A Beginner’s Guide To Cheats For The Sims 4

If you're familiar with The Sims franchise, then you've probably heard about all of the different cheat codes for the game. There tends to be a negative stigma around using cheats, however within the Sims community, they are a valuable part of the gaming experience. While the game is fun to play without them, it can be time-consuming to accumulate all the money and items you might want.

Throughout the years, the settings of the game have always included a "cheat console" screen allowing players to use cheats to increase Simoleons, unlock content, and much more. Most Simmers use the cheats to skip over all of the time-consuming work and get straight into the coolest content of the game. 

Although it might seem confusing at first, using cheats is incredibly easy and will change your gaming experience for the better. Whether you're a first-time Simmer or a seasoned fan dipping into this for the first time, by the end of this article the cheat code process in The Sims 4 will make a lot more sense to you.

A History of Cheats in The Sims

Before we dive into the process, it's important to acknowledge the history of cheats in the game. The cheats console has been a part of The Sims gameplay ever since the release of the first game in 2000. Contrary to popular belief, using cheats is not frowned upon — the developers put them there to be utilized.

Originally there were only a handful of cheats, but as more games from the franchise were released, the developers began to add even more game-altering codes. One legendary cheat has withstood the test of time and been included in every normal Sims game from 1-4: rosebud, a code that grants the player 1000 Simoleons. Over time, more cheats became recurring codes for the console. Not to mention new ones are always being added or removed.

Why Cheat?

Some might argue that since the point of the game is to use your time and resource management skills to achieve your Sims' goals, the cheats cheapen the experience. To be fair, cheats do make the game's objectives worthless, as you can solve any problem with a few clicks. Admittedly, you're playing a different type of game with the cheats enabled.

However, I think cheats are a great resource for seasoned players. As someone who has been playing the Sims games for 10+ years, I know that you can eventually get tired of living out the Sims' lives the normal way after you've done it hundreds of times. The cheats allow you to eliminate all your Sim's problems so you can explore all of the game's features that you normally wouldn't have time to.

Also, the game can be useful outside of normal gameplay, but in order to use it to its full potential, you would need the cheats.

For newer players, I would definitely recommend playing the game without cheats first to get the true Sims 4 experience. However, if you get tired of that, cheats and mods are the next steps to reviving the game after it becomes boring for you. The cheats open up a whole new world of possibilities for gameplay. 

How To Use Cheats In The Sims 4

It's no secret that cheats are widely used in the game. While the cheat screen is not in plain sight, it is not difficult to find if you know the correct button/key combination. The combo varies depending on the gaming platform but put simply, in order to bring up the cheats console in Sims 4:

For Mac & PC:

• 1) Press Ctrl + Shift + C.
• 2) A white text box will appear in the top left corner of the screen. Enter your cheat codes here and remember to press enter after input.

• 3) Personally, I always type in testingcheats true first. Certain cheat codes won't work unless this code is entered first, so it's better to get into the habit of entering it right off the bat. 
• 4) Press Ctrl + Shift + C again to close the cheat screen.

For Xbox One & PS4: 

• 1) Altogether, Press L1+R1+L2+R2 on PS4 or LT+RT+LB+RB on Xbox One.
• 2) A white text box will appear in the top left corner of the screen, as well as a small keyboard in the middle of the screen. Enter your cheat codes into the on-screen keyboard and remember to press Done after input. 

• 3) Again, you'll want to enter testingcheats true first so all of the codes you enter will work.
• 4) Press the original four-button combo to toggle the cheat console on and off.

That's all you need to start using cheat codes in Sims 4! Now that you have your console open, it's time to put it to use.

What Are The Sims 4 Cheats?

One thing to note before using cheats: there are regular cheats and "shift-click" cheats. Regular cheats take effect as soon as they are entered into the console. Shift-click cheats, on the other hand, must be activated by holding Shift while clicking on your Sim and selecting the desired cheat from the options on the interaction screen.

Obviously, there is no way to Shift+Click on the Xbox and PS4, but these types of cheats can still be used on those platforms. On Xbox, you would hover over your Sim and press A+B simultaneously. On the PlayStation 4, it would be X+O.

The full list of cheats for The Sims 4 is massive; there are plenty of codes to be found on the internet. I'm going to go over the essentials that a first-timer would need to know. 

Money Cheats

Let's face it: Money really does solve everything in The Sims. For that reason, it's easy to see why money cheats are the most popular and widely used. If there's going to be a cheat you remember by heart, it's the money cheat. 

The money cheats for The Sims 4 are:

• kaching or rosebud - gives the family +1000 Simoleons
• motherlode - gives the family +50,000 Simoleons
• Money x - entering "Money" and then an amount of your choosing (i.e. Money 10000) will give your family the exact amount of Simoleons you input

Object and Clothing Cheats

Many of the game's clothing and building items are locked or hidden when you start the game. Completing certain goals in the game will eventually unlock them, but maybe you don't want to wait that long. Or, maybe you want to alter the items you already do have unlocked.

If this is the case, these cheats will help out a bunch:

• bb.ignoregameplayunlocksentitlement - when entered in Build mode, unlocks all locked items
• bb.ShowHiddenObjects - shows all items that might be hidden 
• freerealestate on - when entered on the home-buying screen, makes all houses free
• bb.moveobjects - lets you move objects wherever you want without the game's restraints 

Gameplay Cheats

Have you ever wished you could instantly fulfill your Sims' needs or cure their ailments without paying for it in satisfaction points?  Look no further. These cheats will make gameplay a lot easier for you:

• death.toggle true/false - controls whether or not your Sim can die
• Shift + click the Sim, select "Make Happy" - fulfills all the Sims needs and removes negative moodlets
• fillmotive_xxx - fills a specific need for a Sim (i.e. fillmotive_energy)
• sims.give_satisfaction_points x - gives your Sims a specified number of Satisfaction points (i.e sims.give_satisfaction_points 5000)
• Shift + click the Sim, select "Disable Need Decay" - Stops Sims' needs from depleting over time
• cas.fulleditmode + Shift + click the Sim, select "Modify in CAS" - Completely redesign your Sims mid-game. Using this cheat without the first part will allow you to edit their appearance, but not the body details like sex, weight, etc. 

The Sims 4 is incredibly fun to play with or without cheats. However, it is undeniable that cheats enhance the experience. Many of the cool things I am able to do with the game, I am able to do because I used at least one cheat code. There are endless amounts of cheats out there and even more ways to use them, so go check them out!