically rewarded by the rating system.
Don't try to cram furniture everywhere at once. Think about where it would make sense for a real town or island: main streets, parks, resting spots near the beach, garden areas.
Phase 6: Flowers — Quantity and Variety
Flowers are a big contributor to your scenery score. To maximize their impact:
- Plant a large quantity — bare ground areas hurt your rating
- Grow hybrid flowers — these are rarer color variants (pink, blue, black, etc.) and are specifically valued over basic flower colors
- Organize your flowers — arranged flower beds look much better than flowers scattered randomly
Hybrid breeding is its own deep topic, but even just planting large organized sections of flowers in whatever colors you have available will noticeably lift your score.
Decoration Tips That Actually Move the Needle
Not all decoration choices are equal for score purposes. Here's what gives you the best return:
| Strategy | Score Impact |
|---|---|
| Add more villagers (up to 10) | High |
| Place outdoor furniture in empty areas | High |
| Plant more flowers (especially hybrids) | High |
| Add fences around key areas | Medium-High |
| Build more bridges/inclines | Medium |
| Plant more trees (variety counts) | Medium |
| Clear all weeds | Required (score won't rise above 4 stars with weeds) |
How to Use Happy Island Designer for 5-Star Planning
Trying to plan zones, terraforming, and decoration placements mentally is extremely hard. This is where an island planner becomes invaluable.
Using Happy Island Designer before terraforming:
- Map out your zones — drag all your buildings to their planned locations and see how they fit together from above
- Design your river routes — draw rivers that flow naturally and create good visual flow across the island
- Plan cliff placement — figure out where inclines need to go before you build the cliffs
- Identify empty areas — the bird's-eye view makes it obvious where you have open space that needs furniture or flowers
Planning on a digital canvas is free — both in that you don't spend Bells, and in that you can change your mind as many times as you want. In-game, changing your mind is expensive. The time you spend planning upfront is always worth it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many stars do I need to unlock Island Designer (terraforming)? You need 3 stars. After achieving it, talk to Tom Nook and he'll give you the Island Designer app.
Do dropped items on the ground count against my rating? Yes. Isabelle will specifically mention "items left lying around." Pick up everything.
Do I need all 10 villager slots filled? You technically don't need all 10, but more villagers = more development score. 8 is a good practical target.
How many trees and flowers do I actually need? Aim for at least 110 trees and a large number of flowers. Isabelle gives hints if you specifically lack either.
Can I get 5 stars without terraforming? Yes! You don't need to terraform to get 5 stars — you just need enough development, decoration, and scenery score. However, terraforming makes achieving a coherent, beautiful look much easier.
What's the fastest way to raise my score? The biggest quick wins are: moving in more villagers, placing outdoor furniture in empty grass areas, and clearing all weeds. These three actions move the score faster than anything else.
Conclusion
A 5-star island isn't about achieving a specific look — it's about building a home that feels complete, loved, and lived-in. The rating system rewards exactly that: development, care, and thoughtfulness in your design choices.
Start with the foundation (villagers, buildings, infrastructure). Plan your layout carefully before terraforming. Fill empty spaces with furniture and flowers. Keep your island clean and weed-free.
You don't have to do it all at once. Take it zone by zone, and enjoy the process.
Ready to map out your 5-star plan? Open Happy Island Designer and start designing.
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