Town

At the beginning of each game in the, the player will move into a town or village where the game takes place. The first person to load the game is given the task of naming the town, and this cannot be changed after creation, until they rebuild the town. However, additional players can move into town, with a maximum capacity of four human residents.

Town features
Player houses (all games) - These are where the human players in town live. Each house can be furnished to that player's desire, and they are often inspected by the Happy Room Academy. In, there are four of these, all located in acre A-3, forming a square shape. In, there is only one, which all players share. In and, each player has their own house once again. Houses can be expanded by paying off the loan owed to Tom Nook, which will give the player more space inside to furnish their home.

Villager houses (all games) - Villagers live in these, and the player can usually only enter them when the villager is inside. Each villager house is furnished differently, but the player can possibly influence and alter this. Houses owned by villagers usually appear on top of signposts, and when a villager moves out, their house will vanish completely.

Buildings (all games) - Shops and other major buildings, such as the Town Hall or Museum, are usually present in town. They provide the player with some of the main services in the town, such as the ability to buy and sell items. In, their locations are pretty firmly set, but later games have building in seemingly more random positions. Main Street and the City also house many buildings, in and  respectively.

Cliffs (all games except ) - Usually, the town will be divided into upper and lower levels, separated by cliffs. In, the cliffs divide the town and beach instead. Access between the two tiers is provided by ramps. In, it is possible to have two rows of cliffs, created a three-tier town. Also, cliffs adorn the edges of every town, and the player cannot access the areas beyond them.

Flora (all games) - The town is home to a variety of flora; many types of trees and flowers grow there, and in, bushes and bamboo can even be grown. Flora improves the environment rating and helps certain bugs to appear, among other benefits.

Train Station (all games except and ) - Access to other player's towns via local or online multiplayer is provided here. Porter runs the train station, and in and, the Town Gate takes over the train station's functions.

Water (all games) - Each town has a river running through it, and an ocean at the bottom of town. There are usually several holding ponds too, and a river pool and waterfall. Fish can be caught in all bodies of water, and bridges help the player to cross the river.

Beach (all games) - Situated at the bottom of town (and one of the sides in ), the beach is where shells appear, and it also allows the player to fish more easily in the ocean. In, coconuts and bananas can be grown in the sand, but public works projects cannot be placed there.

Public works projects - The mayoral player in  can customize the town with these. They include a variety of buildings, benches, clocks, lamps, bridges, sculptures, and other features. Lloid will appear to collect the funds required to erect a public works project, and Isabelle assists the mayor with the process. There is a completion ceremony (optional) held when a project is completed.

Landscape
The landscape of each town varies and it is very unlikely that two towns will be the same. Towns are semi-randomly generated, with each town being made up of smaller acre 'pieces'. It is surrounded on three sides by high cliffs, while the other edge is a beach, bordering on the sea. This is changed in, where the beach takes up two of the town's sides, while the top of the town has railway tracks and Main Street. A waterfall marks the entrance of a river to the town, which makes its way towards the sea. The river will sometimes branch off in a two-pronged fork ( and only), creating an islet in the village. One can cross the river using bridges.