Prima Games eGuides The Sims 3 Seasons eGuide

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The Sims 3 Seasons eGuide Essentials New Simology

New Parties

New Parties

Save for the occasional hermit, Sims are inherently social creatures—and what better way to satisfy those Social needs than throwing a party? There are a host of new parties available in Seasons, including feasts and pool parties. These new parties have unique elements, but they do share common DNA with the original party system in The Sims 3.

The method of throwing a party in Seasons remains the same. You may do so through your phone, located in your Sim’s personal inventory. The Throw Party interaction brings up a menu where you select the type of party, the time of the party, a dress code for the event, and who is on the guest list. Once you initiate the party, take the following steps to ensure that everybody at your shindig has a good time.

When you choose to throw a party, expect to see your guests start arriving right around the designated time. (Thankfully, you get a warning an hour before the party starts.) Before guests arrive, make sure the lot is clean, provide plenty of food, and extend some form of entertainment.

Maintaining Mood & Needs

Keeping everybody in good spirits is the core of having a successful party. Keeping moods high so guest leave elated depends a lot on managing the needs of your guests. If you have at least one bathroom on-site, that should take care of Bladder. And to be sure, there isn’t too much you can do about Energy. Either Sims attend your party tired or they show up with a good amount of Energy.

Feeding guests, maintaining the Hunger need, is super-important. Now, there are multiple ways to address the food situation, although with the new feast party, this is definitely altered. However, for all of the other parties, consider these steps:

  • Set up a Buffet Table so that Sims can just eat whenever they are hungry. It’s not cheap but it requires little maintenance.
  • Prepare food in your own kitchen and have it out when the party starts. If you are an accomplished cook and can whip up high quality dishes as well as exotic goodies, this can send mood soaring.
  • Order pizzas. Everybody loves pizza and you can direct partygoers to partake. Not as easy-peasy as the buffet, but you can at least control the Hunger need on a greater scale.
  • Make sure there are objects on the lot that encourage fun. An expensive TV works wonders. So does a guitar or a dance floor. Dancing, playing music, and other group activities (and there are new group activity objects like the Horseshoe Court in Seasons) will make sure multiple Sims are having fun at the same time.

In addition to needs management, you can also artfully arrange the party so Sims pick up potent moodlets like Beautiful Vista or Enjoying the Music. Seriously, always have music going during a party. It’s so simple to set up and the rewards are solid. And why not dress the place up with some environmental bonus objects so Sims get one of the Decorated moodlets on their way through rooms.

Pool Party

If you have a pool on your home lot, there is a new party type for Sims who like to splish-splash: pool party. The pool party is built around swimming, so everybody will typically arrive in their swimwear. (As you might imagine, this party will not be very successful if thrown at an outdoor pool during winter.) Once the pool party is underway, Sims will find great pleasure out of diving from a diving board, so make sure your home pool has one installed. And it never hurts to have at least one of the new Inflato Aqualounges, a floating pool chair, handy. Sims love these inflatable chairs! A grill is also a good object to have on-hand because though any food is enjoyable, Sims at a pool party tend to gravitate toward BBQ-style cooking.

Costume Party

Costume parties are a great way to get friends and family together for hours of laughter and merriment. When you throw this party, Sims arrive in randomly selected costumes. At this point, the party unfolds like a traditional house party. However, you can add a Halloween flair to the party by using objects such as the Apple Bobbing Tank or installing a Scarecrow on the lot.

There are specific costumes for each age group and gender, but you do not actually choose what costume your Sim dons. There are fun animal costumes, career costumes, and mascots costumes—just to new a few!

Feast Party

The feast party actually removes the need for you, as the party host, to prepare a full spread for your guests. The entire point of this party is for all invited to arrive with one dish. When guests arrive to your shindig, they will be carrying a plate of food with multiple servings. Each food-bearing guest will place their food on an available surface, typically as close to the kitchen as possible and usually close to other plates of food.

Guests’ dishes always contain multiple servings. However, the game keeps track of how many Sims are at the party so that more plates than necessary are not brought. For example, if you have a full boat of 10 guests, chances are good that the last few guests to arrive will not bring a dish. That way, there are no leftovers from this party, which cuts down both on waste and post-party cleaning.

At some point during the party, once all guests have arrived and folks are having a good time, you may use the new Call Party to Eat interaction. This interaction is available on any group serving on the lot. At this point, the feast begins. Attendees route to the food and start serving themselves. Within moments, folks are eating and hopefully enjoying the Nice Meal moodlet.

Gift-Giving Party

When you want to spread holiday cheer, throw a gift-giving party. This themed party operates like most normal get-togethers—you still need to be on top of mood and needs—but the festivities are centered around a new object: gift pile. The gift pile appears when the party is underway. The gift pile starts out with enough presents for everybody in the household, and when guests arrive, they always walk over and add another to the pile, so there are always enough gifts for everyone present.

Once the party is underway, click on the gift pile and choose the Call Everyone to Open Gifts. This signals that it’s time to open presents. Sims at the party move toward the gift pile and the festivities begin!

Sims take turns opening presents. A Sim walks to the pile and fishes out a present. They then open it up and react depending on what’s inside. You do not control what is inside the gift boxes. Some Sims are positively ecstatic over their present. Some Sims are... not. The gift is added to the personal or household inventory of the Sim and the next person begins to open their present. While gifts are being opened, the crowd reacts with laughter and cheers.

There is no hard rule about only throwing gift-giving parties during the winter season. You may throw one of these parties whenever you like, bringing friends and friends-to-be together under one roof for a few hours of fun, food, and generosity.