A money rock can be hit multiple times but the player is given a fixed time limit in which do so, which starts counting down at the first hit. By missing the rock, or recoiling too much while interacting with the money rock, multiple amounts of money can be lost. Each hit yields bell drops of increasing amounts as displayed in the chart below.
| Hit # | Bell coin/bag | Total Bells | ||
| 1 | 100 | 100 | ||
| 2 | 200 | 300 | ||
| 3 | 300 | 600 | ||
| 4 | 500 | 1,100 | ||
| 5 | 1,000 | 2,100 | ||
| 6 | 2,000 | 4,100 | ||
| 7 | 4,000 | 8,100 | ||
| 8 | 8,000 | 16,100 |
8th Money Bag
To obtain the 8th money bag, a character must have at least 73 points of yellow Feng Shui in their house. Whether or not a character will be able to obtain an 8th money bag is determined every morning at 6am, however, if a character moves any of their furniture which contributes to their yellow feng shui throughout the day, before hitting the money rock, they will be unable to obtain the 8th bag that day.Silver Shovel Bonus
A silver shovel's unique ability is to provide a 10% (TRUE) chance of doubling the bells given out by each hit of a money rock. When this occurs a unique sound effect plays and silver sparks appear. In theory all hits could be doubled, though the chances of this occurring are only one in ten million (if 10% per hit is correct).Money Rock Technique
When the player strikes a money rock with a shovel, the character recoils and moves backwards a small amount. If this is not compensated for, then after a couple hits they are unable to hit the rock without moving towards it again. Hence, to ensure getting all of the possible bells, a player needs to take measures to avoid this recoil action, allowing them to hit the rock repeatedly as fast as possible.Depending on Feng Shui, there are either seven or eight potential coins/bags of bells to appear from a money rock. As the value of each appearance increases, and as there are only eight spaces around the rock for the money to go, it is important to block either one or none of the spaces around a rock (depending on eighth hit potential), which would prevent the final bell drop. The character does not block a space, but holes, flowers, designs or other items do.
The easiest method of avoiding recoil is by digging a holes behind the character such that they stand between the hole and the rock. As they can still drift sideways, a second hole should also be used.
Afterwards, instead of using the shovel to refill the hole, a player can equip a tool other than the shovel, or un-equip it. Then by facing a hole and pressing B, the character will kick dirt, refilling the hole quickly. This also prevents the possibility of "missing" the hole and digging another hole unintentionally.
The following diagrams demonstrate optimal money rock strategies depending on the maximum number of hits:
| Key | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| R | Rock (potentially money rock) | |
| H | Hole | |
| T | Terrain (river/pond edge, tree, house, sign or town edge) | |
| Y | You (also a bell drop space) | |
| . | Bell drop space |
7 Hits
With seven hits, one of the eight spaces around a rock can be safely filled. This allows for a simpler setup:. . . . . .Left: No terrain nearby.
. R . . R .
. Y H . Y H
H T T T
Right: Utilizing nearby terrain.
8 Hits
If an eighth hit is possible, all eight spaces around a rock need to be available, requiring a more complex setup:. . . . . .Left: No terrain nearby.
. R . . R .
. . Y H . . Y H
H T T T T
Right: Utilizing nearby terrain.
Pictures:
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| The eighth bag is worth 8,000 bells. |
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| If a flower is in the way, the last money bag will not fall. |
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| Silver Shovel Bonus |
Miscellaneous
In this version of the game the money rock does not turn red when hit, as in previous versions. However it still briefly "recoils" in the direction it is being hit as in previous versions.Bugs found by hitting a rock can not be found under a money rock. This means bugs and bells do not "compete" with each other.
