It’s easy to get stuck in a building rut. Now that Sims Mobile players have four floors worth of renovation space available to them, many are left scratching their heads and deciding just how to fill those rooms. How many bedrooms and bathrooms does one player need anyway?

Consider the creative genius that is Mini Moo. Her stunningly sophisticated build features not only interior design staples such as bedrooms and kitchens, but she’s also created fabulous new areas in which her Sims may relax.

Create a movie theater
📝 Place squat, square recliners in rows.
📝 Keep lighting low and minimal
📝 Include “sound equipment” such as the guitar amp for realism
📝Create narrow rows with runner carpets or the cheap kitchen mat (they have a lovely texture, and they snap well together.)

Create a Spa
📝 Cover walls with wood panels
📝 Install a hardwood floor in a similar color to the walls
📝 Use squat wooden coffee tables as “seating.”
📝Include bathroom amenities such as soap dishes and hampers for a steam/spa room vibe.

Bring the Outside In
📝Columns aren’t just for exterior support! Bring columns inside as fashion-forward interior walls.
📝Bring pizzazz to your makeshift column wall by alternating column colors. This creates the look of a stylish feature wall.

Whar are your favorite rooms in your home? Share out in the comments!

After days of speculation, the Sims Mobile Game Changers finally revealed the newest update: a new type of treasure hunting live event.

This new event does not give players a new area to explore, but it offers players levels five and over to earn CAS and Build mode prizes in a new way. Alternating with Sweet Treats events, Treasure Hunting events will send players hunting for clues and then leading both investigations and excavations in various areas of the existing map.

Here’s a quick run-down of the way this new event works:

👉🏽There is NO new area.

💰When the treasure hunt begins, your Sim will complete a 4-hour event at their home, searching for “clues.” 📜

💰 The “clues” earned at the home event unlock other events at Downtown, Waterfront, and Market square.

💰Using special tokens called “Walkie Talkies,” Simmers get to “dig” for “relics.” Players can purchase clues about which relics you’ll find with simoleons and SimCash. They can also purchase extra dig opportunities with SimCash, simoleons, or cupcakes.

👉🏽PLAYERS USE THE RELICS TO PURCHASE PRIZES IN THE ORDER THEY LIKE.

👉🏽 You must unlock an entire row of prizes to unlock all the color swatches of those prizes, however.

👉🏽Participate in Small Frye’s side quest for extra relics

👉🏽The grand prizes for this particular dig are: a ping pong table, a female braided up-do, and a unisex mascot outfit. BUT PLAYERS MUST HAVE ENOUGH RELICS TO UNLOCK THE GRAND PRIZE.

Game Changers also dropped news about a Wumples quest which will surface October 5th, and a set of purchasable packs which will trigger in-game after the September 28th update.

(Many thanks to Simmerdown Mal for all her images!)
​

What are you most excited to dig up in this university-themed treasure hunt?

Stay safe, never stop digging, and happy Simming!

A great way to make your Sim’s home feel more well-planned and cohesive is to choose a good looking color palette. What is a color palette? A color palette is a spectrum of colors that often occur naturally in nature. They are colors that enhance instead of clash. Not all shades of blue belong together, nor do all shades of red or pink belong together. Rather, balance saturated colors with more muted colors to best please the eye.

Observe the fine examples below from MiMi, Keri, Bek, and Mallory.

🟦 Mimi uses a very common, very calming palette of duck egg blue and white. She accents the duck egg blue with more saturated blues in the carpeting. The different hues do not compete with each other. The light blue shade acts as the color palette’s main hue and the darker blue shade acts only as an accent.

🟥 Bold color palettes like red create a warm atmosphere while making a statement. Keri saturates her home with a rich red color while accenting with yellows, muted reds, and whites.

⬜️ Bek uses a pastel palette of pinks and white, accented with neutals like gray or black. The result is ultra-feminine, spring-like, and classy.

⬛️ Finally, Mallory ramps up richness and class in her build with black, rich browns, and accented whites.

What’s your favorite color palette to use? Tell us in the comments!

Stay safe and happy Simming!

Speculation about the latest Sims Mobile update has recently reached a fever pitch.

Early afternoon on September 14th, 2020, Game Changer LukethePlumbob dropped an image of torn map along with the hashtag #XmarkstheSpot.

The blocky, bejeweled, golden freezer bunnies and magnifying glass which accompanied the map fragment suggested a connection to Sims 4’s Jungle Adventure.

Later that same day, Game Changer Simmerdown Mal dropped a similar map fragment, this time sporting a pair of skull coins.

If this were not enough, later that evening, SimGuruIlya quietly commented on a Sims Mobile News tweet from January 2020. This tweet proposes a new event type in which pirates have invaded Simville.

All signs, from the pirate hashtag and the torn Treasure Island-like map to the skull-coins and ship’s bow-shaped shadow in Waterfront, seem to point to pirates.

What do you think is in store for Mobile? Tell us in the comments!

Stay safe, happy Simming, and THAR SHE BLOWS!

​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.​

📝Tips&tricks Tuesday 📝
————————————-
Creative Kitchens and Perfect Pillar Placement

I love a good kitchen, and given the current Sweet Treats theme, we would do well to return to some stellar kitchen tips with a twist!

Kitchens can easily become drab or boring. Shove a refrigerator in alongside a few cabinets, and you’re set. Give your kitchens some professional pizzazz with these simple tips brought to you by Serra and Shweta!

Review tips
—————-
✔️Use area rugs to section off parts of the kitchen.
✔️Fill counter space with clutter
✔️Choose warm woods to create a cozy atmosphere

The Twist
————-
🔘Use pillars to frame your space and eliminate the annoying gap between refrigerators and counters
🔘 Double duty: Your counter space can also perform as a bar if you stategically place chairs on the opposite side
🔘 Use decorative tile to make your place pop! Note that Shweta pairs her decorative tile with a more subtle wallpaper that still aligns with her overall color palette. (For the love of god, don’t match patterned floors with patterned walls. Thank you, amen. 🙏🏽)
🔘Create a back splash with exposed brick
🔘Get creative with seating: some coffee tables look like cozy, wooden cabin seating when placed stylishly.
🔘Play with counters to create stunning, dynamic islands

What are your favorite kitchen tricks? Share out in the comments, and happy Simming!

A Sim’s home is his quiet place of respite, and in addition to the obvious living rooms, bedrooms, and bathrooms, a Sim may need the quietest of places to rest his mind after a long day of simoleon earning: a study. But where should the discerning Simmer place such a study? What should she include other than a desk and bookshelves? Check out the beautiful study examples from Tamara, Brandi, Dominique, and Sarah!

📚 Note Sarah and Tamara’s brilliant use of space: create a comfortable nook for your Sims beneath staircases for a cozy effect.

📚 Sarah continues to use space wisely in her larger study area: remember, your Sims appreciate walking space! Sarah’s larger space isn’t so huge that the study feels /barren/, but she has just the right space to furniture ratio so that the room doesn’t feel claustrophobic.

📚Consider including a fireplace and additional seating for quiet conferences.

📚Consider chess tables and bubble areas to fill space.

📚Section off parts of your study with area rugs!

📚 Dominique includes not only bookcases and seating areas but also a section for plant-tending and magical studies!

📚Use low mood lighting to help your Sim wind down.

What are your favorite study room tips? Share out in the comments below!

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. ​

When a player first pops over to your house, the game usually plops them at near center of the lot. Placing an eye-popping driveway or foyer area here is the perfect way to make a stunning first impression. Here are a few gorgeous examples of how to make foyers feel fresh.

Reel them in:
——————-
⭐️ Draw eye with a long, lovely pathway. Check out the examples from Moiken, Pretty Sims, and Freya.
⭐️ Line the pathway with symmetrical hedging or topiaries
⭐️ Use floor lights not only to set the mood with color but also to direct the eye toward a focal point. In Pretty Sims’s example, her focal point is the gazebo.

Focused Foyers
———————-
⭐️ Allow your foyer to act as a meaningful room
in its own right by setting a focal point: Pink Moon uses a beautiful grand piano and elegant floor rug to serve as the center of her room.
⭐️Use ceiling lights to bring a warm, inviting, but sophisticated feeling to the room.
⭐️Plop down some floor plants to complement the focal point
⭐️Try hallway tables for extra decorative pizzazz.

What are your entry way tricks? Share out in the comments!

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.