Telephone

Phones are essential tools of communication and socialization in The Sims series.

The Sims
Phones in The Sims are very simplistic compared to phones in later games or expansions. The original phone could make outgoing calls, but doing so would only result in the option to invite a Sim over - Sims could not have a conversation with another Sim over the phone. Phones could be used to hire service workers such as maids or gardeners, or to call the Police or Fire Department in case of an emergency. Friends would often call the house as a warning to the player that a friendship was about to end (the relationship score was dropping too low); these calls always took place at 4:00 pm. Random calls would often take place throughout the day (and night). They could sometimes result in cash rewards, but they could also be prank calls. Later expansions changed the phone menu multiple times, and added various features. Until Unleashed, a Sim's phonebook used the standard pie menu, and players would often have to press the Tab key to page through the menu in order to find the family they wanted the Sim to call. Starting with Unleashed, the phonebook became a dialog box which listed families on the left, and known members of the selected family on the right.

Hot Date gave Sims the ability to talk on the phone instead of simply inviting other Sims over, though players had no control over what the Sims would talk about. With the introduction of community areas and community lots in Hot Date, Sims became able to use the phone to call a cab and go somewhere else for a while. Additionally, some custom content creators made "phone plugins", which added features to the phone. Different models of phones were introduced over the course of the game, but cell phones were never introduced.

A telephone curfew time of 1-6 am is imposed. During this period, Sims will not be able to talk to Sims or invite them over, and will instead be shouted at and receive a negative message (although there is no effect on the relationship). Services can still be contacted, although many will not arrive until daytime, with the notable exception of police and firefighters, who will arrive at any hour of the day.

A family needed to have at least one telephone on the lot in order for other Sims to call them, and Sims would receive a message if they attempted to call someone that did not have a phone.

The Sims 2
In The Sims 2, phones are white-ish tan and can be either table phones or wall phones. Phones are now truly cordless, unlike The Sims, and Sims can and will walk around while talking on the phone, although they cannot use it while sitting down. A Sim who wanders too far from the phone's base may put the handset down instead of hanging it up; if this happens, the player can click on the handset and select "Hang Up" to tell a Sim to hang it back up.

Sims can talk to other Sims on the phone, and other Sims may call to talk to a specific household member. This has been improved over what was possible in The Sims; players can now use the "Change Topic" interaction to affect what the Sims talk about, and phone conversations can have more than a minimal effect on the Sims' relationship with one another. The phone can be used to invite Sims over, and even to throw parties. Pets added an 'Invite household' option, which will not appear when calling a Townie or a Sim who lives alone. When using this option, the player will be presented with a dialog which shows all other members of the called Sim's household, except for babies and toddlers, even if the caller hasn't met them. Much like The Sims, a Sim needed to live in a household with at least one phone in order to be called, or had to have a cell phone in their inventory.

As expansion packs are added, the call menu remains largely the same as in the base game; categories are added as needed, but the layout of the menu is unaltered. In University, Sims can have cell phones, although playable Sims who live in households without a landline phone still cannot be contacted by phone. Pets and FreeTime each add a new style of phone. In FreeTime, 3-way calling is introduced as an aspiration benefit for Sims who have Popularity as a primary or secondary aspiration. When a Sim with this benefit is on the phone, the player can click on the phone (or on the Sim, if he or she is using a cell phone) and select "Make 3-way call". The Sim's phone book will open, and the player can then decide which Sim in the book will receive the second call. Players should note that, if this is done on a table or wall phone, the "Hang Up" option will be unavailable until the second call has ended. Even without FreeTime, more than two Sims can be involved in a phone conversation if a house has at least two table or wall phones. If a Sim is told to use a table or wall phone while another Sim is talking on one, the player will be asked whether to let that Sim join the conversation, or to have them hang up. Apartment Life introduced two "Silent Mode" options which allowed players to regulate incoming calls; players could "Screen Calls", which prevented the phone from ringing and instead directed incoming calls to a text notification on the top-right of the screen, or turn off the phone completely. These "Silent Mode" interactions are not available for cell phones.

Sims can call a taxi. A Sim can invite another Sim to meet him or her on a community lot, and, with Nightlife, can arrange outings and even dates. Sims can hire services, and order food deliveries. If the appropriate expansion packs are present, a Sim can apply for scholarships, start a home business, buy real estate, book a vacation, etc.

A bug in Apartment Life may cause a cell phone to disappear from inventory after it has been used for a while, at least for Sims who are living in apartments. This was fixed in the Apartment Life patch, though it is not mentioned in the list of fixes.

An unusual feature of phones in The Sims 2 is that the Sim on the other end of the call is, to some extent, considered to be on the lot. This occasionally results in that Sim being "teleported" to the lot after the call is ended. If that Sim is a child, this can result in one of his or her parents appearing on the lot to bring the kid home, even after the call has ended. The player will need to watch for this, as the parent will not need to be greeted, and will not leave unless the Ask to Leave/Say Goodbye interaction is used. However, the "voice on the other end" that is heard during a phone call does not appear to be the voice of the Sim on the other end of the call.

Much like The Sims, there is a telephone curfew that is enforced between 2am and 7am. During this time, any calls made to Sims will be rejected with a cranky message and a drop in relationship score. Crank calls can still be made and victims may still show up, but will usually leave immediately afterwards due to the time. Vampires are exempt from the nighttime curfew, but have a daytime curfew of their own between 7am and 6pm. Services can still be called, although service Sims will generally not arrive until daytime, with the exception of police and firefighters.

Crank call
A crank call is an interaction in The Sims 2 that a Sim with one or no niceness points can do with a telephone. When a grouchy Sim is directed to make a crank call, the phone book will pop up, as with other phone calls. After the player selects which Sim to call, the Sim using the phone will place the call and yell into the receiver. A few minutes later, the victim of the crank call may come to the caller's lot. The victim's reaction will vary, possibly depending on the relationship between the two Sims; he or she may shove, poke or slap the Sim who made the call, then yell about college (even if University isn't installed); or may simply greet the grouchy Sim. This interaction can be used to effectively "invite" an acquaintance over, allowing a grouchy Sim to build a relationship more quickly, but it runs the risk of damaging a relationship and causing both Sims to be furious with each other for a long time.

NOYIN 2680 Cellular Phone
The NOYIN 2680 Cellular Phone must be purchased from a Sellafone Gadget Kiosk. If Nightlife or later is installed, cell phones will appear in the Sim's inventory, and can be be used by left-clicking the Sim. Sims who are teens and older can only use this cellphone. The phone can also be put anywhere in the Sim's home; it will function, but is very small and may be hard to find with the cursor.

A Sim who has a cell phone can call other Sims and taxi from a community lot, and can invite them to the lot. In University, a Sim with a cell phone could not always use it when another Sim in the house was on the phone. However, in later expansion packs, Sims with cell phones can make or receive calls even if other Sims in the house are using their phones. While there is no "Hang Up" interaction for the cell phone, the player can still end a call by cancelling the action.

TalkTime Phonality
The phone comes in four recolors: white, black, blue, and pink.

TalkTime Phonality with Mounting Bracket
The phone comes in four recolors: white, black, blue, and pink.

The Sims 2 for console
The console versions of The Sims 2 have very similar phones; however, they are black instead of the white-ish tan color. Given the limitations of a console, not as many options are available:


 * Call: (Anyone in the Sim's social web): 'Invite over' or 'just talk'
 * Services: SimCity Cleaning Service, SimCity Fire Department, SimCity Police Department, Repairman, Gardener and Therapist.
 * Prank phone call: Fake names, Fake sweepstakes or Fart on phone.
 * Throw a party: Invite everyone the Sim knows over to their house for a party (only requires one call.)

As in The Sims, Sims can receive prank calls and calls that give cash rewards.

The Sims Castaway Stories
Telephones in The Sims Castaway Stories are replaced with Shell Phones. They are basically the same as the phones from The Sims 2, only in the shape of a large shell. They are only available as a story reward object. They are more similar to mobile phones than telephones, since they're usually carried in the Sim's inventory and can be used by clicking on the Sim and selecting the option "Call...". Unlike the phones from The Sims 2, they can only be placed vertically.

The Sims 3
In The Sims 3 all Sims (except babies and toddlers) have an irremovable cellphone (smartphone in University Life) in their inventory from the beginning, meaning that Sims no longer needed to own a landline phone in order to be called, although landline phones can still be purchased for residential lots. Phones can be used to talk to Sims, invite them over or out on a date, check real estate, throw parties, call for services, and move. Cellphones can also be used to take pictures and teleport back to a teleportation pad. Sims can also change the ringtone of their cell phone. Sims who purchase the Future Sim lifetime reward get a HoloPhone, which only differs in appearance to regular cellphones.

Like in the previous game, certain expansions packs have expanded the pie menu and things that can be done with the phone. If The Sims 3: World Adventures is installed, the player can plan a vacation for their Sims. With The Sims 3: Late Night, a mixologist and butler have been added for the home Service. The phone also acts as the transmittor for the callbox and electric gate in the expansion pack. If Generations is installed, teens can make prank calls, and Sims can use phones to enroll in boarding schools. With The Sims 3: Showtime, NPC services have been added for each type of performer and DJ, as well the ability to request a Sing-A-Gram from anywhere for a Sim they know. If University Life is installed, phones can be used to enroll in university.

Calls can be made from active to inactive Sim or vice versa, which last an hour or two. If an active Sim receives and answers a phone call from somebody to chat, the player will be asked if they would like to proceed with the phone conversation or not. When a phone call is made to a non-rival Sim, they will always answer regardless what they're doing. Unlike the playable Sim, they don't physically pick up their cellphone and therefore are seen wondering in the world without holding it during the call.

Like previous games, a telephone curfew is enforced from 12AM to 6AM, during which any calls are rejected. However, there does not appear to be any effect in relationship if such a call is made. Calling a Sim who is currently at work will provide the player with the time that they should call back. Services can be called at any time of the day; however, the caller must be on their home lot or the option will be greyed out. Unlike previous games, children cannot call for any services, including emergency services.

A "cell phone buzz" will appear on the recipient of an incoming call; unlike previous games, landline phones will not ring for such calls. Landline phones will only ring for calls directed to the household at large, rather than for a single Sim. If the player instructs the Sim to answer the phone, the current interaction will get cancelled and the interaction to answer the phone will queue up immediately after it, rather than appearing at the end of the queue. Sims can also ignore an incoming call without answering it; this interaction works immediately and does not need to be queued. If the incoming phone call was for an opportunity, ignoring the call will cause the opportunity dialog to appear immediately. Players can also silence a phone to automatically reject all calls.

With The Sims 3 University Life installed, numerous interactions are added that are related with the upgraded phones. These including sending various text messages (picture, friendly, insulting, secret admire, woohoo and breakup) from the phone, as well as social interactions of showing them a video or taking a picture with them. Tied with social networking skill, the player can change the Sim's phone skin color that are unlocked at certain levels.

The Sims 4
There are no home telephones in The Sims 4. All Sims who are children or older automatically receive an irremovable smartphone, similar to The Sims 3. The phones are at the bottom of the screen on the desktop interface instead of in a Sim's inventory. Unlike previous games, Sims can use their phones while sitting down. In addition to most functions included in The Sims 3, Sims can use the phone to find jobs, pay bills, listen to music, and play games. The player can also change their Sims phone case from multiple options. A Sim's mood will also allow a Sim to send a text message associated with that mood to another Sim (e.g. a flirty Sim will be able to send a flirty text), which in some cases may result in the latter inviting the former to another lot.

Sims cannot chat with other Sims over the phone between 11pm and 7am. A Sim who attempts to call another Sim during this time will suffer a slight drop in their relationship with the targeted Sim. Attempts to use the Invite to hangout... function will also be unsuccessful (i.e. message will say [Sim name] is sleeping), but the Sim who initiated it will not incur penalties. Sims can call to arrange social events at any time, and those who are invited will show up. Sims are able to text other Sims regardless of the time of day with no relationship point penalty. Most other services will be available between 11pm and 7am, An inactive Sim may leave a message, asking if they can come over to the household's home. The player can accept or ignore (decline) the Sim's self-invite.

The Sims Medieval
There are no telephones in The Sims Medieval, as the game is set in medieval times, but pigeons serve as the equivalent item; they are used to talk and invite friends.