Based on my experience, the Venn diagram of people who are currently playing Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream and people who poured countless hours into Animal Crossing: New Horizons is pretty much a circle. We life-sim fans, after all, have a type. However, don’t expect all of the tricks you used to progress in Animal Crossing to work in Nintendo’s most recent simulation game. In fact, one of the most popular methods of leveling up your island, time traveling, actually does more harm than good.
Time traveling, in this instance, refers to when players go into their Switch’s system settings and adjust their clock forward (or backwards) in time. In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, this was a great way to refresh store offerings, skip construction times, or play the Stalk Market. Most recently, Switch players implemented this tactic in Pokemon Pokopia, using it to once again bypass construction or jump to a time of day in which a certain Pokemon is more likely to appear.
However, Nintendo has officially warned players this does not work in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream. Rather than reaping financial rewards or progressing relationships, players who time travel will face a bevy of annoying consequences. After changing your console’s time, shops will stop refreshing for 24 hours. If you try to change your time back to remedy your mistake, that 24-hour time will restart. It’s important to note that this freeze affects all shops and weekly offers. Time travel also has no impact on Mii hunger, meaning no extra feeding opportunities and no farming happiness/rewards.
Don’t time travel in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream ⚠️
• Shops won’t refresh for about 24 hours after changing your system time
• Changing the clock again resets the timer
• Mii hunger won’t update → no extra feeding or farming rewards
• Affects ALL shops, even weekly… pic.twitter.com/vWVy3D5kPR— Tomodachi Plaza (@TomodachiPlaza) April 16, 2026
“Time travel gives you almost no real advantage anyway, since most things in the game already happen quickly,” Nintendo wrote in its PSA.
In short, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is a game that is best played in shorter bursts, at real-time speed. However, if you’re looking to optimize your experience, GameSpot has a few articles that can help you create the island of your dreams–including a walkthrough on how to unlock every one of the game’s personality types.
