Like the previous games in the series, the game enables the player to explore their town, talk with other residents, and participate in various activities such as fishing and bug catching. Doing various activities or selling various items earns the player Bells, the game's currency, which they can use to purchase various items such as furniture or clothes, or pay loans used to renovate their house. The game is played in real-time, utilizing the Nintendo 3DS system's internal clock, with aspects such as shop opening times, species of wildlife and special events varying depending on the time of day and season.
The town is now more customizable than ever before. The player has more power to choose which town to live in, by being given 4 random pre-set towns when starting the game. Once a town has been chosen, the player can determine the locations to build new buildings and features, set Town Ordinances and construct public works projects.
There are many projects available, including the return of the Police Station and the camp site that was last seen in Animal Crossing. It allows non-resident villagers to visit, who can then be encouraged to move in. Returning features include bridges or return of Animal Island. New features include benches for villagers and the player to sit on.
There are 72 bugs and fish in the game, up from 60 in City Folk. The player can sneak up on bugs with the net, a returning feature from the Nintendo GameCube games. It is now possible to store bugs and fish in closets and dressers.
New Leaf adds a new class of collectables to the series: deep-sea catches. These are obtained by donning a wetsuit and swimming in the ocean. Small shadows will move across the sea floor, and the player can dive down and grab creatures from these shadows.