Episode 6: "Two And a Half Sims" Quest Step-by-Step Guide

My first baby Sim

It is an exciting time for your Sims!  It is time for the "Two And a Half Sims" quest, which will allow your married couples to have babies.  For this quest, you have 3 days to complete it and if you complete it within the time limit, you will unlock the baby decoration pack.

Here are the steps for completing the quest in order, along with instructions on how to do them.  Also, as you can see in step 8, you will need to have money to build the Children's Store, so make sure you are planting and sending your Sims to work to ensure that you have enough money to build it.

1. Be nice to a Sim (1minute):  With the plumbob over one Sim, tap on a second Sim and select the "be nice" option. Note: You can start step 5, "hibernate in a bed", at the beginning of this quest to save time.
2. Expand or create a room (few seconds):  Tap on the home store, select the house section, and select the "room" tab.  If you don' have a lot of money, I recommend moving a short wall on your house one block by touching the thick outline of the wall and dragging it with your finger outwards.  If you choose to add a room, touch the grass in the square where you want your new outside wall to be and drag your finger toward the house.  The minimum size for a new room is 3x3.  If the area within the room is red, it means that you cannot add the room.  Once it turns yellow, the room is in in an acceptable place and is an acceptable size.  If a Sim or pet is in the way, you cannot add the room until they move.
3. Spend $450 on wallpaper and flooring (few seconds):  Pick wallpaper and flooring by tapping on the home store, tap on the house section and tap on the flooring and wallpaper tabs.  If you are short on money, try to buy the cheapest available to keep the total cost close to $450.
4. Read "World of Babycraft" magazine (3 hours):  To perform this task, if you haven't purchased it yet, you need to buy a stack of magazines.  Tap on the home store, tap on the furniture section, and tap on the living room tab.  The magazines cost $60 and must be placed on a coffee table or end table.  Once you have the magazines, tap on them and select the "world of babycraft" option.
5. Hibernate in a bed (1 day):  Tap on a bed and select the "hibernate" option.
6. Have a double shot of coffee (1-minute with 1-star coffee machine):  Tap on a coffee machine and select the "double shot" option.  Note:  If footprints appear above your Sim's head, you will need to reposition the coffee machine so that it is accessible for your Sim.
7. Watch "Game of Cribs" on TV (3 hours with 3-star TV):  Tap on a TV and select the "Game of Cribs" option.
8. Build the Children's store (8 hours and costs $7,500):  The cost and time will vary for this step depending on how many stores you have already built.  The cost increases with each new store.  Tap on the "Children's Store" on the town map and select the build option. Once the store is finished, tap on the flashing icon to complete it. 
9. Buy a crib (few seconds): Tap on the Children's Store from the town map and select a crib.  At this point I was low on simoleons, so I chose a crib for 5 LP.  Once purchased, the crib will go into the inventory section of your home store.
10. Add a baby (1 day):  To add a baby, you need to place your crib in the house of a married couple.  Pick the house, tap on your home store, tap on the inventory section, and tap on the infant tab.  Select your crib and position it in the house.  The icon over the crib will be blue.  Tap on the icon and select the "add baby" option.  The icon will flash pink and blue and it will take 24 hours for the baby to arrive.  When the baby is ready, the icon will flash green, tap on the green icon, and you will be taken to the Create-a-Sim menu.  Select your baby's sex, appearance, clothes and name and tap on the check mark to add him/her.

Once you add the baby, you will get the following message:  "Congratulations!  You completed the 2-1/2 Sims' quest.  Thanks to you, all married couples are able to have their own babies.  Simply buy a crib, add a baby, and viola!

If you completed the quest within the time limit, you will get another message informing you that you unlocked the baby decoration pack.

Good luck Simmers!  I hope this guide helps.  Look for my next one shortly!

Episode 5: "Money Grows On Trees" Quest Step-by-Step Guide

Good news!  You have reached the "Money Grows on Trees" quest.  Upon completing the quest, you will have the opportunity to earn money from the Simoleon Sprout, which is a plant that you can grow every four hours.  You spin the wheel (like a slot machine), and depending on what you spin you earn money.  It costs $250 to plant, but the worse spin gets you $350, so you will net $100 at the minimum.  The best spin (3 pumpkins), will earn you $15,000.  After 8 months of playing, I've spun pumpkins about 5 or 6 times, so it happens, just not frequently.  In addition to the Simoleon Sprout, you will unlock the LP Plant.  You can spend real money to grow this plant and earn bonus LP.  But, I wouldn't encourage you to do so.  There are other ways to earn LP in the game that are free.  In addition, you can spend 5 LP, if you want to plant the Simoleon Plant early.  I don't recommend doing so, unless you are desperate for quick money.

This quest has no time limit and is a quick one.  Here are the steps:

1. Ponder in a living chair (3 minutes):  The living chair is referencing a living room chair, such as a recliner or the one-seat chair that accompanies a living room set.  Tap on the chair and select the "ponder" option.
2. Watch a documentary (50 minutes with a 2-star TV):  Tap on a TV and select the "documentary" option. Note:  You can start step 4 during this task.  For it to count towards the quest, make sure you don't complete growing your watermelon until you are assigned the task for it.
3. Make a double shot of coffee (45 seconds):  Tap on a coffee machine and select the "double shot" option.  Note:  If you get footprints over your Sims head, you need to reposition your coffee machine or move something that is blocking your path.
4. Grow watermelon (1 hour):  Tap on a plant patch and select the "watermelon" option.
5. Make a hot snack in a microwave (4 minutes, 10 seconds with a 1-star microwave).  If you haven't done so, you will need to buy a microwave.  Buy one from the appliance section of your home store and place it on a counter or table.  I selected a 1-star microwave for $50 to conserve my money.  Once you have it placed, tap on it and select the "hot snack" option.
6. Grow a Simoleon sprout (few seconds):  Tap on a garden patch and select the "Simoleon Sprout" option.  Then, spin the wheel and see what you won!

Congratulations! Your quest is complete.  Now, remember to check back every four hours (when possible) to take another spin of the wheel.

Episode 4: "Love is in the Air" quest guide for "The Sims Freeplay"

Getting married in wedding clothes from the Wedding Bundle

Hello, Simmers!  Great news!  You have made it to level 6 in "The Sims Freeplay" by EA and you have been assigned the first of many quests.  The game just became a little more exciting.  This blog episode will provide you with a step-by-step guide to completing the "Love is in the Air" quest.  You are given 2 days to complete it and if you complete the quest within the allotted time, you will unlock the wedding bundle, which consists of wedding attire for your male and female Sims.

You will receive and introduction pop-up for the quest that states:

"Complete this quest and unlock the ability for your Sims to get married.  It's the first step to your very own Sim family"

I have just a couple of tips before you get started.  First, read this entire guide at the beginning of the quest.  There are times when you will need up to 5 Sims available to complete the tasks and you can plan ahead better if you know what is coming up.  Second, any task that requires multiple Sims (other than calling them to a location or doing relationship tasks), such as steps 7 and 27, do not need to be completed.  You can cancel the task once you receive the pop-up that the task is complete.  Third, you can start a few of the tasks early to finish the quest faster.  I have highlighted those tasks in red.  For the task to count towards the quest, you cannot finish the task until you actually get the task assigned to you in the quest, so be careful with your timing.  But, I inserted recommendations as to when to start these tasks. You will need to take into account your personal schedule as well, when deciding when to start a task.

Here are the 31 tasks that you will need to complete:

1. Have a rich lather in the shower (15 minutes with a 1-star shower):  Tap on a shower and select the "rich lather" option. I recommend starting step 11 (see below) at the beginning of the quest because it takes several hours to complete.  Use a third Sim that you are not going to use in the relationship.
2. Get 2 Sims in 1 house (few seconds):  You will want to use the 2 Sims that you want to ultimately marry, and ideally do this task in the house where they will live.  Open your Sim Tracker and tap on the whistle of the Sim that you want to bring to the house.  Note: The game allows same-sex couples, so you don't need to have 1 female and 1 male available for this quest. 
3. Have a Sim flirt with another Sim (5 minutes):  With the plumbob over 1 Sim, tap on the second Sim and select the "flirt" option.
4. Make a fancy coffee (4 minutes with a 2-star machine):  If you don't have a coffee machine yet; you will have to buy one.  Open the home store, tap on the furniture section, tap on the kitchen appliance tab, select a coffee machine, and place it on a table or counter.  Then, tap on the coffee machine and select the "fancy coffee" option.  Note:  If footprints appears over your Sim's head, this means the coffee machine is not accessible.  The machine cannot be in a corner of a countertop and needs to face a certain way.  If you can't access the machine, open your home store, tap on the machine and move it or turn it until your Sim can use it.
5. Be romantic to another Sim (1 minute):  Tap on your second Sim and select the "be romantic" option.
6. Form a budding relationship (time varies):  Continue having your two Sims interact until they reach the "budding romance" relationship milestone.  To do so, tap on your second Sim, and select "be romantic" (1 minute) and/or "dance" (10 seconds) until your relationship bar fills and you receive the "budding romance" pop-up.
7. Have two Sims watch a movie (1 hour, 45 minutes with 2-star TV):  Tap on a TV and select the "watch movie" option and your first Sim will start watching a movie.  Tap on the TV a second time and select the "join in" option.  Note:  The task will complete once the second Sim joins in, so you do not have to wait for the Sims to finish the movie.  Simply tap on each Sim and tap on the red "x" to cancel the action.
8. Form a dating relationship (time varies):  Tap on your second Sim and select any of the available romantic options until the relationship meter fills and you receive the "dating" pop-up.  Your choices are "kiss hand" (3 seconds), "dance" (10 seconds), and "be romantic" (1 minute).
9. Make a Sim kiss another on the cheek (2 seconds):  Once you are in a dating relationship, the "kiss cheek" option is available.  Tap on the second Sim in the relationship and select the "kiss cheek" option.
10. Send a Sim home (few seconds):  Tap on the Sim Tracker folder to open it.  Tap on the "house" icon of the visiting Sim to send him/her home.
11. Sleep through the alarm (11 hours in 2-star bed): Tap on a bed and pick the "sleep through alarm" option.  I recommend starting step 15 when you have 5 to 6 hours left in this task. Use another Sim that you are not going to use in the relationship.
12. Expand a room (few seconds):  Tap the home store icon, tap the house section, and now you can expand a room.  Drag the wall that you want to move out to make the room bigger.  The bigger you make the room, the more it will cost.
13. Buy a 3-star bed (few seconds):  Tap the home store, tap the furniture section, and tap the bedroom tab.  Select your bed.  I suggest the $3,000 option, which is the cheapest one.  Position the bed in your house and tap the green checkmark when you are done.
14. Bake heart-shaped chocolates (12 minutes):  If you don't own a stove, buy one from the appliance tab of the furniture section of the home store.  I recommend buying the cheapest one ($350) since the bake times are the same for all stoves, regardless of the price.  Once your stove is in your house, tap on the stove and select the "heart-shaped chocolates" option.
15. Grow onions (7 hours):  Tap on a garden patch and select the "onions" option.  I recommend starting step 19 when you have 1 1/2 hours left in this task.  Use another Sim that you are not going to use in the relationship.
16. Have 2 Sims in the same house (few seconds):  Have your Sims that are already dating be in the same house.  Go to one of the Sims house, and using Sim Tracker, and whistle the Sim that he/she is dating to the house.
17. Be romantic to another Sim (1 minute):  Tap on the second Sim and pick the "be romantic" option.
18. Have 2 Sims eat a meal (6 minutes, 3 seconds):  Tap on the fridge, and select the "meal" option with the first Sim.  Once the first Sim moves away from the fridge, repeat for second Sim.  Once the second Sim starts the task, it will complete, so you can cancel the task at this point if you choose to.
19. Bake chocolate pudding (2 hours):  Tap on the stove and select the "chocolate pudding" option.  Use another Sim that you are not going to use in the relationship.
20. Have 2 Sims be romantic to each other until they become partners (1 minute each time):  Tap on your second Sim and select the "be romantic" option repeatedly until the relationship meter fills and you receive the pop-up that your Sims are partners.
21. Woohoo (5 minutes):  Once your Sims are partners, they can "woohoo".  Tap on your second Sim and select the "woohoo" option.
22. Buy two roses (few seconds):  Open the home store, tap on the outdoors section, tap on the "trees, plants, flowers" tab, and select the free roses in a vase.  Place 2 of them in your house.  You will need to place them on a table or kitchen countertop.  The corner countertop is a great place for flowers.
23. Get engaged (time varies):  You will need to continue selecting romantic relationship options until your relationship meter fills.  You can select, "woohoo" (5 minutes), "be romantic" (1 minute), and/or "dance" (10 seconds).  Once the meter fills, you will see a new option, "propose marriage".  Tap on "propose marriage" and the game will give you a free eternity ring for the quest.  Select the eternity ring and your Sims will be engaged.
24. Call a friend (3 minutes with a 3-star phone):  Now, it is time to share the exciting news.  If you have not purchased a phone yet, you will need to do so by opening the electronics tab in the furniture section of the home store.  Pick your phone and place it on a wall.  Tap on the phone and select the "call a friend" option.
25. Make 2 engaged Sims move in together (6 seconds):  To perform this task, you need to be at one of the homes of your engaged Sims.  With the plumbob over the homeowner, tap on your second Sim and select the "Ask to move in" option.  Note:  Your Sims will now share the same last name and it will be the name of the homeowner, so make sure you are at the house of the Sim whose last name you want the second Sim to have.
26. Have 5 Sims in a house (few seconds):  You already have two at the house, so you need to whistle over 3 more, using the Sim Tracker. 
27. Have 5 Sims dance to hottest 100 (4 hours with 2-star stereo):  Tap on a stereo and select the "hottest 100" option.  Tap on it 4 more times and select the "join in" option for the rest of your Sims.  Note: Once the fifth Sim joins in, the task completes, so you can cancel the Sims at this point without waiting the 4 hours.
28. Build the Park (4 hours; $1000 cost, but time and cost may vary depending on how many things you have built) - Open the town map and tap on the park.  Select the "build option".  When the park is complete you will get a pop-up alert.  The park icon will be flashing; tap on it and the task will complete.
29. Have 5 Sims in the Park (few seconds):  Tap on the park icon to enter it.  Using Sim Tracker, whistle 5 Sims to the park.
30. Ask ducks about the ring (6 minutes):  You will see a fishing pier.  Just Northeast of it, you will see ducks swimming in the pond.  Tap on the ducks and select the "ask about ring" option.
31. Get married (6 seconds):  To get your engaged Sims married, you need to fill your "engaged" relationship meter.  To do so, have your Sims complete romantic relationship options:  "dance" (10 seconds), "be romantic" (1 minute) and "woohoo" (5 minutes).  Once the meter is full, you will see a "get married" option.  Tap on "get married".  Note:  To get married, you will have to be at the house that your Sims will live in.

Great job!  You have just completed your first quest.  Your next quest will be, "Money Grows on Trees" and it is available at level 8.  If you completed the quest within the time limit, you've unlocked the "wedding bundle".  To access the wedding clothes, tap on a wardrobe with a Sim.

Episode 3: The Tutorial Tasks of "The Sims Freeplay"

My first 3 Sims gardening for XP and money

Welcome to Episode 3 of my blog about EA's, "The Sims Freeplay".  The game begins with tutorial tasks and the purpose of this episode is to provide you with a step-by-step guide for completing each of the 68 tasks.  Completing tutorial tasks and quests will earn you simoleons, XP and LP. 

I have a few tips for you to keep in mind while you complete these tasks. 

• When a task calls for you to use multiple Sims to perform tasks simultaneously, such as gardening, watching TV, etc., you will get credit for completing the task as soon as you have all of the requested number of Sims performing the task.  Refer to step 56.  You can cancel the task so that you can use those Sims on other tasks.  On the same note, if you get a task that instructs you to do something for a certain timeframe, for instance, "watch TV between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.), once you start the task within the allotted timeframe, you will get credit for completing it, so you can cancel the task if you want.
• Many of the objects you use have ratings of 1 star, 2 star or 3 star.  The higher the rating, the faster you can perform a task.  Initially, you will not be able to buy a lot of 3-star items, but as you start accumulating higher-rated items, use those to complete your tasks.
• To add a Sim to the game, you need to have an available house.  Eventually, you will be able to move Sims in with each other (once you do the "Love is in the Air" quest, which is available at level 6), but initially, you will need to have a house for every Sim.  By step 51, you will be required to have 5 Sims.  As you level up, you will unlock the ability to add more houses and Sims.  I recommend adding a new house, each time you level up, so that you can add new Sims and have them available for the tasks that require multiple Sims.
• While you are completing tasks, don't leave your Sims idle.  Always have them gardening or performing a hobby like fashion design or fishing (once they are unlocked).  An idle Sim cannot earn you money and XP.  If you are actively playing the game, put your Sims on shorter tasks and have them repeat them over and over again.  When you are away from the game, try to put them on tasks that will keep them busy until you return to the game.

Now, lets get started on the actual tasks:

1. Move in first Sim:  The game starts you with one house, stocked with the basics.  You will see a green icon over the house, tap on it. Now, the "Create-a-Sim" menu pops open.  In this menu, you can customize the name, clothes and features of your Sim.  Or if you prefer, you can select one of the game's random Sims.  Create your Sim and tap on the green check mark when you are done and select "yes" when you get the pop-up "Start a game with this Sim?".  Your Sim will be placed in your new home.  Once you complete the "Life Dreams" quest at level 24, you will be able to add a personality.  Note:  Once you choose a name for your Sim, you cannot change it, so choose wisely.
2. Shake hands with a dog (5 seconds):  You will see a dog in your yard, tap on it and select the "shake hands" option. 
3. Make the dog dig for treasure:  Just keep an eye on your dog.  Dogs regularly dig up treasures (simoleons and occasional LP).  When you see the "shovel" icon pop up over your dog's head tap on it and he will uncover the treasure. 
4. Buy a toilet:  To buy items, you will go to your home store while you are at a house, which is represented by the "chair" icon.  Tap on it and the bathroom tab of the furniture category opens up.  At this point, you can only afford a 1-star toilet.  Tap on the toilet and it will be placed in your house.  Drag it into position and you can change the direction that it is facing by tapping on the gray "rotate" icon.  Once you have it in the desired location, tap the checkmark to add it.  Use the "red" x icon to delete an item if you change your mind about adding it or to sell it for 10% of its value if you already have purchased it.
5. Use the toilet:  Tap on the toilet and select the "use toilet" option. (15 seconds for 1-star toilet)
6. At this point, the "Sims Have Needs" chart pops up on your screen.  It explains the Sims' 6 basic needs and that inspired Sims earn more XP.  The 6 needs are hunger, bladder, energy, hygiene, social and fun.  Review the chart
7. Wash hands in sink (15 seconds for 1-star sink):  Your house already has a sink and washing hands fulfills your hygiene need.  Tap on the sink and select the "wash hands" option.
8. Grow some bell peppers (30 seconds and fulfills fun need):  To garden, you need to have a garden patch, which you can purchase from the home store's outdoor section, "flowers, trees, plants" tab for $20.  Buy the garden patch and place it in your yard. Note: if the item you are placing flashes red, you cannot place it in that spot, continue moving it until it stops flashing red. Since it is an outdoors item, it needs to be placed outside, but within the white gridlines that appear when you are placing items.  Once your garden patch is successfully placed, tap on it and select the "bell peppers".  Once you are done growing the peppers, tap on the peppers' icons to collect your money and XP.
9. Buy a stereo:  You will find the stereos under the "electronics" tab of the "furniture" section of your home store.  Tap on the home store, tap on the furniture section, and then tap on the electronics tab.  Scroll through the stereos and select the one you want.  I recommend buying the cheapest stereo to conserve your money. Eventually, you will want to upgrade your 1-star purchases to 3-star items, because you complete tasks faster with higher-quality items, but initially, stick with low-end purchases or you will run out of money.
10. Add a Sim:  You get to add your second Sim.  To add a Sim, you need an empty house, so first you will need to build a house.  You will need to go to the town map. To do so, click on the icon of the buildings, which is next to the home store icon.  Now, you will see all of the available lots for building.  Currently, you have access to standard lots.  Tap on an icon of a blue house and pick the type of house you want to build.  At this point, you can build an "unfurnished studio" for free.  Tap on this option and it will take 5 minutes to build it.  Once the house is finished, you will get a pop-up, "A new house is finished".  The finished house's icon has turned green and is flashing.  Tap on the icon and select the "add a Sim" option.  Now, add your Sim like you did in step 1.  Note:  I find it helpful to keep an even number of female and male Sims, so you may want to do so as well. 
11. Spend $600 on walls and floors:  Floors and walls tabs can be found in the "house" section of the home store.  Tap on the home store icon and the game will take you to the floors tab of the "house" section.  Choose your flooring.  The price listed is the price per square, so the total cost will vary depending on the size of the room.  Tap on the flooring you like and then tap the room where you want to place it.  A total cost will appear.  If you want to keep this flooring, tap the checkmark, if you want to try another kind, tap the red x. Note:  You need to spend a total of $600, so if you spend $200 on flooring for your first room, you will need to spend an additional $400 on walls and flooring in other rooms.  I recommend keeping a tally of how much you are spending and to try to keep the cost as close to $600 as possible.  If you are unable to add flooring and walls to all the rooms, just leave them unfinished at this time.  You can finish them later when you have more money.
12. Choose a fridge from the home store:  You will find the refrigerators under the "kitchen appliance" tab in the furniture section of the home store.  At this point, I recommend adding the cheapest fridge, which has a 1-star rating for $100.  There is still plenty you need to buy to complete the tutorial and conserving your money is key.
13. Choose a shower:  The showers can be found under the "bathroom" tab in the furniture section of the home store.  Tap on the home store, tap on the "furniture" section, and tap on the "bathroom tab".  Select the cheapest shower (1-star for $100) and place it in your bathroom.
14. Choose a lounge:  You will need to add a couch, which is under the "living room" tab in the furniture section of the home store.  Buy the cheapest 1-star couch for $150.
15. Choose a TV:  The TVs are under the electronics tab of the furniture section in the home store.  Pick the cheapest 1-star TV, which is $50.
16. Add or expand a room:  The bigger the room or the larger the expansion, the greater the cost.  At this point, I recommend expanding an already existing room by moving a short wall out one set of blocks.  To do so, tap on the home store and tap on the "house" section.  When in the house section, you can change or add rooms.  Simply drag a yellow wall, which are the moveable ones, out to make the room bigger (or in, when you want to make it smaller).  The cost of the expansion will be displayed.  Tap the checkmark to accept the change, or tap the x to redo it.  I expanded the short wall of a bathroom for a cost of $145.
17. Choose a bed:  The beds can be found under the "bedroom" tab of the furniture section of the home store.  Tap on the home store, tap on the furniture section, and tap on the bedroom tab.  Select the cheapest 1-star bed for $600.
18. Use Sim Tracker:  The Sim Tracker helps you keep track of your Sims tasks, hobbies, relationships, careers, life dreams (future), and age controller (future).  To open the Sim Tracker, tap on the folder icon (on the left of your screen for Android users).  Review the tutorial information displayed and tap continue.  In summary, tap on the Sim's portrait to go to that Sim, tap the house icon to send your Sim home, tap on the whistle icon to call a Sim to you.  Tap on your first Sim's picture.
19. Make a Sim be funny:  Being funny is a relationship option.  So, open your Sim tracker and call your second Sim to you by tapping on the whistle.  Note: If your second Sim is busy doing a task, you cannot call him over.  You will need to go to that Sim and complete his task first.  Once your Sims are together, tap on the second Sim (the one without the plumbob) and select the "Be Funny" option (10 seconds).  Your Sims are on their way to becoming friends.
20. Get two Sims acquainted:  Being acquainted is the first relationship status on the "friend" path.  Simply keep having your Sims "be funny" to one another until your relationship bar fills and you become acquaintances.  You can also select the "be nice" option for 1 minute to accomplish this goal.
21. Inspire your Sims:  To inspire your Sims you need to satisfy their 6 needs.  Here are the ways you can do so, with the objects you have currently available in your house:  for energy - tap on a couch and select the "daydream" option (1 min, 30 sec for 2-star couch); for bladder - tap on the toilet and select the "use toilet" option (15 seconds for 1-star toilet); for hygiene - tap on the sink and select the "wash hands" option (15 seconds for 1-star sink); for fun - tap on a garden patch and grow bell peppers (30 seconds); for social - tap on your second Sim and select the "be funny" option (10 seconds); and for hunger - tap on the fridge and select the "turbo snack" option (20 seconds with 2-star fridge).
22. Have 2 Sims garden:  To complete this task, you will need both your Sims gardening at the same time.  If you have only one garden patch, you will need to buy a second one, do so (see step 8).  Tap on the first garden patch and select "bell peppers".  Your first Sim will begin gardening. Now, the plumbob will be over your second Sim.  Tap on the second garden patch and select "bell peppers".  Once your second Sim starts gardening, you will get a pop-up showing that you completed the task.
23. Collect revenue on town map:  You will regularly earn revenue from your homes and businesses on your town map.  You will see a flashing money icon over your "building" icon that takes you to the town map.  Tap on this icon.  You will see the money icon flashing over your two houses.  Collect the money by tapping on it.  In addition, you will see a counter over each building showing you when the next opportunity to collect revenue from that property will be.  Also, at this point you can start visiting your party boat to collect daily prizes. The party boat is in the river to the right of your first house. Tap in the "gift" icon over the boat and you will be able collect gifts depending on how many neighbor's you have.  See episodes 1 and 2 of this blog series for more information about the party boat. 
24. Check your mailbox:  In the front yard of every house is a mailbox.  You will receive daily rewards in your mailbox, see keep your eyes open for the "envelope" icon.  Tap the icon and your daily reward amount will appear on the screen.  The higher your town value, the greater your reward.  My first reward was $73.
25. Have a power snooze (4 minutes for a 2-star bed):  Tap on a bed and select the "power snooze" option.
26. Have a turbo snack from the fridge (20 second for 2-star fridge):  Tap on the fridge and select the "turbo snack" option.
27. Add a Sim to town:  Time to add your third Sim, which means adding your third house if you haven't done so already.  Go to the town map by tapping on the "building" icon.  Once on the town map, tap on the blue icon of the house you wish to build and pick the house you want.  We are still in a conserve money mindset, so I recommend building the "unfurnished studio" for $500.  It will take 30 minutes to build.  While you are building this house, I recommend having your Sims planting carrots (unlocked at level 2) for 5 minutes at a time and collecting money and XP.  You'll need it.  Once the house is complete, tap on the flashing green icon and select the "add a Sim" option, customize your Sim, and add your Sim to the town.
28. Use a cupcake to inspire a Sim:  The "Cupcake Explanation Chart" pop-ups on the screen and it explains the purpose of the cupcakes, which instantly inspire your Sims, but for a cost.  The game will give you 5 LP to use on a cupcake.  Tap on the green "cupcake" icon on the Sim's status bar (on the bottom, left of your screen for Android users). Then, tap on "use" to instantly inspire your Sim.  Note: I recommend never using cupcakes during normal game play.  They use up your LP and you will find out that you can never have enough LP.
29. Build a workplace:  The workplaces for your Sims are scattered around the town map.  The first one will cost $500 to build and will take 1 hour.  Tapping on the flashing icon over the workplace will let you know what kind of workplace it is, the starting salary, and the daily work hours.  For the first workplace, I recommend building one where you will be available to send your Sim to work every day. Once you pick your workplace, start construction.  When it is finished, tap on the flashing icon to complete it.
30. Get 1 Sim a job:  Open the Sim Tracker folder and select the "briefcase" tab.  Tap "unemployed" on the Sim of your choice and a list of the careers will open.  All of them will be grayed out with the exception of the career for the workplace you built.  Choose the available career by tapping, "Accept this job".
31. Make 2 Sims friends:  You can use your first two Sims, who are already acquaintances if they are available.  Tap on second Sim and select positive relationship interactions, like "hand shake", "be nice" and "be funny", until they become friends.  
32. Use the home store to resize/add room:  At this point, I would make a room a little bigger to conserve money.  See step 16 for instructions.
33. Buy a lamp:  Tap home store icon, tap furniture section and tap the light bulb tab, representing lighting.  I recommend buying a cheap lamp (either the table lamp for $200 or the floor lamp for $250).  Make your selection, position it in your house, and tap the checkmark when finished.
34. Get 4 Sims for party:  At this point, you may only have 3 Sims, so it is time to build another house.  Again, I would build the cheapest house. This time an unfurnished studio costs $1,000 and takes 1 hour to build.  While your house is building, you can have your Sims planting repeatedly to make more money.  When your house is finished, tap the green house icon, select "add Sim", customize your Sim and add them to the town.  Then, call all 4 of your Sims to one house by opening the Sim Tracker and tapping the whistle icon to bring all of your Sims together.
35. Buy a 2-star radio:  Tap on the home store, tap on the furniture section, and tap on the electronics tab.  Select the cheapest 2-star radio ($1,500), place it in your house, and tap the checkmark when finished.
36. Make 4 Sims dance to the radio (2 minutes with 2-star radio):  Tap on the radio and select one of the 2-minute options, such as "pop".  Your first Sim will start dancing.  Tap on the radio 3 more times, each time selecting "join in".  Once all 4 of your Sims are dancing, you will get a pop-up showing that you completed the task.
37. Build a business (2 hours/$500):  Tap on one of the available businesses and select the "build" option.  It will cost $500 and will take 2 hours.  Some of the businesses will not be available until higher levels.  I recommend building the "Promotions R Us" store, so that you can start the "fashion design" hobby.  This store is to the right of the pet store on the town map.  Once you complete the store, I recommend buying a fashion design table, placing it in a house, and start designing fashion.  See step 65 for details. Note:  At this point, I am on level 6 and I start the "Love Is In the Air" quest, which is done simultaneously with the tutorial tasks.  My next blog will provide you with a step-by-step guide to the new quest.
38. Buy a stove:  Open the home store, tap on the furniture section, and tap on the appliance tab.  Pick a stove.  I recommend buying the cheapest one since cook times are the same for all stoves, regardless of the price.
39. Practice baking (1 minute):  Tap on your stove and a list opens of available baking items.  You will unlock additional items as you reach new levels.  Tap on cookies.  Once your cookies are done, tap on the cookie icon over the stove to collect your money and XP from baking.
40. Buy a coffee machine:  Again, be conservative with your money.  If you can afford it, the 2-star coffee machine is a good buy, since you will utilize the machine frequently.
41. Bake a second batch of treats (1 minute):  Tap on the stove and select cookies.
42. Buy a coffee table:  Open the home store, tap on the furniture section, and tap on the living room tab.  I recommend buying the cheapest coffee table for $200.
43. Buy 2 lounge chairs:  Lounge chairs are 1-seat chairs that go with a couch and love seat.  Open the home store, tap on the furniture section, and tap on the living room tab.  The cheapest chairs are $80 each, buy 2 of them.  
44. Bake final batch of treats (1 minute):  Tap on the stove and select cookies.
45. Get 5 Sims in one house:  If you haven't done so yet, you will want to build a fifth house to add a fifth Sim.  Tap on an available house, select unfurnished studio for $2,000 and it will take 2 hours to build.  Once the house is complete, tap on the now green house icon, and select the "add Sim" option.  Create your Sim.  Then, using Sim Tracker, call 4 more Sims to your house.
46. Have 4 Sims gardening (30 seconds):  This task is easiest to accomplish if you have 4 garden patches at the same house.  Add garden patches until you have four by tapping on the home store, tapping the outdoors section and tapping on the plants, trees and flowers tab.  Buy the patches for $20 each and place them in your yard.  Tap on the patch and select bell peppers.  Repeat 3 more times.  Note:  All Sims need to be doing this at the same time, so make sure you have all of them on the task before your first Sim finishes it.
47. Build 2 workplaces (4 hours & costs $600):  The first workplace you built counts towards this goal, so you only have to build one more workplace at this point.  Tap on the workplace of your choice, and select "build".  When it is completed, you will get a pop-up to inform you that it is ready.
48. Make 2 Sims good friends (time varies):  If two of your Sims are already good friends, then this task will complete automatically.  If not, I recommend using the Sims you used in Step 31 (make 2 Sims friends) and have them become good friends, which is the next friendship level.  Choose, the "high five", "be nice" and "be funny" options until they are good friends.
49. Buy a TV:  Open your home store, tap on the furniture section, and tap on the electronics tab.  Pick your TV.  At this point, I selected a 2-star TV for $1,000.
50. Buy a phone:  Open your home store, tap on the furniture section, and tap on the electronics tab.  Pick your phone and place it on the wall.  At this point, I selected a 2-star phone for $350.  You still want to be conservative with your money.
51. Call a friend (3 minutes with 3-star phone): Tap on your phone, and select the "call a friend" option. 
52. Get 3 Sims in one house:  Open your "Sim Tracker" folder and tap on the whistle to call over available Sims.  If your Sims are busy on a task, you will have to complete the task before you can bring them to another location.
53. Buy a couch: Open your home store, tap on the furniture section, and tap on the living room tab.  Pick your couch.  I selected the cheapest couch for $150.
54. Get 3 Sims to watch a show (20 minutes with a 2-star TV):  Tap on a TV, and select the "watch show" option.  Once your first Sim is watching the show, tap on the TV two more times and select the "join in" option.
55. Make a double shot of coffee (45 seconds with a 2-star machine):  Tap on your coffee machine and select the "double shot of coffee" option.  Note:  If you see footprints over your Sim's head, it means that they cannot access the coffee machine.  It needs to face a certain way for the Sim to use.  Simply, open your home store and tap the furniture tab and then tap on your coffee machine.  Tap on the gray circle with the arrows to rotate it.  Keep rotating it until it works.  Also, you cannot access items that are placed in the corner of a countertop, so make sure your coffee machine is on the end of the counter or on a table.
56. Get 3 Sims to watch a movie (1 hour, 45 minutes with a 2-star TV):  Tap on a TV and select the "watch movie" option.  Tap on it 2 more times and select the "join in" option.  Note: As soon as the 3rd Sim joins in, you will get a pop-up showing that you completed the task.  At this point, there is no need to have your Sims finish watching the TV show.  Tap on each Sim, and tap on the red x to cancel the action. 
57. Be rude to another Sim (10 seconds):  Tap on a second Sim and select the "be rude" option.
58. Have a romantic relationship with a Sim:  Tap on a second Sim and select the "dance" or "be romantic" option, until your relationship level is "budding romance".  If you already have two Sims in a romantic relationship, this task will complete automatically.
59. Make 2 engaged Sims move in together:  If you don't already have 2 engaged Sims, you will have to get them engaged.  Have two Sims build their romance by selecting the romance options when they interact.  They will have to have a budding romance, date, and be partners.  Once their partners meter is filled, you will see an option to "get engaged".  Tap on "get engaged" and select your ring.  I recommend getting the most expensive ring, because the cheaper the ring, the more likely they will say "no".  Once they are engaged, tap on the fiancé of the Sim you are controlling and select the "move in" option.  Note: To move in a Sim, you have to be at the house where you want them to live.  Also, if you already did this task as part of the "Love is in the Air" quest available at level 6, the game will automatically skip this task.
60. Visit the party boat:  Tap on the party boat from the town map or tap on the globe icon when you are at a house and you will go to the party boat.  If you have already visited the party boat, this task will automatically complete.
61. Visit the salon on the town map:  The salon is south of the park and to the left of the pet store.  Tap on the salon icon to enter it.  You can purchase new hairstyles, makeup, tattoos and jewelry, but I recommend not spending any money yet.  To exit the salon, tap on the town icon and you will go back to the town map.
62. Purchase a basic home pack from the online store:  When you are at a house, tap on the purple shopping cart icon. You will get a pop-up "connecting to store".  The store is where you can spend real money to buy LP, SP, simoleons, and specialty packs and items.  The "basic pack" is free, tap on it and the items will be placed in the inventory section of your home store.
63. Place the new lamp in a house:  One of the items in the basic pack is a lamp.  Tap on the home store, tap on the furniture section, and tap on the lighting section.  Choose the lamp and place it in one of your homes.
64. Put an item into your inventory:  Open your home store, and tap on the furniture, outdoors or inventory section.  Once in one of these sections, you can move your furniture, rotate their positions, sell them, or put them in your inventory for later use.  Tap on any item, and select the suitcase, which represents the inventory.  Your item will now be in your inventory.
65. Design clothing (10 minutes):  If you haven't already done so, build your Promotions R Us store and once it is completed, tap on the store icon, to buy your fashion studio.  The fashion studio costs $2500.  Once you buy it, it will be in your inventory under the hobbies tab.  Go to the house where you want to place your studio.  Open your home store, tap on the inventory section, and tap on the hobbies tab.  Select the fashion studio and place it in your house.  Tap on the fashion studio and select the "design fashion" option.
66. Use a wardrobe to browse a Sims clothes:  A wardrobe is any clothes dresser or clothes cabinet.  There is one in the house the game starts you with.  Tap on the wardrobe and you can choose to change your Sims' clothes or you can leave them the same.  To exit, tap on the green checkmark.
67. Buy a progressive TV:  It is a 2-star TV and a tabletop TV.  If you bought this TV earlier, the task will automatically complete.
68. Visit the mystery box shop:  At this point, you have unlocked the weekly quest.  You will earn keys each week when you complete the assigned tasks.  Once you earn the keys, you can buy boxes filled with goodies from the "mystery box shop".  To visit the shop, tap on the flashing box wrapped like a present.

Congratulations!  You have completed all of the tutorial tasks.  You are well on your way to becoming an expert Simmer!

"Need for Steed" Quest Guide for "The Sims FreePlay"

New horse

The new update is here!  I completed the "Need for Steed" quest on "The Sims FreePlay" and I would like to share a walk-through of it with you.  This quest is available at Level 11 and the goal is to unlock the stables and add horses.  In addition to the new horses, you have new hobbies available (Tricks, Vaulting and Show Jumping).  I will update this blog with information about the hobbies tomorrow.  I haven't had a chance to do them yet.

If you complete the quest within 6 days and 23 hours, you will unlock a rainbow-powered Unicorn painting.  The name of the painting implies that there is something special about the painting, but it is just a painting.  I was hoping it would refill your needs like the singing fish.  

The pop-up screen introducing the quest, reads "Horses have been spotted on Mystery Island.  Give them a home and your Sims will be able to care for them".

Here are the tasks with instructions on how to perform them, along with the time needed to complete each one.  Note: I used LP to fast forward through the quests, so that I could get this guide to you quickly.

1. Go for a drive (3 minutes):  Tap on a car and select the "go for a drive" option.
2. Spot horses with a telescope (10 hours):  If you don't have a telescope, you will need to buy one from the "Promotions R Us" store.  Tap on the telescope and select the "look for horses" option.
3. Go to Mystery Island (seconds):  Tap on the "Town Map" icon, and tap on the "volcano" icon to go to the Mystery Island.
4. Spot the overgrown stable (seconds): You will see the new "stables" next to the volcano.  Tap on the "stables" icon.
5. Call the mysterious number (30 minutes with 3-star phone):  Go to one of your houses and tap on a phone.  Select the "call mysterious number" option.
6. Read a horse care manual (9 hours with a 3-star bookcase):  Tap on a bookcase and select the "Horse Care Manual" option.
7. Call the mysterious number again (4 minutes with 3-star phone):  Tap on a phone and select the "call mysterious number" option.
8. Look up a locksmith on a computer (2 hours with 3-star computer):  Tap on a computer and select the "look up locksmith" option.  Wow! 2 hours to find a locksmith.  Sims are not very good internet searchers, are they?
9. Build the stables (2 days, 18 hours):  Go back to the Mysterious Island and tap on the "stables" icon.  For me, it cost $300,000 and took 2 days, 18 hours to build, but I think the time and cost will vary depending on how far you are in the game (I'm on the top level).  Tap the "build" option.  Once your stable is complete, tap on the flashing "stable" icon to make it official.
10. Send a Sim to the stables (seconds):  Tap on the "stable" option to enter it; then, use Sim Tracker to whistle an available Sim to the stables.
11. Clean up mess in front of yard (1 hour, 30 minutes):  You will look for the oil drum.  It will have a cloud with an exclamation mark over it.  Tap on the oil drum and select the "remove" option.
12. Have 4 Sims at the stables (few seconds):  Open your Sim Tracker and whistle 3 more Sims to the stables.  If you do not have 3 more Sims available, you will need to complete their current tasks to bring them over.
13. Clean up mess in yard with your 4 Sims:  You will see the cloud over a small rock pile.  Tap on it and select "remove".  Then, the cloud will appear over another item, and you will clean up that item as well, and so on, using multiple Sims simultaneously.  Here is a list of each item and how long it takes to clean up each:  Small rock pile (1 hour, 30 minutes), Tree stump (2 hours), wild grass (30 seconds), weeds (5 minutes), Old tyre (1 hour), Large rock pile (2 hours), Thistles (30 minutes) and Water Trough repairs (3 hours).  Note:  You can have more than 4 Sims help (if they are available) to clean up the mess faster, allowing you to complete this task in about 3 hours.  Also, Seniors can do the clean up as well as adult Sims.
14. Watch the horse channel (3 hours with 3-star TV):  What is a quest without a little TV watching?  Tap on a TV and select the "watch horse channel" option.
15. Practice brushing on another Sim (15 minutes):  This one is a bit weird.  Your first Sim brushes the back of your second Sim, while the second Sim pretends to be a horse.  Tap on the second Sim and select the "practice brushing" option.
16. Encourage a Sim (30 minutes):  Tap on a second Sim and select the "Practice Encouraging" option.
17. Repair a stable (8 hours and $30,000):  This task will cost Simoleons, so make sure you have enough.  Go to the stables and tap on the icon in the first stable stall.  Once the stable is repaired, you will see a flashing horse icon.  Tap on the flashing horse to complete the task.
18. Call the stable owner back (5 hours with a 3-star phone):  Tap on a phone and select the "call mysterious number" option.
19. Add a horse to the stables (seconds):  Tap on the horse icon in the first stable and pick the horse.  Initially, you can buy one of the two available 1-star horses.  The dappled grey costs $15,000 simoleons, or you can pick the patched brown for 10 SP.  The other horses will be unlocked as you complete the horse hobbies.
20. Have a Sim feed horse (30 minutes):  Tap on the horse, and select the "feed" option.

Once step 20 is complete, you will receive the following message, "Congratulations!  Your Sim can now keep, care for and ride their very own horses.  Now repair and clear the hobby areas in the stables to enter your horses in Tricks, Vaulting and Show Jumping hobbies."

And, if you completed the hobby within the time limit, you will also receive a pop-up congratulating you on unlocking the "Unicorn Painting".

Unicorn Painting
 

The tasks in this quest were pretty straight-forward.  I think EA is getting better at explaining what to do in the quest.  Also, the total time to complete this quest for me was about 110 hours, which is very doable within the time limit (167 hours).  I'm looking forward to completing my hobbies and I will update this blog with a few more details once I do.  Happy Simming!

Update:  To do the hobbies, you have a lot of cleanup and repairs to make in the paddocks.  My next blog will cover the tasks to prepare the hobby areas and information about completing the hobbies.

Episode 2: An Overview of How to Play "The Sims Freeplay"

Town Map for "The Sims Freeplay"

Hello Simmers!  Episode 2 of my "The Sims Freeplay" guide will provide a general overview of each aspect of the game.  Hopefully, this guide will give you some helpful insights.  I play "The Sims Freeplay" on the Kindle Fire and the layout of the screen is different than on Apple devices.  However, functions are the same.

Introduction to Game Functions and Screen Icons

Real time:  The game takes place in real time, so if you have your Sim perform a task for 4 hours, it will take 4 hours of your time to complete it.  This is important to keep in mind when you are choosing tasks for your Sims.  In general, when you are actively playing the game, put your Sims on shorter tasks, but when you will be away from the game, put them on longer tasks to keep them busy until you get back. 

WiFi connection:  You will need a WiFi connection at all times to play the game.  If you play on your tablet and you are planning a vacation, make sure you find a hotel with WiFi, or you may suffer from "Sim withdrawal".  Yes, it is a real condition.

Game Controls:  The control of the game is similar to other games, so it shouldn't pose a problem.  To pan your view, swipe one finger across the screen; to rotate your view, use 2 fingers and turn them towards the desired direction; and to zoom in, pinch 2 fingers on the screen (pull them apart to zoom out).  Also, you can tap on the magnifying glass icon to zoom fully in or out.  You will tap on the screen to select Sims and objects.  To take a photo to share on Facebook, tap on the camera icon.

Needs and Actions:  Each Sim has 6 basic needs:  social, fun, hunger, hygiene, bladder and energy.  When all of these needs are filled, your Sims are inspired.  These needs are displayed on your Sim status bar (on the bottom, left for Kindle Fire).  Your Sims' needs drain regularly.  To replenish them, tap on items to fulfill the needs.  Look for that needs' icon when you tap on an object and you will know what need performing that activity will fulfill.  For example, if you tap on the sink, you will see the hygiene icon, telling you that tapping on "wash hands" or "clean under your fingernails" will fulfill that need. You will want to keep your Sims inspired, because inspired Sims earn more XP and money.  You can instantly inspire your Sims by using a cupcake, but I recommend not using the cupcake since you will use 5 LP to do so.  Note: Your Sims' needs drain slower when they are kept busy.

Plumbob:  The plumbob is the green diamond over your active Sim's head, which is the one that you are controlling.  To switch controls to a different Sim, tap on the Sim you want to control and tap the icon in the right corner of the "relationship" pop-up that has 2 arrows.  You are now controlling the second Sim and the plumbob will be over his head. Or, you can open the Sim Tracker and touch on the portrait of the Sim that you wish to control.

The Town Map:  From the town map, you can visit houses and community areas, and collect XP and money from your buildings and houses.  Simply tap on the place you want to visit.  If you see the XP or simoleon icons over any of your buildings, make sure you tap on them to collect.  In addition, you can visit the party boat from here.

Game Menu:  You can access the game menu any time by tapping the green box with the "..." on the bottom, corner of your screen (for Kindle Fire). Once in the game menu, you have a few options to choose from: Resume Game, Tech Support (plumbob with ? mark), Save to the Cloud (blue icon with a cloud image), Information (lowercase "i"), Game Options, and Connect to Facebook (Facebook icon).  Tapping the "Tech Support" icon will take you to the EA support website, where you can find answers to your problem.  However, I find asking questions in "The Sims Freeplay" groups as more helpful.  Tapping the "Save to Cloud" icon will bring up 2 options: "Upload Game" or "Download Saved Game".  Your game will automatically upload every time you visit the party boat and it will save for 7 days.  Or, if you are playing the game on 2 devices, you can upload the data on one device and download it onto another.  Tapping the "Information" icon will bring up a submenu and there are two items on this menu worth mentioning.  The "help" option will provide you with a general summary of the game functions, similar to this blog episode, and the "restore purchases" option is used if you have an error and can't access items you bought in the online store.  Tapping the "Game Options" icon, will let you adjust the sound and notifications. In addition, from this menu, if you would like to restart your game, you would select, "Reset Game".  Tapping on the "Facebook" option, will connect you to Facebook.  You will need to be connected to Facebook to visit your neighbors' on the party boat.

The Online Store:  The online store is where you can purchase items for the game using real money.  To visit the store, tap on the purple "shopping cart" icon on the bottom, right of your screen (Kindle Fire users).  Here you can buy simoleon, LP and SP packs, and specialty items like aquariums, escalators, and special clothes.

The Globe icon:  When you are in a house or community property, tapping on the "globe" icon on the bottom, right of your screen will take you to the party boat where you can visit your neighbors beginning at level 9.  Prior to level 9, you can visit the party boat to collect your daily gifts.  The more neighbors you have, the more gifts you get.  When you are in another town, tapping the globe will send you back to your town.

The Home Store:  You can access the home store when you are at one of your houses. For a Kindle Fire user, the home store icon is on the bottom, right of your screen and it is represented by a living room chair and lamp.  Tapping on this icon will open the store.  You will see 4 main categories: Furniture, House, Outdoors and Inventory.  Tapping one of these categories will bring up that section of the store, and the category is separated into subcategories by tabs.  The furniture tab has all of your indoor items (kitchen, living room, bathroom, bedroom, etc.).  The House category is what you will use to add or resize rooms and pools (upon completing "It's All Going Swimmingly" quest), add floors to your house (upon completing "Multi-Story Renovation" quest), change/add flooring, wallpaper, doors and windows, and to change your roof and your exterior walls.  The Outdoors category has your plants, trees and flowers, outdoor furniture, and outdoor decorations.  The Inventory category contains all of the items that you already own, but are in your inventory.  If you move an item to inventory from one house, you can place it in another.

Sim Tracker:  The Sim Tracker lets you monitor all of your Sims progress at once.  On a Kindle Fire, if you tap the folder on the left-side of the screen, your Sim Tracker will open (if you play on Apple devices, I believe it is on the right).  You will see tabs across the top of the tracker, these tabs allow you to monitor different activities, such as relationships, work, hobbies, current activity status, life dreams (when you complete the "Life Dreams" quest), and the age controller (with "Life Dreams" quest).  Tap on the tab to open the submenu.  If you want to visit a particular Sim, tap on his portrait and you will visit him.  Also, if you are in a house or at a community place like the park, you can use the Sim Tracker to whistle a Sim over to you (tap on the whistle icon), or to send them back home (tap on the house icon with the arrow in it). When it is time to send your Sim to work or school, you can tap on the flashing briefcase icon to send them. Note: you cannot call a Sim to a house, send him to work, or send him home while he is performing an activity.

What You Earn In the Game

 

Experience Points (XP):  Experience points are what you need to level up in the game.  Currently, there are 53 levels.  As you move up in levels, it takes more XP to achieve the next one.  The blue bar at the top of your screen shows your current level and the percent that you have fulfilled towards completing it.  Leveling up will earn you LP and will allow you to unlock additional Sims, houses, business, workplaces, and items for your houses.  You will earn XP as you perform tasks, build relationships, master hobbies, and go to work. Also, you can earn XP for adding rooms and floors to your houses, and for building and enlarging pools.

Simoleons:  Simoleons (represented by the green icon with overlapping S's) is the Sim currency.  You will earn simoleons for completing assigned tasks (from quests), doing hobbies, gardening, baking, working and from your pets when they dig up treasure. You use the simoleons to buy items from your home store and stores in your town, and to build new houses, businesses and workplaces.  At the beginning of the game, be conservative with your money or you will run out quickly.

Lifestyle Points (LP):  Lifestyle points are earned from the party boat, driving and your pets, by leveling up in hobbies, and by completing assigned tasks (from quests and tutorials).  Early in the game you can use LP to skip non-tutorial tasks (do so sparingly), to complete actions and construction instantly (only do if you need to meet a time limit for a quest), to buy pets, to buy cupcakes (don't recommend), and to purchase home store items.  Later in the game, you can use LP to upgrade your Island Monuments and your Teen Idol sign, to build the beach and arcade, and to unlock special content at the beach and arcade.  LP is very important in this game, so I recommend being very selective as to how you use it.  Once you reach level 9, if one of your neighbor's has a pet farm, visit it frequently to replenish your LP and simoleons.

Social Points (SP):  Social points are earned by completing assigned activities in a neighbor's town.  Once you reach level 9, you can regularly visit your neighbor's to earn SP.  SP is used to buy items from the home store, to build certain houses and houseboats, and to build the night club.

Town Value:  Your town value is how much your town is worth.  It increases when you build new homes, businesses and workplaces, when you add/resize pools, rooms and floors to your homes, when you add Sims and pets, and when you increase your level in work and hobbies.  You will get LP rewards when you reach town value milestones.  A percent of your town value is delivered daily to your mailbox (at any of your homes - look for the envelope), but the bonus is capped. Once you hit $7,000 or so, it increases very slowly. When you are in a house or at a community place, you can access the town map by tapping on the "building" icon on the bottom, right of your screen.

General Activities

 

Gardening: To start gardening, purchase a garden patch from the home store for $20.  Gardening will earn you simoleons and XP and is the best way to earn money (outside of a pet farm).  As you level up, you will unlock new seeds with different planting times and earnings.  Some of the plants (like strawberries and tomatoes) are special seeds that pay out bigger XP and simoleon amounts, but planting them is a gamble. They may turn into a "Sim Eating Plant" and if this happens, you earn no money.  Instead, you must wrestle with the plant to get rid of it. Note: only adults can wrestle the plant.

 

Baking:  Baking is another good way to earn XP and money.  To bake, buy a stove from the home store and place it in your house.  At first, I recommend buying the cheapest stove, because the bake times for your food are the same for all stoves.  Simply, tap on the stove and select the item you want to bake.  In addition, some items may catch on fire (represented by a red, fire icon).  If it catches fire, you must extinguish it and you do not collect the XP and simoleons. As you level up, more baking options will be available.





Relationships:  You can build relationships by having your Sims interact with each other.  The type of relationships are friends, enemies, and romantic.  Sims in romantic relationships can live together, get engaged and get married. Only married couples can have children.  Sims in friend relationships can become housemates.  Reaching relationship milestones will earn you XP.  A future blog will explain relationships in more detail. 

Jobs:  Your adult Sims can have careers.  Building new workplaces will unlock that career.  Each career has a unique start and end time.  I recommend building the workplaces that fit with your personal schedule first.  When it is time to send your Sim to their job, their briefcase icon will pulse on the Sim Tracker.  Also, you will get pop-ups to remind you to send your Sim to work.  As they go to work, they will get promoted to new levels, earning them more XP and simoleons.  With each promotion, your town value will increase.  In addition, when your Sim isn't at work, they can practice their career by purchasing the corresponding item from the "Promotions R Us" store.  A future blog will discuss the jobs in detail.

Hobbies:  Your Sim can choose from several available hobbies.  As you progress in the game, you will unlock more hobbies.  The hobbies are woodworking, fishing, figure stating, diving, fashion design, ghost hunting, teen idol, quilting, bird feeding, shell collecting, snorkeling, arcade gamer, pinball, and skill tester.  The goal of the hobby is to find or make all of the items in a collection.  Finding each item earns you money, finding a set of items earns you XP, and finding a collection will unlock new items and will earn you LP.  Also, leveling up in hobbies will earn your Sim money and LP and it will increase your town value.  A future blog will explain each hobby in detail.

Attending School:  Preteens and teenagers can attend school, which is their job.  When it is time to send your Sim to school, you will see their briefcase icon flashing in the Sim Tracker. Simply tap on it and select "yes" when prompted, to send them to school.  Also, you will get a pop-up alert when it is time to send them.  You can choose from 3 different timeframes for their classes (daytime, afternoon or evenings), so select the times that best work with your schedule.

Houses, Community Places, Businesses & Work Places

Houses:  To add a new adult Sim, you must have a house available for them to move into.  You can select a house to build by tapping on a blue "house" icon and select the type of house you want.  Once the house is complete, the icon turns green.  Tap on the green icon to add your Sim.  You will notice that some of the houses have grey icons.  These are premium lots that you will unlock by completing the "Oceanview Real Estate" quest (available at level 9).  More details about houses will be explained in a future blog.

Community Places:  Community places that you can build and visit are the competition center, the park (level 6), the night club (level 9), the swim center (level 12), the snow park (level 14), and the community center (level 15).  In addition, upon completing "The Mysterious Island" quest available at level 9, you will unlock the Mysterious Island.  Community places available on the island are the bingo hall (for seniors), the beach and the arcade (both available beginning at level 24).  Each community place will be explained in more detail in a future blog.

Businesses:  Businesses are places you can visit in your town to purchase items for your homes.  These businesses are Costume & Swim Store, the Salon, Promotions R Us, Car Dealership, Supermarket, Pet Store (level 11), and the Children's Store (level 8). The businesses will be explained in more detail in a future blog.

Work Places:  The work places are the stadium, recording studio, movie studio, science lab, fire station, art gallery, town hall, elementary school (level 13) and real estate office (level 9).  Each place of work has different start and end times.  Tapping on the workplace from the town map will tell you the hours for the job, the starting wage, and XP points for each day worked.  When selecting a work place to build, select ones that correspond with your personal schedule first.  The workplaces will be explained in more detail in a future blog.

Life Phases, Life Dreams & Orbs

Life Phases:  Initially, you can only add adult Sims by tapping on an empty house and selecting the "Add Sim" option.  As you complete quests, you will be able to add babies, age them and eventually move them on to the afterlife.  Their are 6 distinct life phases: baby, toddler, preteen, teenager, adult and senior.  At each phase, your Sim is capable of performing different tasks and hobbies. 

Life Dreams:  Once you complete the "Life Dreams & Legacies" quest, your Sims will be able to move on to the afterlife.  You will select a personality for your Sim (sporty or geek) and based upon the personality, they will need to complete tasks to achieve their life dream.  With each life phase, they will be given a new task to fulfill the dream.  Once the dream is fulfilled, your Sim earns their life orb.

Life Orbs:  There are four kinds of life orbs: bronze, silver, gold and platinum.  When you move your first Sim on to the afterlife, they will pass on their bronze orb to your next Sim.  Then, the second Sim will work towards earning their silver orb.  When the second Sim moves on, they will pass on their silver orb to another Sim and that Sim works towards obtaining a gold orb, passing it on. Finally, the last Sim will work towards a platinum orb.  Giving a platinum orb to a Sim will make them immortal.  So, if you want to keep a favorite Sim around, this is the way to do it.  The phases, life dreams and orbs will be explained in further detail in future blogs.


In closing, I hope this blog provided you with a good summary of the game.  I know there is a lot to learn, but there will be more blogs coming to help you with each aspect of the game.  Feel free to comment or ask questions.  Happy Simming!

Episode 1: Top 10 Tips For Getting Started - The Sims FreePlay

My first Sim's Town

Hello, Simmers.  You may have read some of my other blogs about "The Sims Freeplay" or this one may be your first.  Just to give you a little background about me, I am hooked on Sims and I started blogging about the game in January, after I have been playing the game for 4 months.  I am now on Level 53 (the highest level) and I have completed all of the quests.

Since I started playing the game, it has changed a lot with multiple updates.  Also, I didn't keep a log about the game early on, making it difficult to answer questions from a new player about old quests.  So, I decided to start a second game from the beginning.  I want to be able to help new players as they move from level to level and I can't think of a better way to give advice than to go through the game a second time, but with my current knowledge, documenting my adventures in blogs.  I don't claim to be an expert on the game, but I have discovered little things that have helped me along the way.  And, I'm a firm believer that knowledge is power.  If you know what is coming up next, you can be better prepared for it.

This blog will give you some general tips about getting started and, hopefully, will help you avoid some rookie mistakes along the way.

Tip One:  Don't model your Sims after your family and friends

In March 2014, EA added the biggest update to the game with the "Life Dreams and Legacies" quest, available at level 24.  This update has been very controversial, because now your Sims will die unless you continuously rewind the aging process by using LP or unless you earn and give platinum orbs to your Sims to make them immortal.  Earning platinum orbs is a long process and I will not be going into further detail about it yet, especially since the process may change by the time you reach that quest.  But, what I have noticed is that the players who have a personal connection with their Sims are the ones that don't want to lose them. In fact, my first batch of Sims was modeled after my family, and I found it difficult to let them move on to the afterlife.  Ideally, if you want your Sims to be representative of your family and friends, I recommend waiting to add them to the game until you earn some platinum orbs to make them immortal.  If you want to add them now you can, just keep in mind, if you need to move them on to the afterlife, you can always add them back into the game at a later time.

Tip Two:  Early in the game, be conservative with your money and LP (lifestyle points)

When you first start playing, it is very tempting to start buying items from the home store and decorate your house with the nicest things you can find.  But, don't do it!  Early on, money is hard to come by and a lot of the tasks require you to buy items for the house, such as a bed, a couch, a chair, a TV, a stove, a coffee machine, etc.  In addition, you will be asked to add flooring and wallpaper and resize rooms, all of which cost money or LP.  If you use up your money buying things before you are prompted to do so, you will have to wait until you earn more money and LP to complete tasks, slowing your progress.  Also, in most cases, it is best to buy the cheapest items available  at first, and then upgrade them later (unless you are prompted to buy a higher-rated item).  Future blogs will give you advice on what kind of item to buy and when.

Tip Three:  Garden, garden, garden...

You've guessed it, this tip is about gardening.  One of the best ways to earn money is to garden as much as you can.  Once the game prompts you, add a garden plot, but as you add more Sims to the game, buy more plots.  The plots are a deal for only 20 simoleons apiece.  Initially, you can only plant bell peppers for 30 seconds, but as you level up in the game, new plants will be added with different times and more earning value.  Also, you will gain experience points (XP) as well as simoleons by gardening and the faster you earn XP, the faster you will level up.  You can earn money and XP from baking as well, but in general, I find gardening to be more lucrative.

Tip Four:  Keep all of your Sims busy as much as possible

An idle Sim cannot complete tasks for you and cannot earn money, XP, SP (social points) and LP.  In addition, an idle Sim's needs (bladder, hunger, social, fun, hygiene and energy) drain faster than a busy Sim's needs. So, keep them busy.  Always have a Sim doing the special tasks from your quests or visiting a neighbor's town to earn SP (once you reach level 9).  For the Sims that are not performing special tasks, have them gardening, baking, doing hobbies (as you unlock them) and going to work (as you add workplaces).

Tip Five:  Choose the length of activities for your Sim based upon your schedule

As a continuation to tip 3, to earn the most from your Sims quickly, you need to plan how you manage them.  For instance, if you plan on actively playing the game for a few hours, keep putting your Sims on shorter tasks and have them repeat them over and over.  For instance, if you plant carrots for 5 minutes, 4 times in a row (for a total of 20 minutes), you will earn $192, which is more than what you earn for planting corn ($148) once for 20 minutes.  And, if you plant carrots 12 times for a total of an hour, you will earn $576 versus $256 for planting watermelon once for an hour.  The same logic applies to baking and hobbies.

When you will be away from the game for a while, try to choose activities that corresponds to the timeframe that you will be away.  For instance, planting onions for 7 hours is a good task while you are sleeping and doing so will earn you $1,200 while your are in dream land.  By the way, even though you need to sleep, your Sims don't.  You can keep them busy around the clock with activities, just give them a cup of coffee from time to time.  I know it is mean, but we need those simoleons!

Tip Six:  Keep your Sims inspired, but don't use cupcakes

Inspired Sims are happier Sims and happier Sims earn more money for doing tasks like gardening.  The money figures for gardening that are mentioned in tip 4, are only the amounts you earn if your Sim is inspired.  If your Sim isn't inspired, you will cut your earnings by a third.  A smaller income can make a huge difference in the long run.

The best way to keep your Sims inspired is when you see their needs start to dip, get a turbo snack from the frig for hunger, have an expresso from a coffee machine for energy, wash hands (quick wash) for hygiene, be funny with a friend (in person) or make a quick call (on a phone) for social, use the toilet for bladder, and plant bell peppers or check email on a computer for fun.  There are many other ways to fulfill your Sims needs, but these are the quickest ones. Typically, if  you keep your Sim busy, doing these quick activities once a day is enough.  Usually, I will have several Sims at one house, refilling their needs at the same time and I will rotate them from the coffee machine, to the sink, to the refrigerator, etc.  This way is faster than filling the Sims' needs one at a time at different houses; it takes only a few minutes.

It is tempting at times, but don't instantly inspire your Sims with cupcakes.  The game encourages you to use this option and it shows you how to do it as a task in the tutorial, giving you 5 LPs to try it out.  But, outside of the task in the tutorial, it costs 5 LP to inspire your Sim and, you will learn quickly, you can never have enough LP.

Tip Seven:  Pick jobs for your Sims that correspond to your personal schedule

When building your workplaces, pay close attention to the start and end time of the Sims workday.  Tapping on the workplace plot on the town map, gives you a summary of the job, the work hours and how much your starting wage and XP earnings are.  As your Sim gets promoted, your earnings will increase, the highest level being level 5.  As, you review the start times, keep in mind that you can send your Sim to work up to 1 hour before their scheduled start time and up to 2 hours after their start time.  For instance, the athlete's schedule is from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., so you can send an athlete to work as early as 5 a.m. and as late as 7:59 a.m., making the athlete career ideal for early risers.  Note: Regardless, of what time you send them to work, your Sims will work their full shifts, so if you send your athlete to work at 7 a.m., they will work until noon instead of 11 a.m.

Tip Eight:  Join Facebook or setup a second Facebook account just for your Sims' game and other games

You cannot get the full experience of the game without linking your game to a Facebook account (and/or GameCenter account for IOS devices).  First, you can share pictures and experiences from your game on Facebook and you can talk about the game with your Facebook friends.  Also, you can visit the towns of your friends where you can earn SP to buy more items for your town, including different house designs, the night club and houseboats.  The game gives you one town to visit called "Another Sim Town" (very creative name), but this town is missing a lot of the items you will need to complete SP goals, making you skip them for 5 LP a pop.  This is not a good way to use your hard-earned LP.

However, I recommend having an account on Facebook dedicated to just gaming.  Your Sims' friends don't necessarily want to see your personal posts, and your personal friends and family may not want to see your Sim posts.

Tip Nine:  Find Sim players on Facebook and become friends with them to have more neighbors

Your goal should be to have a minimum of 15 neighbors.  Why 15?  Because, the more neighbors you have (up to 15), the more daily gifts you will earn from the party boat (up to 5 per day).  Try to get these neighbors as soon as possible in the game even if you have not reached level 9, which is when you can start visiting neighbors' towns.  Very early in the game, you can start collecting your party boat gifts, which consists of money and LP, and as I mentioned, you can never have too much of either one.

To reach your neighbor goal quickly, if any of your family and/or friends play "The Sims Freeplay", become their Facebook friend on your second account.  Once you have exhausted this option, the best way to find more neighbors is to join one or more "The Sims Freeplay" groups on Facebook.  There are several groups to choose from.  After reviewing a group and joining it, you can go fishing for friends.  You can post on the group page that you need neighbors and you will receive responses from multiple people that will give you permission to add them.  Just be careful and only add people that you feel comfortable with adding.  I don't recommend sending out blind requests to people, because you might end up in "Facebook jail", where you will be blocked from sending friend requests.  And, if you can find neighbors who have created goal houses and/or pet farms, it is an added bonus and pet farms will help you replenish your money and LP quickly.

Another advantage to joining groups, is that most members of the "The Sims Freeplay" community are willing to help you with questions and issues you may be having with the game and they are always available to talk about the Sims.  I have found the groups a lot more helpful and responsive when I have a question than the customer support at EA.

Tip Ten:  Save your game to the cloud regularly

"The Sims Freeplay" gives you the ability to upload your data to the cloud on your device where it will save for 7 days.  In addition, every time you visit the party boat, your game will automatically upload.  So, if you want to play your current game on a different device, you can upload your game and then download it onto your second device.  Or if you will be away from the game for a few days, its a good idea to save it in the cloud. And, if you want to experiment with the game and try something risky, like a glitch that you learned about, upload your game to the cloud and then you can download your old game if you make a mistake.  To get to the cloud, tap on the green ... icon to get to the main menu, and select the blue cloud icon. Then, click on the "upload data" option (or download if you are pulling your data from the cloud).

I hope these tips help.  Just as a side note, before the last two updates, I would have strongly recommended doing hobbies as a way to earn LP and money, but EA has changed several things with the hobbies, such as the time it takes for tasks, when you can start doing certain hobbies, and the amount of money and LP you can earn, which has affected the lucrativeness of them.  Currently, I am experimenting with the hobbies to determine whether or not you should actively do these as a way to earn income.  Once I've made a decision about the hobbies, I will add a blog with advice.

These are my top 10 tips?  Am I missing something from the list?  If so, let me know.  Thanks for reading and happy simming!