You can pay ?20 to invite KK Slider and Tom Nook to your Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

A little earlier than expected, Nintendo's stripped down version of Animal Crossing for smartphones is now available to download on iPhone and Android.

The servers are still a tad wonky (I got stuck on loading screens a few times going through the initial few bits of set-up) but you can now start playing - and paying.

Pocket Camp is "free-to-start" and features a premium currency, Leaf Tickets. These are mostly used to speed up your day-to-day progress - but there are a couple of exceptions.

You can immediately invite two of Animal Crossing's most popular characters, KK Slider and Tom Nook, to stay in your campsite by buying them a premium chair. This seat then sits in your camping ground, so you can always have the series' most famous characters on screen.

Both chairs cost a whopping 250 Leaf Tickets each - a figure which feels like it'll take a huge amount of time to grind out simply from playing. Not only that, but Nintendo emphasises in-game how both chairs are only available for a limited time.

There are ways to get a good headstart on that 500 Leaf Ticket target (linking your Nintendo Account nets you 100, for starters). But it still feels like an amount most people will take some time to hit.

"Have you bumped into KK or Tom Nook yet?" the app asks. "If you craft KK Slider's chair and Tom Nook's chair and place either one in your campsite, the item's owner will show up and hang out for as long as you want! You can order KK Slider's chair or Tom Nook's chair from the 'Special - Available for a Limited Time' section of the Craft menu.

"Don't miss your chance to get these rare items!"

To be fair, if you look a bit further it becomes apparent there's less of a rush to get the items than you might think. Nintendo states you will get some Leaf Tickets as rewards for in-game objectives, and both of the chairs will be available for 45 days - so hopefully it'll be possible to scrimp together enough without feeling pressured into paying.

Additionally, the app notes, both items "may be available for purchase again in the future". So maybe hold off on buying those chairs for now - unless you really want to sample KK or Nook's stool.

Looking on the game's store, there are a couple of other one-off premium bundles to get you started - these contain Leaf Tickets and other rare items like fishing nets, honey and fertiliser, and are available until 31st December in either small or large sizes (£3.99 or £20.49).

Or, for the game's first 72 hours, there's a one-off starter bundle for 99p with a much smaller selection of the above.

Otherwise, here in the UK, the app's market for Leaf Tokens has been set as follows:

• 20 Leaf Tickets - 99p
• 45 Leaf Tickets - £1.99
• 100 Leaf Tickets - £3.99
• 200 Leaf Tickets - £7.99
• 600 Leaf Tickets - £20.49
• 1200 Leaf Tickets - £38.99

So, in order to pay your way to KK and Nook's appearance in your camp, you're looking at forking out £20.

Our Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp review is in the works.