Pitfall seed

Pitfall seeds, often shortened to just pitfalls, are items in the. In the player's inventory, a pitfall seed has the appearance of a white sphere with a large red exclamation point in the center on both sides. A player can bury it, at which point it will look like any other buried item. When a villager or player walks over a buried pitfall seed, they will fall into it. However, special characters such as Tortimer and Joan are "immune" to pitfalls. Any player who falls into a pitfall can get out by rapidly tapping any button. Pitfalls are uncommon in, , and  and can only be found whenever a villager buries it somewhere and puts up a notice on the bulletin board on which Acre to where to find it in. Sometimes, however, villagers may put a notice on the bulletin board and bury a furniture item instead of a pitfall. In, , and , they are found every day and one pitfall seed spawns per day alongside some fossils if any previous pitfall seed has been stepped on by the player or a villager, or has been dug up.

If the player buries a pitfall seed and a villager falls or gets pushed in, they will appear shocked. If the player speaks to them while they are trapped, they will probably shout and jump out. In and, they will be angry or sad after escaping, depending on their personality. A second use for pitfall seeds are to place them in letters written to neighbors, and in return, they will send the player a present.

There are several ways in which the player can obtain pitfall seeds. They can be found already buried in a town with one or two added every day, along with fossils. In Animal Crossing, pitfall seeds can be found in the Dump, or at the lost and found at the Police Station. In Wild World and City Folk, pitfall seeds can be collected from the lost and found run by Booker at the Town Gate, or found in the recycling bin in the Town Hall.

If the player tries to sell a pitfall seed to Tom Nook, he will treat it as he does trash and will not buy it; instead, he offers to throw it away. In however, it can be sold to Re-Tail for a mere 10 Bells. It can also be sold to Timmy and Tommy's store for 8 Bells.

In, if the player steps on a pitfall seed and falls into the hole, any nearby characters (including special characters and villagers) will be shocked and do the Shock emote and then the Distress emote until the player is free from it. Pitfall seeds will not spawn in the player's town if at least one seed is already buried. This means that the player can dig up a pitfall seed and replant it in a far corner of the town, and not have to worry about new pitfalls spawning anywhere else.

Tricky Pitfall Seed
Tricky pitfall seeds are items that appear first in. They can only be found at the Police Station and are very rare. They take the appearance of normal pitfall seeds except the sphere is dark purple and the exclamation point is yellow, similar to fossil's color scheme. They work the same way as pitfall seeds, except the 'star mark' left behind is smaller, making them more difficult to see.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
When thrown, they are buried for a short time. If the opponent is in the air and the pitfall seed hits, they are "spiked" (shot directly downward). Or, if thrown and it lands on the ground, it appears to vanish in a series of sparks. When an opponent walks over the place were the pitfall is thrown, he or she will be buried. Fighters can escape quicker by quickly waggling the control stick back and forth.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U
The Pitfall returns in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, serving the same purpose as it did in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Names in other languages
Pitfall