The world is changing, and the Sims community is not immune to the constant change.  As players worldwide grapple with coronavirus, with political change and unrest, with the changing seasons and times they continue to lean on their beloved games to navigate the world.  This week, FreePlay unleashed news of updates for the next two months; Sims Mobile wound down their latest Sweet Treat Showdown, and Sims 4 rolled out their newest stuff pack: Sims 4 Paranormal. ​

Easily the most demanding of the three games, Sims FreePlay Game Changers revealed the mobile game's newest slew of events this week.  Players can now look forward to a rustic wedding update in February and a glitzy Art Deco update in March.  In fact, the brand new Influence Island event, Rustic Wedding, began January 27th.  Players are currently cajoling and charming their ways into the hearts of several Sim NPCs to gain network credits. These credits earn, this time around, such romantic prizes as quaint barrels overflowing with flowers, rustic folding chairs with pastel upholstery, simple suits and maiden-like dresses, and awnings swaddled in flowers. The adjoined SimChase, which begins on February 3rd  and offers wedding seating, a dance floor adorned with fairy lights, a rustic wedding camera, elegant loveseats, and long banquet tables for the perfect wedding reception. 

Mid-February and March will bring a daring Art Deco update gilded in gold. The Belle Hotel Live event begins on February 15th, the Influence Island: Suite Success begins on March 15th, and the fresh SimChase: Bar Brawl, begins on February 27th.  Throughout these events, Simmers can expect to win stunning works of geometric, Jazz-inspired, early 20th century bliss.  Suite Success will offer diamond-shaped mirrors, luxury vanities, glittering archways, and the lights and storage pieces of the swing generation.  Bar Brawl's prizes include stunning gold fountains, impressive Art Deco bar stools, bars, barbacks, and other shining pieces perfect for a Sims speakeasy. The Belle Hotel live event offers a tantalizing set of roaring twenties prizes complete with a huge 20th century hotel as a grand prize.

The Sims Mobile wound down the final event in its most recent update this week.  The current Sweet Treat Showdown: Charming Crafts, began January 25th and gives players the opportunity to mix and bake their way into Sweet Treat fame.  Correctly baked rounds give sweet and royal tokens as a reward.  Players exchange these tokens for crafty comforts such as hobby shop shelves, hobby carts and pinboards, mannequins, rocking chairs, sweater dresses for females, and more.  The grand prizes for this event are a crafty sewing table, a long bangs hairstyle for men, and a 50's flip curl hair style for women. 

Mobile players are looking to the horizon for the next big update.  

​Simmers in the Sims 4 community are absolutely a buzz about the newest Paranormal stuff pack.  Released on January 26th, Sims 4: Paranormal has shocked players with robust gameplay, stunning build/buy items, and Create-a-Sim items that suggest the effortless, haunting beauty of New Orleans. Even players who didn't purchase the pack received a free update to their games: Sims can now experience the fear moodlet, adding a fresh aspect to gameplay. 

Gameplay for this pack is enormously robust.  Simmers can hold seances to summon spirits and the infamous Bonehilda. They can also earn a paranormal license through Guidry the Ghost, visit and build haunted houses, and dispel naughty spirits with their wits and skills.  Sims can master the medium skill, search for haunted items, and find frightening thrills in every corner of this pack.  

That's all for now, but stay tuned on Simmers Digest's website for more in-depth coverage. 

Stay safe, wash your hands, and happy (haunted) Simming!

In addition to exciting holiday events, FreePlay Simmers will receive three free holiday gifts! Simmers can expect to receive Christmas wallpaper, a well, candy cane decor, a Santa’s Workshop-like throne, holly wall hangings, door decor, festive candles, and more! Simmers will also receive six free mystery box keys, and a Baby Yoda statuette!

With reliably impeccable timing, the Sims FreePlay team rolled out their highly anticipated holiday update on November 29th. Filled with not only spectacular holiday-themed events but also free holiday gifts for their players, this FreePlay update is sure to charm and thrill FreePlayers everywhere.

If the holiday update weren’t enough, FreePlay developers are kicking off 2021 with “Magical Morocco,” an update that transports players to the stunning sands and geometric, bold beauty of northern African architecture. In this January update, Simmers will have the chance to earn the exotic luxury items found in this part of the world.

Let’s take a closer look at each one of these events.

The December update’s influence island event offers a variety of Christmas-themed items. Players will cajole, convince, and canoodle their way to network credits. These network credits will buy Christmas trees, holiday stockings, holiday gift stacks, festive doorway decor, and playful pajamas.

If the player successfully converts seven islanders to “clan mates” before the event ends, they win the grand prize pack, which includes full-sized Christmas trees, wooden entertainment centers draped with tinsel and holly, adorable train sets, an elegant female hairstyle, hanging wreaths, adult pajamas, and more! This event will go live December 1st.

It wouldn’t be a FreePlay update without a Sim Chase! During a Sim Chase, the player must complete an often grueling gamut of tasks under the pressure of a time-limit. If the player successfully completes their tasks, divided into several milestones, before the rival, they’ll win a variety of prize packs. “Household Blitz” offers work-from-home goodies like corner-shaped computer desks, laundry items, cute compartmentalized kitchen storage, rice cookers, kettles, ice cream makers, tablet devices, male and female outfits, and an array of Scandinavian decor. This event also launches December 1st.

In a long, adorably intricate quest, player Sims will save Christmas and win amazing prizes at quest milestones. Live December 12th, this quest offers the luxury items Simmers would need to build a lovely London abode. These items include comfortable white couches, tea sets, tartan sofas, a coat hanger, a traditional fireplace, hand-carved lamps, cream corner bookshelves, a walnut tv unit, an antique Tudor camera, a ruby red phone booth, tinsel lights, bay windows, outdoor plants, a brown harp, a spiral staircase, and more!

Players who manage to complete the whole quest earn a beautiful London home template called Albion Square!

This jaw-dropping, snow-covered plot seems akin to Trafalgar Square, and it comes decorated with the Christmas event items and some other event items as well. The home template is actually a row of three, narrow townhomes, just like the ones one would find in London.

On December 25th, Influence Island’s fourth season will trigger in game. This vibrant iteration of Influence Island offers a stunning array of Moroccan-inspired items such as fruit displays, incense, intricate woven rugs, gold and silver tea sets, traditional wall tapestries, wooden shelves, gold hand basins, and the grand prize that includes elaborate counters, colorful dresses, big floppy hats, and big statuesque doors.

Kam Ham also returns December 25th for a Sim Chase rerun. This timed competition offers prizes that nicely compliment the desert Moroccan theme. Players will compete against a rival to reach “check points.” Each check point rewards the player with a pack of prizes. This particular rerun boasts sand-colored counters, wood fire stoves, grills, and desert outdoor plants, messy male hair, and a long female pony tail. Teens also get light linen shirts and stylish sandals.

The new year brings a fresh live event called “Magical Morocco!” This incredible new event gives players the chance to win the sights, sounds, and smells of northern Africa. From smoky incense to woven rugs, from keyhole-shaped arched doorways to modular seating, the FreePlay developers have delivered. Every item is polished, lovingly designed, with eye-popping details certain to please even the most discerning of FreePlayers. Simmers win these prize packs by endlessly crafting candles, pottery, jewelry, and glassware like their little lives depend on it.

In addition, if players manage to complete the entire event, they will win the Moroccan Marvel— a massive desert villa resplendent with stunning northern African decor and arranged around a huge, beautiful pool.

In addition to brand new maternity pack event, players can look forward to a free update that rolls out modest hijabs for women.

Kam Ham strolls back into town with another timed competition January 12th. His prizes this time include the Moroccan-inspired items that will heavily complement this month’s live event: colorful, geometric tiles, hanging lamps, braided bobs, regal accent tables, and much more.

What are you looking forward to in this amazing update? Tell us in the comments below!

Happy holidays, and happy Simming!

Minutes after FreePlay’s Sim Gurus confirmed Carebears for the newest Sims FreePlay update, the Game Changers let loose a barrage of videos outlining brand new Sims FreePlay events for the month of October.

Amid the player favorites and hobby event reruns, FreePlay will present its players with a Share Your Care Live event, Influence Island season two, a new SimChase event, a Downtown Developer event, and a new maternity pack!

Most of these events offer cutely colorful prizes such as rainbow doors and windows, animated Carebears, lollipop hedges, and so much more!

Keep it locked here for the exclusive resources you’ll need to succeed during these events!

​Stay safe and happy Simming!

​FreePlay wrapped up its latest Sim Chase only to dip back into a fan-favorite quest: Inner Child’s Play. This quirky quest guides the player through an adorable storyline involving a child’s birthday party, a semi-helpful but fabulously dressed witch, and a hapless friend named Crystal, who struggles to wrangle a houseful of hungry children. The player earns a treehouse for completing this quest, a prize that players can use for both adults, teens, and preteens.

Most notably, FreePlay began its fresh live event: School’s Out. During this event, the player makes mountains of craftable materials such as pottery, glassware, jewelry, and candles. The player trades these items for various themed prizes. During “School’s Out,” players earn prizes like school desks, science lab stations, new flooring, brightly colored school doors, vending machines, a principal’s desk, and far more. As a grand prize, Simmers earn a fully built, full furnished school building.  FreePlayers can stay tuned for the return of “Mean Curls,” which repopulated into the game September 9th, and the newest Sim Chase, which begins September 15th.

On August 25th, Sims Mobile Game Changers confirmed what mobile Simmers witnessed earlier as a leak: the introduction of the newest Sweet Treat Showdown — Cultured Kitchen. Beginning August 31st, this event offered mobile players various kitchen accoutrements such as new counters, islands, womenswear, bread loaves, and similar clutter material. The grand prizes for successfully opening all prize boxes are a countertop pizza oven, a seriously smart fridge, and cutely curled side style for women.

Game Changers also churned out news about two new purchasable packs. The first pack, Kitchen Essentials, popped September 5th for $7.99 USD. It included:

• Frothing Mad Milk Jug
• Clean it Tomorrow Stack
• Good as Gourd Vase
• Triple Hanging Shelves
• Circular End Table
• Glass a Day Wine Rack
• 7K Simoleons

 The highly anticipated Labor of Love pack will trigger for players September 16th. Costing $9.99, the pack offers:

• Labor of Love Uniform 
• Gutsy Gumboots
• Rolled Up Tee 
• Appropriately aproned Outfit 
• Plaited and Proud Braids 
• Funky Framed Glasses 
• 9K Simoleons 
  

Furthermore, Wumples #36 and #37 also dropped. In return for a grueling five day to-do list, Wumples the bunny offers Simmers the Very Voguish Vase and the Perfect Perfume on September 6th, and the Sitting and Staring doll alongside the Forget me Knit plush doll on September 21st.

Finally, with just days before the release of Sims 4: Journey to Batuu, Sims Mobile offered its players two free Star Wars themed packs. The first, an adorable stuffed version of The Child, affectionally deemed “Baby Yoda,” was actually a rerun of the earlier May 4th offering. The second pack featured a dancing DJ R-3X, a droid-shaped stereo. It also offered two lightsaber wall lights in six different colors.​

The wheels of the Sims universe quietly turned this week.  There was little to no earth shattering news from any of the three Sims realms, but as we near the end of August, rest assured that this relative silence is but the calm before the storm.  Sims FreePlay continued its Influence Island exploration, Sims Mobile wound down Sweet Treats, and Sims 4 developers dropped some cryptic teasers, some of which may not have been intentional. ​

The Sims franchise reacted to increasing pressure from not only the world state at large but also its vehemently vocal fanbase this week in all facets of its industry. From annoying bugs in Sims Mobile, to fresh event models in Sims Freeplay, and finally the revamping of Sim skintones in Sims 4, the franchise seems to be burning the midnight oil to appease its players.

Sims FreePlay, in particular, responded to player desires by including two fresh features to keep their builders building and their players playing. On August 10th, FreePlay underwent a massive update which brought a deluge of new features to the game. The first of these was L-shaped rooms. Gone are the days when Sims FreePlay builders created grand shapes out of the standard rectangular rooms. After undergoing a pricey quest, Simmers gain the ability to make rectangular rooms into L-shaped rooms. Why is this significant? It allows builders to better demarcate living areas in their builds without having to physically build another room. An L-shaped room could be used as a living room in one stem and a dining room in the next, an arrangement common in real life. But this was not all that FreePlay announced this week. The Firemonkeys team presented an uncommonly united front as they announced the giant "School's Out" update, over a month's worth of events in which players can participate to win school-themed prizes: steel water fountains, bleachers, goal posts, cafeteria serving stations, and far more. The grand prize for the live event, which pops in player devices September 3rd and runs for ten days, is a fully furnished school building.

But not even this is the end of the FreePlay story. Responding to player frustrations over the immensely unpopular Sim Chase, FreePlay added a new game facet to their mobile franchise: Influence Island. A quirky, refreshing take on "Survivor" style game shows, Influence Island plunks player Sims onto a sun-soaked, sandy island populated not only with coconut trees but also celebrity Sims. The challenge encourages player Sims to wield their powers of persuasion to lure these celebrity Sims -- think Bella Goth, Izzy Fabulous, and Santa -- to their side through lying, cheating, swindling, flirting, and all kinds of questionable cajoling. Winning over celebs earns the player Sim network tokens, a currency used in the gift shop to spin for prizes. After claiming all of the "common" prizes, players can then spin for "rare" prizes, all of which are, again, school themed. Of course, players will need to contend with an antagonist on Influence Island, who plots to influence the celebrity Sims against the hero Sim. Players must guess, gamble, and take plenty of well-measured risks in order to outwit the rival Sim at his own game.

More Sims FreePlay news included the return of Sim Chase. There are two new ones this month and a rerun of a third. Sim Chase #18 populates in-game August 21st and is aptly named "Sports Day Stoush." The second SimChase of the month is called "School Scuffles," beginning September 15th. The rewards for both of these chases will be school-themed. At the end of the month, on September 26th, players will contend with Sim Chase #4, Teen Retreat.

Freeplayers may also look forward to a new Maternity pack, an award for completing a maternity quest between August 30th and September 7th. Players can also look for the beloved "Inner Child's Play Quest" on August 31st, the Mean Curls hobby event on September 9th, and the Urban Furniture hobby event September 23rd alongside the Holiday High-Rise live event, also on September 23rd. Check out Simmer's Digest online for detailed walkthroughs of all these events in the coming weeks.

Sims Mobile had a moderately active week as Simmers wound down their Sweet Treats efforts and stuffed their new garages with tools, beanbags, and foosball tables, all while speculating about possible car updates in the future. The last update did leave a few players reeling; alongside the stunning camera and fourth floor changes came a host of new bugs, the most needling of which was the disappearance of Eco Retreat salvaged wood walls. Players sent their Sims to their humble eco paradises only to find their walls bare and white. To appease players, Firemonkeys compensated them with extra simoleons on August 12th.

The Sims Mobile Gamechangers dropped a smattering of information to round out the Mobile updates for the month, introducing two new purchasable packs and the final Wumples event for August. The first pack, populating in-game on August 13th and offered for $6.99, will include a caged bunker light, a Lively Linen closet, Shadowboxed tools, a Monumental canyon poster, Garage essential shelving, 6,000 simoleons, and a squat bookshelf hilariously called "that's a Lotta-man Books." Predictably, the Sims Mobile team trotted out another pack meant only for female Sims-- the Casa de Comfy pack, outfitted with a prim and plush bathrobe, sleepytime pajamas, sleepytime slippers,a branded and brave sweater, and a two-tone crew neck sweater alongside 9,000 simoleons. This pack triggers on August 24thand will cost $8.99 USD.

Wumples leaps back into action on August 23rd. In exchange for a five foot long to-do list, Wumples awards the player this time with a unicorn piggy bank, a horse-like plushie, and ten fashion gems.

But there was perhaps no greater news this week than that which occurred in Sims 4 circles. There is no doubt that we all live in tumultuous times. In light of horrific police brutality, the silencing of protestors, and the on-going systemic oppression faced by people of color worldwide, the need for racial justice, the cry for change, has never been more clear, never been more loud. Communities everywhere know that humanity stands on the cusp of monumental change, the arc of our history bending toward justice, and that change should involve every corner of our lives: even our video games. August 11th, SimGuruLindsay took to Twitter to address what hundreds of players have loudly advocated for for years: improved skin tones.

For a long time, darker skin tones in the Sims 4 were strangely blotchy, ashen, with undertones closer to blue or purple than the rich reds and yellows of actual people of color. In a game which has long touted its reputation as a game of equality, of inclusion, and life-simulation, this was a glaring oversight. Gamers took up the cause with a fiery new vigor: they interrupted Twitch streams, hijacked Twitter announcements, and advocated loudly on all social media platforms. Of course, talented modders like the indefatigable Xmiramira have not only spoken up about this oversight but also remedied it with widely-used skin mods. But now, with the blindingly stark light of racial injustice thrown on every facet of our lives, the Sims can no longer look the other way.

SimGuruLyndsay promised that they have heard the concerns of their player base. The Sims 4 team, after conferring closely with experts and stakeholders, has pledged to correct the skin tones in an upcoming fall patch.

Change will come, listeners, but only if you reach for it.

Until next time, stay safe, stay sane, and never stay silent. And as always, happy Simming.

Mobile Simmers around the globe waited on tenterhooks August 10th, 2020 for one of Sims FreePlay’s most anticipated updates to date.

While Sims FreePlay has long been considered the mobile Simmer’s build haven, Simmers have requested varied room shapes for a long time. This massive update gave Simmers L-shaped rooms, new SimChase event, a fresh School’s Out live event, and a novel event-type called “Influence Island.”

This Survivor-inspired event sweeps player Sims into a sun-soaked, sandy island dotted with swaying palm trees, littered with white-meat coconuts, and populated by celebrity Sims such as Bella Goth, Izzy Fabulous, and Santa. Player Sims must wield their powers of persuasion to influence these celeb Sims to their side. Through a series of challenges, celeb Sims may move from “neutral,” to “friend,” to “ally,” and finally to “clan mate.”

The name of the game is to convert seven celebrity Sims to “clan mate” status before the ten-day time limit is up. If a Sim successfully wins over seven celeb Sims, they win the grand prize: a sizable collection of school-themed decor. Among this collection includes such items as comfortable principal shoes, school lunch trays, school reception areas,

Players convert these celebrity Sims through a series of challenges. Each “challenge” consists of “rounds.”

Each “round” awards the player with a fixed number of network credits, tokens that the player may spend at the gift shop.

There are two classes of prizes in the gift shop: “common” and “rare.” The player must spin and win all “common” prizes before they are allowed to move on to the “rare” class prizes. There are no duplicates, but the player receives a random prize selection each time they spin.

During every round, the player must use their Sim’s power of persuasion to move an influence meter from the blue “neutral” zone into the green “friendly” zone. It is not so simple as to overwhelm the celebrity Sim with as many influence-generating actions as possible, however. If the meter leaps into the red zone, the player Sim will fatigue the celeb Sim, and the round will fail.

But this isn’t the only monkey wrench Firemonkeys throws at their aspiring Sim-influencer. The player Sim must also contend with a rival Sim, a conniving, sniveling antagonist whose only goal is to win celebrity Sims away from the hero Sim.

The player will know that the rival— the Grinch for Influence Island’s first season—has been at work when there is a mystery “yellow” zone on the influence bar. This is when the game mechanics slip into guessing, or more aptly, gambling territory.

​

The player must guess where the rival influence point falls within the yellow zone. Thus, FreePlayers will have to cajole and wheedle their way as close to the green (and sometimes red!) zone as possible. If the rival point is closer to the safe zone than the player’s ending point, the challenge is failed. This addicting, thrilling, and frustrating rival zone experience is the facet of Influence Island that will generate the most revenue. Players may purchase “bribes” or buy their way out of failure with Social Points, the most scarce of FreePlay’s currency.

Here’s the thing about failure: it results in a loss of all rewards earned during that challenge. The game will
offer the player a piddling amount of network credits as a consolation prize, but this amount will always pale when compared to the lost network credits. Not only this, but the player Sim’s relationship status with the given celeb Sim will also reset to its previous level.

Let’s say a player embarks upon a challenge to move a celeb Sim from “friend” to “ally.” A failure resets all progress toward “ally,” and the celebrity Sim will remain a “friend.” Players only receive three challenges a day, with a new challenge attempt populating every eight hours. (The challenges do not stack, however. A player cannot “store” six challenge attempts by not playing for 48 hours, for example.) Thus, the player must use their challenge attempts to get the most out of Influence island.

This will sound very familiar to Sims Mobile players. The spinning cogs and underlying bolts of this game mechanic are undeniably of the Sweet Treats variety. In fact, FreePlayers can purchase a “survivor pack” for $9.99 USD to help boost their influence efforts.

This pack offers starting bribes, extra chocolate, helpful survival actions, and a 1,000 network credit boost. Again, this pack will remind Sims Mobile players of the “golden ticket” that Simmers can purchase for Sweet Treats.

All in all, Influence Island is a refreshing change of pace. It isn’t as taxing as the widely-despised SimChase, and the Island’s picturesque landscape is a strangely soothing reprieve from daily Sim life.

This is a permanent feature which Simmers can expect to return in later updates. Future Influence Island “seasons” will boast new prizes for Simmers to try their influencing luck to win.

How are you enjoying Influence Island? Tell us in the comments below!

Stay safe, grab some Sim sun, and happy Simming!

In the world of mobile Simming, Sims FreePlay has reigned king concerning build mode for a long time and for good reason.

Sims FreePlay, modeled after the beloved PC Sims iterations Sims 1 and 2, boasts a robust build/buy system, an endless variety of furniture, and a myriad of essential build features such as balconies, porches, swimming pools, mezzanines, and much more.

But even the king has space for improvement, and the week of August 10th, 2020, Sims FreePlay will undergo a much requested change: the addition of room shapes. Until now, FreePlayers were fairly limited to rectangular rooms, though this limitation did not hamper the most creative from building stunning palaces and charming bungalows.

After the August 10th update, Simmers will see a prompt about this newest feature in their games. To embark on the L-shaped room quest, the player will have to fork out social points or simoleons. The amount will vary. A player capped at level 55, the highest in FreePlay, will need to cough up over 7,000,000 simoleons.

After purchasing the quest, the player will begin a quick series of events that guides them through building an L-shaped room. Each action takes seconds to complete, a refreshing change from the FreePlay usual.

When ready for an L-shaped room, the player must first build a standard square or rectangular room first. A new widget will allow the player to tug and resize the room into the desired L-shaped dimensions.

Players can only create L-shapes for now. They are unable to build z-shaped, u-shaped, or o-shaped rooms, but such rooms must certainly be on the horizon!

What will you build with your new L-shape ability?

Tell us in the comments and, as always, happy Simming!

[All photos from GirlWhoGames ]

It’s only early August, but Sims FreePlay is ready to go back to school!

The evening of August 8th, the Sims FreePlay Gamechangers announced a new series of live events that will appear in game with the newest August 10th update. All event prizes follow the seasonal, back-to-school theme, offering a grand prize of a large school building. This building comes decked out with a paved parking lot, an assembly room, a principal’s office, wide staircases, a cafeteria, and far more.

Alongside the school-themed events, FreePlayers will have the chance to complete a special quest which unlocks L-shaped rooms!

After speaking with Lee the mechanic at the nightclub, Simmers can complete her short quest to unlock these versatile rooms. Check out the example below from GirlWhoGames!

In addition, a slew of school-themed SimChases and live events will pop into the game alongside this update. Check the list Salix Cat created to know when your favorite arrives!

Here at Simmer’s Digest, we’ll cover all of the events in depth. Stay tuned for helpful infographics and time-saving articles!

School’s still out for summer, but we’re here to school you anyway! Happy Simming!