The Sims Freeplay- Beginners Guide

This post has been completely redesigned and updated for 2017!

When you first start the game there aren’t many instructions as to what you need to do and how the game works so I have put together this guide to help you get the most out of the game!

Everything in red will be explained in more detail later in the post so keep reading, any words highlighted as a link will take you to a post explaining that topic in a lot more detail so if you are still unsure after reading about it in this post click on the links!

Player Information Panel 

At the top of your screen you will see a panel, this shows you your progress in the game:
1.Level and XPs- this shows you your level and how far away you are from levelling up, if you click on this you will see how many more experience points you need to be able to level up

2.VIP level- you earn VIP points when you buy items from the online store, the more you buy the higher your VIP level will be and the more VIP perks you will earn

3.Simoleons- this is your main currency in the game, click on the green simoleon symbol to buy more with real money

4.Lifestyle Points- this is a special currency, you can buy premium items with LPs or use them to speed up actions, again click on the orange LP symbol to buy more with real money

5.Social Points- this is another special currency, you earn these by completing social tasks at neighbours houses or as rewards during live events and community events

6.Town Value and Sim Count- click on this button to see your simtown information including your sim count (how many sims you currently have in your town/ how many you are allowed to add currently, this increases when you level up) as well as your town value, whenever you build a house, workplace or business or buy an item this adds to your town value, as your town value increases so does your daily simoleon reward

What is the time in the game? The time is the same as the time is for you so if its 10pm in your location then it will also be 10pm for your sims


Sim Information Panel

Your sim info panel will look different depending on the device you are playing on, on a larger device it will be a pop up tab at the bottom of the screen (shown as 1 in image above) and on a smaller device it will be in a folder on the side of your screen (shown as 2 in image above) with the simtracker included.

(3)Careers and Education– this is where you can give your sims a job, enrol them at school, send them to work or school or quit their job.

(4)Hobbies– here you can see all your sims hobbies and what level they are currently on in that hobby, click on the picture of the hobby to open up the hobby collection so you can see how many pieces they still need to collect before you will earn a reward:

(5)Relationships– relationships for the sim you are currently playing as.

(6)Life Dreams– complete the life dreams and legacies quest to get this tab. You will then be able to give your sims a life dream from here or see how far they have progressed with a life dream so far:

(7)Age Control–  complete the life dreams and legacies quest to get this tab. This tab allows you to advance, reverse or pause a sims age. Read this post for more information


Simtracker

Your simtracker will look different depending on the device you are playing on, on a larger device it will be a pop up tab on the sims needs bar (shown as 1 in the image above) and on a smaller device it will be in a folder on the side of your screen (2)

On the simtracker you can see the tasks your sims are currently doing (3) and if they have completed that action their face will flash with an XP symbol (4)

The simtracker is also used to send sims to work (click on the pulsing suitcase(5), bring a sim to the location you are currently at (using the whistle(6) and sending a sim home (click on the house with the arrow inside it button(7)

How can I send my sim to the park? Make sure they aren’t busy and go to the park, open the simtracker and click on the whistle to bring them to the park


Life Stages

When you first start the game you create an adult sim and begin the Tutorial

As you progress through the game you will unlock more Life Stages. Each life stage is unlocked by completing a main quest:

Babies– complete the Two and a Half Sims Quest to unlock

Toddlers– complete A Quest for Toddlers to unlock

Preteens– complete the Preparing for Preteens Quest to unlock

Teenagers– complete the Teenagers Quest to unlock

Ageing your Teenagers to Adults– complete the Adulthood Quest to unlock

Seniors– complete the Seniors Quest to unlock

Why can’t I complete A Quest for Toddlers yet? All main quests have to be complete in the order found in this post so you will not be able to do the Quest for Toddlers until all previous quests have been completed.


Sim Needs

Your sims have 6 needs that have to be fulfilled (the bar needs to be fully green) so they are satisfied, if they aren’t happy they mope around and take ages to walk anywhere and they won’t go to work. If you fill up all their needs almost completely (they will be inspired, being inspired is great because they earn more money and experience points when gardening and baking but also when they complete any action they will earn more XPs!)

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  1. Hunger- fridge/ plate of food
  2. Bladder- toilet
  3. Energy- bed/ coffee machine
  4. Hygiene- sink/shower/bath
  5. Social- phone/interaction with a sim or pet
  6. Fun- several things such as watch TV, check emails (but for adults and seniors I plant bell peppers)

TIP: the same symbol that appears on your sims need bar also shows in the store so you know that item will fulfil that need

To inspire a sim you need to fulfil at least 4 needs fully and for the other 2 most of the bar will need to be full.

You can inspire a sim instantly with:

  • A cupcake- this costs LPs, I wouldn’t recommend this option!
  • Rainbow cakes- if you have this VIP Perk
  • Singing salmon- if you unlock this prize when completing the Life Dreams and Legacies Quest

TIP: when you download a new update to the game it will instantly inspire all of your sims!

How can I tell if my sim is inspired? They will sparkle and the cupcake will be greyed out

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How much does an inspired sim earn compared to a sim who isn’t inspired? It varies depending on what they are doing but if you wanted to grow onions an inspired sim would earn S1,200 and 900XP whereas an uninspired sim would only earn S800 and 600XP! They will also get more XPs when completing any action, such as having a catnap they will get 99XPs when inspired instead of just 66XPs.


Star Ratings on Items

The star ratings indicate how good that item is, the more stars means the more expensive the item but also the quicker it will take to do the action. For example if you wanted your sim to read the big book of stuff:

  • 1 star bookcase would take 1 day
  • 2 star bookcase would take 21 hours 30 minutes
  • 3 star bookcase would take 19 hours

TIP: when trying to complete quests that have time limits it is always best to use items with the highest star rating you can so you can complete the quest quicker

I have found an item with a one star rating but I cannot find the same item with a higher rating, why? Almost everything in the store has a star rating so some items such as hobby items where only one item is available will have only 1 star even though that is the only item available to buy.


Cancelling/ Speeding Up An Action

To cancel or speed up an action click on the sim who is doing the action then you will see this bar appear:

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Click on the red x to cancel the action, it will bring up a warning saying you will not get any XPs for cancelling, are you sure you want to? Click yes or no

Click on the orange use button to use LPs to speed it up, it will show you on the left hand side of the button how many LPs it will cost you to complete the action early.

Click on the green arrow if you clicked on your sim by mistake and don’t want to do any of the options above.

I haven’t got enough LPs to speed up the action, how can I earn some? Give this post a read! I explain a simple way to earn LPs that you can do as soon as you complete the first main quest in the game!


Making Simoleons (money!)

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1-Daily Simoleon Reward

Click on a mailbox at the front of your sims house once a day to collect this reward, this is based on your town value so the higher your town value the more simoleons you will earn (up to a limit!)

2-Gardening

A great way to make money is to plant, seniors, adults and teenagers can plant. You will need to buy a garden patch for S20 and select the item you would like to plant, pay attention to the time, once your sim has finished gardening click on the circle plant pictures above the patch to collect your money.

Some seeds can turn into sim eating plants: Lettuce, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Eggplant, Spinach- I wouldn’t risk planting these unless you had a goal to make them, if they turn into a sim eating plant you won’t get any money or XPs from them and you will need to negotiate with the plant for 3 minutes to be able to use the garden patch again.

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3-Baking

Baking is similar to gardening, buy an oven, select baking and click on the recipe you want to bake, once your sim has finished baking click the circle food picture above the oven to collect your money!

Some items can burn: Brownies, Waffles, Donuts, Banana Bread, Rocky Road and Soufflé- I wouldn’t risk making these items unless you had a goal to make them, if they burn you won’t get any money or XPs for them and you will need to extinguish the fire for about 3 minutes to be able to use the oven again

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TIP: remember that inspired sim earn more money when baking or gardening!

TIP: you can buy seeds or recipes from the Supermarket at a reduced price!

What does the wedding cake do? Is it worth the LPs it costs to bake? The wedding cake doesn’t do anything so don’t waste your LPs on it!

4-Careers

Another way to make money is by getting your adult sims a job, to get a job click on the menu at the right hand bottom of the screen and on the jobs tab find the sim that you want to get a job and click on unemployed next to their picture, this will bring you up the list of jobs available- give this post a read for more details

Towards the beginning of the game you won’t have many options until you build all of the workplaces, once you have built them all the list of jobs to choose from is: ScientistFirefighterMusicianArtistTeacherReal Estate AgentAthlete and Politician as well as profession careers Police, Movie Star and Hospital Staff

Only adult sims can go to work but you can also send your preteen sims to Simtown Elementary and your teenage sims to Simtown High

What is the difference between careers and professions? Careers you just send your sims to work for a certain amount of hours and you cannot interact with them during this time, with profession careers you can go to work with your sims, help out the people who turn up at that workplace and earn resources to build and upgrade workstations within that workplace, click here to find out more about profession careers

5-Hobbies

Your sims can make money when completing hobbies too, when you find a new hobby item you will earn simoleons and when you complete a collection you either earn a prize or LPs. Click on the links below for information on each of the different hobbies available for sims in that life stage:

Baby: Musical Expression

Toddler: Toddler PlayhouseSeashell CollectingFinger Painting

Preteen: KarateBalletDivingFigure SkatingSeashell CollectingSkill Tester

Teen: Teen IdolCookingDivingFigure Skating,  JugglingSpell CastingBroomstick FlyingSurfingBreakdancingArcade GamerCatwalk ModelBowling, Cat ShowDog ObedienceDog AgilityArchery, Internet Kitten, Puppy PalsFashion HunterMakeup ArtistPotion BrewingSnorkellingStorytellerSurvivalist

Adult: CookingDiving,  Figure Skating,  Fashion Designer,  FishingGhost HuntingHorse TricksVaultingShowjumpingWoodworkingJugglingSpell CastingBroomstick FlyingSalsa DancingBreakdancingSurfingCatwalk Model, AerobicsBowling, Cat ShowDog ObedienceDog AgilityArchery, Internet Kitten, Puppy PalsFashion HunterMakeup ArtistPotion BrewingSnorkellingStorytellerSurvivalistPinball Enthusiast JesterHigh Striker, Chocolatier

Senior: FishingCookingQuiltingBird FeedingPinball Enthusiast Dog ObedienceStorytellerSurvivalist, Cat Show

At the start you won’t have many places unlocked to be able to do these hobbies.

NOTE: a sim can only have one hobby, you can change their hobby but they will lose all progress towards that previous hobby

Still confused about hobbies? Check out my Frequently Asked Questions about Hobbies!

Are hobbies important? You don’t have to complete them if you don’t want to but if you want to complete Time Limited Hobby Events then yes they are important, when completing a Time Limited Hobby Event you will need a sim at the highest level in that hobby and it is always best to do this before the event starts, so as soon as you can start a hobby its best to have one sim on that hobby to complete it for the first time so you are ready when a time limited hobby event starts! You can find more information and a list of time limited events here

6-Buy them

You can buy simoleon, LP and SP packs from the online store, located by clicking on the shopping cart:

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When you buy items from the online store you now earn VIP Perks, VIP perks are unlocked when you buy items from the online store with real money, anything you buy with real money now gets converted into points (the more money you spend the more points you earn) and the more VIP points you have, the higher VIP level you will be, earning you more perks! Click here for more information on the VIP Perks you can unlock!

Help I need to earn some money! Click here to read my post 15 ways to make money


Goals, Quests and Tasks

You can see all your current tasks, quests and goals in the active tasks tab:

For weekly tasks and social tasks there is an orange skip symbol, you can use this to skip a task but this will cost you 10LPs, you cannot skip quest goals.

Weekly Tasks

You will find weekly tasks in your active tasks tab, you need to complete all these goals in a week to receive a key- you use these keys to unlock mystery boxes that contain different items, the more keys the rarer and better the items! The mystery box shop is explained in more detail in this post

You can also get rewards for completing 25%, 50% and 75% of the goals.

TIP: If you cannot complete a goal you can either skip with 10LPs or wait until a new update for the game is released, when you download a new update it will complete the current weekly task you are on!

Once you have completed the week of goals you will have to wait until the next week to access the mystery box shop to spend your keys.

NOTE: these goals have to be completed in your town, they cannot be completed in a neighbours town

Find my list of weekly tasks here

Quests

There are now main quests and discovery quests.

Main Quests- All main quests HAVE to be completed in order, there is a level that quests unlock at but you still will not be able to access that quest if you are at the correct level but haven’t completed a main quest before it.

NOTE: you have to complete the current main quest before you can move onto the next one in the list:

  • Ocean View– unlocks the beach side premium houses (level 9)
  • Adulthood– unlocks the ability to age teens to adults (level 21)
  • Ghost Hunters– unlocks the ghost hunting hobby and haunted items (level 22)
  • Seniors– unlocks seniors (level 23)

For example, if you are on level 28 but are currently completing the Ghost Hunters Quest then you will need to complete this one before you can start the Seniors Quest, Bird Feeding Quest, In Stitches Quest and the final main quest Life Dreams and Legacies Quest. You will see all the main quests up to your current level in your quest queue 

These quests need to be completed in order and the next one will start as soon as the previous quest is completed.

NOTE: these goals have to be completed in your town, they cannot be completed in a neighbours town

 

Discovery Quests- these are usually unlocked by talking to a person in simtown or building a place, they can be completed in any order (apart from the ones that require another discovery quest to be completed first) and at the same time as main quests but you can only complete one discovery quest at a time. Below is my list of discovery quests to complete, click on the links to find out how to begin these quests:

  • Book Of Spells– unlocks spell casting hobby (sorcerous supplies unlocks at level 8 and needs to be built before quest is unlocked)
  • Saved by the Spell– unlocks the potion brewing hobby (complete the book of spells quest and find the wizard in the park to start)
  • A Dance To Remember– unlocks salsa dancing hobby (click on the dancers next to the thinking man statue in the park to start this quest)
  • The Grooving Guru– unlocks the Health Hub content and aerobics hobby (build the health hub from level 9 to start this quest)
  • Nanny Knows Best- unlocks new interactions for babies (find the nanny in the park to start this quest)
  • Vacationers Guide to the Outdoors- unlocks the campgrounds content (build the campgrounds from level 11 to start this quest)
  • The Sunset Mall– unlocks mall content (you need to build the mall from level 12 to unlock this quest)
  • Pretty Little Planters– unlocks a second floor to the mall (you need to build the escalator to start this quest)*
  • Super Toddler Secret Mission- unlocks the finger painting hobby (find the super hero at the stables)
  • Strange Things In Simtown– unlocks super villain outfits for your toddlers (find the super villain at the park once you have completed the super toddler secret mission quest)
  • Royal Lineage– unlocks the castle (you need to build the castle from level 14 to unlock this quest)
  • DIY Homes: Peaceful Patios– unlocks patios (you need to talk to the woman with the hard hat at the park from level 15)
  • DIY Homes: Lovey Dovey Balcony– unlocks balconies (you need to talk to the woman at the community center from level 17 once you have completed the multi story renovations quest)
  • DIY Homes: Basement of Kings– unlocks basements (you need to talk to the woman at the community center once you complete the balcony quest)
  • Extreme Home Takeover -unlocks the ability to submit your houses for other players to build (talk to the realtor in the park from level 11)
  • A Puppy Odyssey – unlocks puppies and kittens (find the puppy in the park from level 11)
  • Simtown Express – unlocks the downtown area and hospital profession workplace (build the simtown express from level 15 to begin once you have completed the mysterious island quest)
  • Sims and the City– unlocks penthouse apartment templates in downtown (you need to complete the simtown express quest first)

NOTE: these goals have to be completed in your town, they cannot be completed in a neighbours town

How much time does each quest take to complete? Check out this post for the total time each quest takes to complete

Do I have to complete a discovery quest? No you don’t! If you don’t want to complete the quest don’t talk to the sim or build the building that is needed for this quest to begin BUT once you start a discovery quest you will need to finish it before you can move onto a new discovery quest

Social Tasks

All these tasks have to be completed at your neighbours town, each goal you complete gives you a reward- some give you social points others will just earn your experience points. To get neighbours you need to connect your game to a social media platform, for example, facebook, google play games or game center.

If a neighbour doesn’t have an item you need you can add new neighbours or skip the goal for 10LPs. If you don’t want to add anyone as neighbours you can still complete tasks at the default neighbourhood Another Simtown, it is lacking a lot of items but you can find out what it contains in this post  and if it doesn’t have what you need to complete that task you can skip with 10LPs without having to visit!

NOTE: these goals can only be completed in a neighbours town, you cannot complete them in your own town

How do I visit neighbours? This post explains how to visit a neighbours town

How do I add neighbours? Check out this post on how to add neighbours

None of my friends play! What should I do? You can find loads of players on this page

What items do I need in my town to create a great social tasks house for my neighbours? Check out this post!

Why can’t my neighbour see an item I put in my town for them? You will need to connect to the cloud and save your game for your neighbours to see the most recent version of your town

Time Limited Events

A lot of the new events in the game nowadays are time limited so you will have a certain amount of time to complete an event in order to get a prize or several prizes. These will also appear in the active tasks tab when they become available, there are a few different types:

  • Time Limited Hobby Events– are hobbies that can be completed previously then have to be completed a certain number of times during the time limited event to unlock new items, for example, Long Hair Event (completing the fashion designer hobby 9 times in the time limit to unlock all 9 hairstyles)
  • Community Events– these events require you to collect lots of a certain thing such as fruit or gems to be able to unlock and build or buy new places or items on the game within the time limit, these have community prizes so all of the sims freeplay community works together to unlock these prizes as well as personal prizes, for example, Tropical Romance Island (collecting fruit to build an island within the time limit)
  • Live Events– these are similar to community events but we don’t have community prizes, only personal prizes, these events require you to collect lots of arts and crafts items to be able to unlock and buy new places or items on the game within the time limit, for example, Dream Daycare (collecting arts and crafts items to purchase all new toddler and infant items within the time limit to win the Toddler Playground House Template)

The links to all Time Limited Events can be found here, remember that they aren’t all currently available right now

Time Limited Hobby Event or Timed Hobby?

Timed hobbies are ones that need to be completed for the first time in the time limit to get a prize, for example, the time limit for the Spellcasting hobby starts once you complete the Book of Spells quest, for a timed hobby you only have to complete the hobby once in the time limit not several times like you do in a time limited hobby event.

Simtown Market Events

These appear in your active tasks tab once you start the profession careers, the aim is to use the resources you earn in the professions to earn prizes such as the boom camera:

Click here for more information on simtown market events


Family Life

Once you complete the Love Is In The Air Quest you will be able to ask sims to move in and be romantic! To interact with another sim have the sim with the plumbob above their head click on another sim and select one of the interactions.

There are 3 different kinds of relationships:

  • Friendly- these are green interaction bubbles
  • Rude- these are red interaction bubbles
  • Romantic- these are pink interaction bubbles

 How do I make my sims roommates?

If you want a sim to move in with another sim then you need one to be nice to the other until they reach the good friends milestone, then you will get the option to move in

How do I make my sims partners?

If you want your sims to be partners and living together then you will need one sim to be romantic to the other until they reach the partners milestone, then you will get the option to move in

NOTE: the sim who asks is the house they move into and the last name they will get, for example if John Smith asked Jade Road to move in they will move into Johns house and she will become Jade Smith even if they are only friends

NOTE: You can only have 4 sims living in a house at one time

There are different interactions for different life stages and relationship milestones, read my Relationships post for my full guide to all the interactions

Marriage

Once you complete the Love Is In The Air Quest you can marry your sims. It is best to ask a sim to marry another sim before they live together, they are less likely to say no if they live in separate houses, it is also best to buy the most expensive ring which costs 10LPs, the better the ring the more likely they will say yes.

When you select get married it will ask you which house you want them to live in, they will take that sims last name:

 

TIP: two sims have to be married before they can have a baby

Check out my post on getting married here

Divorce

If you don’t want your sims to be married anymore you can get them divorced, you won’t be able to move one of the married couple out of a house without getting them divorced first, this post explains how to get your sims divorced

Having a Baby

Once you complete the Two and a Half Sims Quest and you have a married couple in your town you can add a baby! Adding a baby will cost you 3LPs until you complete the Life Dreams and Legacies Quest, then it will cost simoleons (the amount varies depending on how many sims you have in your town already)

  1. Place crib in the house of a married couple otherwise you will not be able to add the baby
  2. Click on blue add sim symbol
  3. Click add on the pop up, the baby will take a day to arrive
  4. After a day the add symbol will now be green, click on this
  5. You will be taken to create a sim, name and customise the baby before clicking on the green tick in the corner to add them to your town

Once you complete future quests you will be able to age your baby through the different life stages:

  • You can bake a birthday cake using an oven for 5LPs to turn a baby into a toddler (once a quest for toddlers has been completed)
  • Then to a preteen (once preparing for preteens has been completed)
  • Then to a teen (once teenagers has been completed)
  • Then to an adult (once adulthood has been completed)
  • Then to a senior (once seniors has been completed)

You can find more information on birthday cake ageing here

Pets

Once you build the pet store you can buy cats, dogs, puppies and kittens! Most of them cost LPs.

Decide on the pet you want then choose the house you want the pet to live in (you can only have 2 pets per household)

Cats and dogs find money and sometimes LPs around your houses! The most expensive the pet the more LPs they are likely to find

Read my Guide to Pets for loads more information

You will also be able to buy Horses at the stable, find out about horses here


Houses

Building a house- Click on the blue or yellow house add symbol to choose a house from the list, pick the empty lot if you want to build your own house. If this is greyed out you will need to finish constructing another building first as you cannot build two places at once or if you have no other places building you will need to level up before you can add a house as you are at your house limit for the current level.

 

Below I’m going to link all of the important posts for creating houses, make sure you check them out before you start (if you make mistakes it can be very expensive to redo!)

Building, Deleting and Resizing Rooms– the first steps to building a house!

Buying, Selling and Storing Items– learn how to place items in your house, sell unwanted items and store items to use them later!

Adding Stairs– once you complete the Multi Story Renovations Quest you will be able to add stairs to your houses, this guide shows you step by step how to do that!

Adding Poolsonce you complete the It’s All Going Swimmingly Quest you will be able to add pools to your gardens, learn the basics as well as some great tips to creating pools with an island in the middle!

Adding Patiosonce you complete the DIY Homes: Peaceful Patios Quest you will be able to add patios to your gardens, check out my step by step guide to that and a video from me on how to have different styles of patio paving next to each other!

Adding Balconiesonce you complete the DIY Homes: Lovey-Dovey Balconies Quest you will be able to add balconies to your houses too, again my guide will walk you through how to do this!

Adding Basementsonce you complete the DIY Homes: Basement of Kings Quest you will be able to build basements underneath your houses! Check out my guide for how to do this!

Have you built an amazing house you want to share with others? You can Submit Your House to the Sims Freeplay team to review and decide if it should end up in the architects homes tab for other players to build, find out how to do that in this post!

 

If you don’t want to create your own there are lots of premade house templates to choose from, you can still edit them! Below I have listed all my house guides, as well as guides for the penthouse apartments and houseboats. You can see my opinion of each house and pictures of them to help you decide which ones you would like to build:

House Guide Part One

House Guide Part Two

House Guide Part Three- Templates

House Guide Part Four- Penthouse Apartments

Houseboats Guide


Adding New Sims

When you first build a new house you will get empty house options (options that appear when a sim isn’t living in the house) the most important option is adding a sim:

Add a sim- select this option to be taken to the create a sim menu, customise your adult sim then add them to the game (this is free)

NOTE: you can only add an adult sim for free to a house, you will need a married couple to add babies that will age into children!

I don’t like my sims name can I change it? Yes you can, you can click on your sim and select ultimate makeover, this will cost you 12LPs but you can change their name, gender and skin colour

Can I delete a sim? Yes you can, click on your sim and next to their name you will see a red cross, click on this and your sim will be deleted from the game


Places in Town

There are 3 areas in your town:

  • Simtown– your main place in town
  • Mysterious Island– complete the Mysterious Island Quest to unlock
  • Downtown- complete the Simtown Express Quest to unlock

Places In Simtown (you need to complete quests and other requirements before you can build most of these places): 

Places On the Mysterious Island (you need to complete quests and other requirements before you can build most of these places): 

Places In Downtown (you need to complete quests and other requirements before you can build these places):

How much does it cost to build a place and how long will it take to build? The price and time vary depending on how many others of that type of building you already have in your town, for example, everytime you build a new house the price will increase for the next house but not for workplaces or businesses and everytime you build a new workplace the price will increase for the next workplace but not for businesses or houses.


Saving to The Cloud

Saving to the cloud is probably the most important part of the game because if you don’t save to the cloud and something goes wrong you could end up losing your whole game (yes, this has happened to me before). It also allows you to transfer your game data onto another device

The first thing you need to do is connect to a social platform for example, facebook or game center (this depends on the device you are playing on) this is explained in the adding neighbours post

Once you have done that you can go into the settings in the game (the 3 white dots button) and click on the cloud button, you can now select upload save data and your game will save, its very quick and simple so make sure you save often!

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TIP: once you have added an item to your house for a neighbour to use you will need to connect to the cloud so they can see the most up to date version of your town and be able to use the item

More information on the cloud can be found here


Important to Know

  • When you complete the last main quest, Life Dreams and Legacies your sims will age automatically and they will die, please check out my Guide to Life Dreams and Orbs and FAQs about Life Dreams so you know what to expect- there are also some tips in that second post to stop your sims ageing!
  • Blue footprints appear in a speech bubble above your sims head when you are trying to do an action that isn’t accessible to your sim, this could mean that the item they want to use is blocked, move the item so your sim can access it and try again

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  • Red crosses appear in a speech bubble above your sims head when you are trying to do an action that your sim cannot do, for example a toddler cannot use a shower so if you were playing as the toddler and you clicked on the shower this red cross will appear.

simsredcross

  • Firemonkeys are the creators of The Sims Freeplay so if you have any technical issues for example if you lose the save data for your game then please contact them, details on how to contact them and the information you will need to provide can be found in this post if it isn’t a technical issue feel free to ask me!
  • Windows Phone Players may not have all the features mentioned here as they have stopped updating the game on windows phones- you will still be able to play the game you just won’t receive any future updates or new content.
  • You will need to keep your game updated to be able to access the new content and events available, this page explains how to update your game
  • Remember to save to the cloud regularly as explained above so you don’t lose any data
  • This blog is constantly updated with information on new content but I also update all of the older posts to make sure they are still up to date, I do have hundreds of posts so this can take a while, if you notice anything that is no longer correct please let me know and I will update it as soon as possible!
  • All my sims freeplay posts can be found on this page

Other Helpful Links:

Loading Screen Tips Explainedever wondered what all those loading screen tips mean, this post explains!

Symbols Explainedthis post shows you all the main symbols in the game

Updating the Game

Contacting Firemonkeys

Want to Contact Me? You are always welcome to ask me questions but it would really help me out if you check out the FAQs post first as it may have already been answered, if not then click-> Contact Me! – or just comment on this post and I will get back to you as soon as possible. If you are looking for a certain sims freeplay post try checking this page before asking-> All My Sims Freeplay Posts


Updated: July 2017

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426 thoughts on “The Sims Freeplay- Beginners Guide

  1. What should I do if the preteen bed doesn’t show up in the store?? I found the preteen bed fine, but my mom is on level 13 now she’s doing the preteen quest but she can’t complete it because the preteen bed is not showing up. Do you have any advice??

  2. Two of my sims have a best friends status but every time I make them ‘be nice’ or ‘be funny’ or something, the green bar doesn’t go up. They have been ‘best friends’ for ages now, and the bar is not going up. Please help!

    • If the green bar is full then it probably can’t increase anymore, I don’t know about best friends status but if you are married the status doesn’t increase anymore so it may be the same thing

    • You need to use a coffee machine for this action, if you can’t access the coffee machine (you see a red cross or blue footprints above your sims head) try placing it in a different place or rotating it

  3. Been annoying me for ages but I’m almost level 18 and still I can not turn my toddler into a preteen and I’m not sure how this won’t work I’ve baked the cake and it says I have to compete the quest at level 13 is there anything you know that could help me please x

  4. I used to be able to make tons of money from fashion designs, but since the latest update, it just goes to what was made-no money. Do you have any idea what happened?

  5. Hi, I don’t know if you’ve covered this already but is there a way to separate housemates and if so, will they take back their own last names? Thank you!

    • You need to have an empty house, click on the house and the options will appear, I think the option is relocate sim or something like that, it costs money to do, and you should be able to move just one sim but they won’t take back their last names

  6. I don’t have a move in together option what should I do? The person I want to move in is best friends. And when do you get the be romantic? I don’t have that either.

  7. okay I just finished quest of money sprout. Then after a pop up came up saying I completed it. I tap my screen by accident and I couldn’t read what it said. so can anybody please tell me what it said

  8. I have a general question. Should I keep at least 1 sim at every life stage? As in should I not age my toddler so that I always have a toddler to do toddler actions or will the goals never ask something of a sim if you have no sims of that age?

    • It’s a good idea to have a sim at every life stage just incase. At Christmas they had a goal to get a toddler to sit on santas knee and if you didn’t have a toddler it jut went on to the next goal so hopefully it would do that again!

  9. Does Facebook every post on your behalf when you log in via the Party Boat? I don’t want my FB friends seeing what I do.

  10. Pls help. I am still VERY new to the game. I am on level 2 😦 and its asking me to get one sim to another sims house and make them happy. How do I do this? I have two sims. Will appreciate your help!!!
    Thx

    • Go to one of the houses, click on the whistle next to the sim that is in the other house to bring them together, then you can click on the other sim and choose an option 🙂

  11. I am still very new to the game! Only on level two. My next quest is to “get 1sim to another sim’s house and make them happy”. How do I do this??? I have two sims. Will appreciate yr advise!
    Thx!

    • Go to one of the houses, click on the whistle next to the other sim to bring them to the house and then click on the other sim and select be nice or something that will make them happy

  12. Since the latest update, how do I ask a sim to leave town now? The red icon -stick figure with an X over it isn’t in the customize your sim thing anymore. I checked both the clothes buying place and the hair style place. I know I’m gonna feel like such a derp when I do figure it, I’m sure its simple, but I can’t find it.

  13. How do I take a toddler to another town so I can use items at
    a friends house to finish tasks? Thanks!

      • No I have a task to have a toddler play with blocks but they cost a lot of LP but one of my friends has blocks so I was hoping to use theirs!

      • It wouldn’t complete the task even if you could get a toddler to another town, you can only complete neighbour tasks at your neighbours, you could always skip the goal for 5 LPs

    • No the house won’t burn down, you need to click on the fire symbol and put the fire out, some items you bake can cause fires, if you use a more expensive oven then fires are less likely to happen

  14. Your input please. I baked the damn banana bread for 20 hours. At he end here was a fire symbol. I clicked it and there was a casino roll. In the end I got points, however my quest did to go away. It still reads about an oven fire. 20 hours! What did I do wrong?

    • If the bread made a fire and the goal didn’t go away you need to bake the banana bread again until you make the bread not a fire, a more expensive oven makes fires less likely.
      And if you made a fire you need to extinguish it

  15. Do NBR points go down when you purchase things with them because I read that they don’t but I would like to be sure?

  16. sorry for repost however it posted as a reply and not a new comment or question.
    I had the 1st 2 sets of woodworking collectibles before it was a task however the game is not acknowledging it. What can I do?
    Also, how did my baby end up on the floor of the community center? I didnt know they were allowed to leave their cribs!
    Also after your Sims have mastered a hobby, do you let them begin a new one?

    • If you just keep woodworking you should get the collectibles again, so hopefully it will realise that you have them
      Babies cant leave their cribs, that is a glitch, you may be able to delete it if you can’t interact with it
      Once you have mastered the hobby you can either start the collection again to get another prize or LPs, I wouldn’t change their hobby but you can, you will have to start from level 1 again though

  17. Can toddlers use every bed or only the toddler bed? I’m making a room for my soon toddler and I don’t want to waste money on beds that won’t work…

  18. What do I do when I need to complete a painting task in a neighboring town.. but none of them have a painting easel!?

    Thanks 🙂

  19. I have two adults that are best friends and don’t have a be romantic button. How do I get them to move past that. I think I’m on level five or six. Thanks for your help!

  20. I don’t know where to post this but I just took one of my sims to a neighbouring town (my sisters town) to do tai chi in the park. One of her sims was there talking to the thinking man and I clicked on him and a big Red Cross came up and he walked away!!!! Does this mean when she opens her game the action really has been cancelled? She will not be happy! Haha

  21. I’m doing the social tasks and it says to go to a neighbors town and practice firefighting, so I know I have to use there fire hydrant, but when I go to my friends town (that I know has a fire hydrant) it’s not showing up at his house. I really don’t want to spend the 5 lps to skip this since I only have 8. Any ideas?

  22. I’ve been playing the game on four different devices and have a couple of tips to share for anyone starting out.

    1. You can save a ton of money by not using your extra houses. Keep all your sims stuffed into one main house, and the other houses can stay empty until you have money to burn. Money is saved on all the duplicate stuff you would otherwise buy to keep the sims happy. Up to 8 sims can be in a house at a time, including the ones who actually live there. This also saves time when all your sims are low on needs, especially if you put in more than one coffee machine, sink, and fridge.

    2. Money saving “cheat” will save you about 70 thousand, but you have to plan ahead. Before or during the Love quest, make sure you have 2-3 couples set up to get engaged, not just one couple. As soon as you are told to get engaged, get all the sims in one place, make sure you know EXACTLY who needs to marry who, put the couples on opposite ends of the lot so they have a long way to walk toward each other, and CLICK FAST. You can get all three couples engaged using the freebie ring you’re given. Otherwise, you’ll be waiting a long time for the money to throw away on a ring, and be stuck with only one married couple, which will also give you no options but to make that couple the parents of the first baby when that quest comes up.

    3. The quest to grow a Simoleon Sprout has no timer. Before you complete it, stop and think ahead. Look at the next quest. It will require a 24-hour hibernation. Get that at least half done before you complete the Simoleon Sprout quest.

    4. You are usually much better off gardening or cooking than doing any other action, since you get money and xp at the same time. I know a lot of people who like to put their sims to bed at night, which is just a waste. For the same amount of time you could make them plant onions or beans.

    5. Sim Tracker is a hot mess. If you want that thing organized in any logical way, you have to start planning from the first sim you make. I make mine alphabetical: Jenny and Justin Jones and their kid Jamie. Then at least I don’t have to think much when I’m trying to figure out who lives together or is related. If you’re really determined, you can also have your couples be next to each other in the Sim Tracker. It seems like a silly nit-picky thing to do, but once you have a lot of sims it’s really nice to have it a little bit organized instead of all jumbled up. In case you’re wondering what I do with little Jamie when she grows up and marries, well, I just make a sim with a J surname that’s different from Jones, so she might end up with Jeff Jetson. After a while her parents will be gone and Jamie and Jeff will be the only J family in the game.

    6. Instead of building more houses, move sims together to make space for adding new sims to the game. Houses get expensive fast. This trick really helps in the lower levels.

    • Some good tips there 🙂 you can only have 4 sims living in one house at a time though and if their needs get so low the ones who don’t live there will go home to improve their needs.
      I don’t really find the sim tracker that confusing when you remember who lives with who but it would be nice if you could rearrange them into different groups

      • I only have two (married) sims and their kids living in the house. The others are just there like permanent visitors. When they go to work they return to their own house, but since they’re idle after returning from work, I can just call them back to the main house without visiting them. If they leave, just call them back again and take care of their needs.

        It would be really, really useful if the Tracker was arranged by age. Or by family. I really dislike disorganization.

      • What i mean is if there needs are seriously low they will leave the house and will go back to their own house and will be housebound until you sort out their needs so you would have to have some items in that house for that.

      • Hello. I would like to ask. One house can fit up to 4 sims only right? If I add a 2nd floor will the size of the sims can fit in increases or still 4 sims?

    • I can’t tell you exactly how many hours or sims are needed.
      If you use a couple of sims it will get done quicker, you can have up to 4 at the skate park. And the longer the skate the faster your sim will level up, just keep at it until you find all the medals

  23. Well what I have been looking for is : ” how do you have a movie marathon in a neighbours house ” and every website I go on seem not to have the answer I’m looking for ….. So please can you give me answer if you can . Thank you .

  24. Iam on level 8 in sims free play and they will not make coffee and i cannot get them to fall in love. two of them are best friends and the bar will not change when i keep them talking. What should I do?

  25. Im on level 8 and i don’t seem to buy a coffee machine, i have no blue footprints or red crosses and web i place the coffee machine onto the floor there is no ‘tick’ button making me not buy it. I have tried to put it in different positions but it doesn’t seem to work, thankyou

  26. In my town the infant section won’t show up also my romance option isn’t there and I’m not sure what to do ?????

    • What level are you on? You need to start the love is in the air quest to unlock the romance option and finish the two and a half sims quest to unlock the infant section

    • Make sure the preteen you want to visit isn’t busy, go to the house you want them both in and click the whistle on the simtracker to bring the son to that house and then they can just watch a movie or go to bed or something

  27. How do I make the ski lift turn on? I got the key by getting all the metals for figure skating.

  28. My sims are now partners but the partners bar is full and doesent wanna go to the next step ive tried being romantic with each other and every thing even complainig and it still stays at it is

  29. What happens when you max out on the levels? Does the XP then give you extra LP (like in Tapped out?)? In other words, is there any rush to level up?

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