Now that more than 25 years have gone by since the launch of The Sims, fans have had plenty of time to work out some of the more intriguing secrets of the game. There’s always been plenty of lore and goofy stuff to find in this series, and The Sims 1 was the game that started the trend.
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Whether it’s curious holiday-themed visitors despite us not having proper holidays, a clown unsuccessfully trying to help boost your Sims’ moods, assorted animal visitors, or just curious oddities, here are a few of our favorite Easter eggs about the original Sims game.
9
Someone Can’t Hold Their Punch
Who Knows What’s In That Punchbowl?
Other than Livin’ Large, which today would probably have been a patch update, House Party was the first real expansion pack for the original Sims, adding plenty of festive items to the game. That said, like at any party, it’s important not to overdo it.
Has your Sim been enjoying a catered event but perhaps taken too close an interest in the punch bowl? Did they perhaps end up getting sick someplace on the lot, coughing and gagging and producing a puddle on the floor? Did you perhaps tell them to do such a thing after reading this? We don’t judge.
8
Hello, Secret Santa
Happy Holidays!
While we never got proper holidays themselves during the original Sims lifespan, that doesn’t mean you can’t still drum up some holiday cheer. On any lot with a fireplace, you’ll need to buy a Christmas tree and set out a plate of cookies before bed, and whether you’ve been naughty or nice, Santa Claus may just appear.
The gifts he leaves behind are empty, but they still offer the Sims that open them a nice amount of Fun for the experience! Santa will also leave a singular real item behind, a shared gift for the whole family.
7
Summon Grim With Pumpkins
It’s All Halloween To Me
Keeping in theme with the holidays, if you’re more into spirits than being spirited, there are a handful of spooky decorations you could use to decorate your home lot, especially with the Makin’ Magic expansion. While you could never actually carve them back then, you could still buy decorative Jack-O’-Lanterns in The Sims.
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But if you bought too many, you may attract a naughty visitor. With more than five Jack-O’-Lanterns placed, there’s a chance you might summon Grim. He’s not there to kill anyone, at least – he just rings your doorbell.
Regardless of why Grim shows up, you might notice that Bonehilda, if she’s on the lot at the time, is quite the fan of his work.
6
Earn Money By Selling Your Fans
Japanese Wall Fans, That Is
You probably already know about the infamous rosebud cheat to provide your Sims with some cash, but there’s an odd way to invest your money in the game that you wouldn’t think of if you didn’t already know to look for. Have you noticed the Japanese Wall Fan item in the decorations menu, the one for §81?
If you buy one of the Japanese Wall Fans and then sell it back in Buy mode after midnight passes, you’ll watch the item somehow skyrocket in value. Your Sims paid §81 out of pocket, but whoever is buying it back gives them §792 for it, netting you §711 in the process.
5
Exterminate The Clown
The Tragic Clown’s Tragic End
The Tragic Clown Painting is an old not-so secretive secret: if your Sim has the Tragic Clown Painting wall art item in their house and manages to let their Social need decay into the red (which is easy enough to do with so much else going on), the painting will come to life, and the Tragic Clown himself will appear to try and cheer your Sim up.
Except, he’s actually pretty miserable himself, and he’s not great at cheering your Sim up after all. His attempts often leave you feeling worse than when he started, which can make it difficult to get him to leave, since without intervention, the Tragic Clown will stay on your lot until your Social need has improved.
If you’re struggling to cheer up with such a Tragic Sim on the lot with you, you can always call the Clown Catchers to come, uh, take care of him on your behalf. A suited Sim will appear with a ray gun and make sure the Tragic Clown stops giving your Sim extra grief.
4
The Skydiving Machine Can Kill
Up, Up, And Away
Introduced in the Superstar expansion, one of your more expensive options for a leisure time activity is the Galileo’s Free-for-All Skydiving Simulator. It’s a large wind machine your Sims enter, suit up with a wind suit, and take to the limited amount of sky above the machine itself.
That is, unless they can’t get out for whatever reason. Should the entrance to the Skydiving Machine be blocked when your Sim tries to exit, they might just end up flying away out of the top of the Simulator, off your screen and into the abyss. The game tells you they’ve died and you’ll have a tombstone appear on the lot as normal. What an extreme way to go…
3
The Phone Calls Won’t Hurt You
But Really, Though, Do You Canoe?
It’s probably been a long time since anyone playing the game has owned a wall phone at home in real life, but having one is all but essential in The Sims. You need to keep up with your friends, summon pizzas, and we hope you don’t have to call emergency services, but it’s important to be able to if you need!
The phone works both ways, though, as they say, and people occasionally call your Sims. Sometimes that’s to give the household some additional cash. Sometimes it’s your boss upset you missed the carpool for the day. Other times, it’s oddly threatening and completely jarring messages like, “They’re coming. Make preparations.”
What makes these calls worse is that they often come in the middle of the night to really send shivers down your spine. These phone calls don’t actually influence anything – your Sim won’t die just because they answered that ominous midnight call.
2
Sims Get Some Weird Illnesses
From Emperors Or Embarrassment
While you’d never catch a normal cold in this game, but you could catch a few things that are much worse. One of the better known illnesses in the original Sims game was Guinea Pig Disease, and it could absolutely be fatal. If their pet has a filthy cage and bites its owner, you’ve got about 16 hours to make a potion to fix them before the disease takes their life. And no, pleading with Grim won’t help here.
But we’ve also got two non-fatal diseases to worry about, too. Famous Sims who are struggling in their career may experience a nervous breakdown, which does impact their career after the tabloids hear about it. Stress doesn’t impact other Sims outside their moods being red, and while your Sim will survive the nervous breakdown, their celebrity level may not.
Meanwhile, Sims treating themselves to the buffet on vacation without washing up first may find themselves stricken with a disease that goes by a few names. The name for it in the game’s code is Poopy Pants, but fans call it Montezuma’s Revenge later. Your Sim won’t die, but their Bladder motive tanks, so get to a toilet quickly!
1
One Grizzly Visitor
Hope You Don’t Have A Bearskin Rug
There doesn’t seem to be a set way to go about getting her to show up, but the Hot Date expansion introduced one curious NPC called Claire the Bear, a bipedal brown bear who shows up occasionally to dig through your garbage cans and judge your taste in decor.
As Claire rummages, she’ll create a few piles of trash that really sink the Room score of the lot’s outdoor space, which might be enough to make your Sim too annoyed getting into the carpool to get promoted that day. On the other hand, Claire will react to a few items on the lot, should they be accessible. Children may enjoy their stuffed bears, but Claire will as well – she’ll try to chat them up while she’s around. On the other hand, though, if you have a bearskin rug, she likely won’t be too pleased with that.
