Game guide:Practicing magic

Magic is a game mechanic in The Sims: Makin' Magic, The Sims 2: Apartment Life, The Sims 3: Supernatural, and The Sims Medieval. How it is used, and what needs to be done to give a Sim the ability to use it, varies in each game.

The Sims: Makin' Magic
In The Sims: Makin' Magic, giving a playable Sim, adult or child, the ability to do magic is simply a matter of telling that Sim to procure a wand. Wands are easy enough to get that whether a playable Sim has the ability to do magic depends on whether the player wants them to have it. In any neighborhood, magic is as common or uncommon among the playable families as the player chooses to make it.

How to get a wand:
 * 1) The Mystery Man delivers A Mysterious Package (actually a MagiCo Magical Starter Kit) to each new household. Once it is opened, one of the items that an adult Sim can be told to get from it is a wand.
 * 2) Any adult without a wand can pull one from the Spellbound Wand Charger, and any child without a wand can get one from the MagiCo NeoMagical Newt. There is no charge for the wand, and no limit to the number of wands that can be pulled from these devices. A Spellbound Wand Charger automatically appears when the Mysterious Package is opened, but it can also be bought in Buy mode for §129. The NeoMagical Newt must be bought in Buy mode, and costs §99.
 * 3) A player who does not want wands to be free can send Sims to Magic Town and have them buy wands from the Mystery Man, who sells them for §50 each.

Unlike later games, Makin' Magic does not treat magic as part of a life state, and does not use any special names or titles for Sims who can do magic. Because magic is not part of a life state, having a Sim give it up only involves sending the Sim to Magic Town and having them sell their wand to the Mystery Man. Sims do not change in any way after they acquire a wand, and dressers do not allow Sims with wands to access any clothes that other Sims cannot.

Using magic
There are three ways to use magic in Makin' Magic: spells, charms, and abilities gained from Crystal Clear Ability Rocks. Outside of Magic Town, magic use is monitored. While magic is freely available, letting a wandless Sim (other than the target of a spell) witness its use outside of Magic Town usually draws a visit from the "Spellchecker", who will fine the user.

Spells and Charms
Using a spell requires having a wand charged with that spell. Charging a wand requires putting the correct ingredients into the Spellbound Wand Charger (adults) or the MagiCo NeoMagical Newt (children). Charms are objects, and crafting them requires putting the correct ingredients in either the EverAfter Crafter (adults, §199 in Buy mode) or the MagiCo NeoMagical Newt (children). Ingredients can be added at any time, but for charging or crafting to succeed, they must be added in the correct order. Clicking "Read Label" will show which ingredients are in an object, and the order they were added in.

To find the correct ingredients and order, check The Start Here Spell Book. There are two versions of the Spell Book. Version 2.0 is electronic, and will appear when the Mysterious Package is opened, or it can be bought in Buy mode for §149. For players who want a more traditional approach, the "original version", which is a book on a stand, can be bought for §159. It lists all available adult or child spells and charms, depending on the age of the Sim reading it; ones that no household member has made will show as "unknown". Once a household member has successfully crafted a charm or charged a wand with a spell, the Spell Book will show its name and description. Also, the Spell Book object is what allows Sims to "remember" the recipes for known spells and charms.

For spells and charms that are named and described in the Spell Book:
 * 1) If the appropriate object is empty, click on it and select "Charge..." (Spellbound Wand Charger), "Make..." (EverAfter Crafter), or "Make Magic..." (NeoMagical Newt).
 * 2) Find the name of the spell or charm in the pie menu. If the name does not appear, the necessary ingredients aren't in the Sim's inventory.
 * 3) Click on the name. The Sim will automatically add the correct ingredients in the correct order, and charge their wand or craft the charm.

If the Spell Book lists the spell or charm as Unknown, or if you don't want to add ingredients all at once:
 * 1) Click on the appropriate object and select "Add...". The pie menu will show all ingredients in the Sim's inventory which can be placed in that particular object.
 * 2) After step 1 has been done three times, click "Charge Wand" (Spellbound Wand Charger), "Make Charm" (EverAfter Crafter), or "Make Magic" (NeoMagical Newt).
 * If the charging or crafting is successful, and no household member has previously made the spell or charm, adults will get a message saying "You've discovered a new spell." (or "charm"), and kids will see "You've discovered more magic."
 * If either the ingredients or the order are incorrect, a message will appear, and the ingredients will be lost.

There is no problem with letting wandless Sims see any of these items, though a Spell Book will shock a wandless Sim who tries to read it. However, charging a wand or crafting a charm where a wandless Sim can see may draw a visit from the "Spellchecker".

For children, charging a wand with a spell always gives a single use, and all charms have six uses. For adults, the number of uses gained by charging a wand depends on the Sim's Cooking skill, and the number of uses a charm has depends on the Sim's Mechanical skill. Each spell and charm has its own scale. A Sim with no skill or very low skill will only get one use, but a Sim with maximum skill may get as few as four uses or as many as ten, depending on the spell or charm. Thee are three exceptions to this; regardless of the Sim's skill, they will only get one use when charging a wand with "The Big Question" or "A Friend Indeed", or when making the "Rain of Riches" charm. To see which spells a Sim's wand is charged with, and how many uses each one has, check the Sim's inventory. The number of uses will appear below the spell's symbol, and hovering on the symbol will show the spell's name and description. If a wand is already charged with a spell, charging it with that spell again will add uses. It is not possible to add uses to a charm, and there is no way to see exactly how many uses a charm has left.

Except for "A Friend Indeed", which is cast on a family pet, spells must be cast at individual Sims.

To cast a spell:
 * 1) Click on the Sim you want it to be cast at. Casting is a Sim-to-Sim interaction, so...
 * NPCs cannot be cast at, as they cannot be interacted with outside of their defined functions, if they can be interacted with at all.
 * On residential lots, walkbys and visitors cannot be cast at until they have been greeted.
 * On community lots outside of Vacation Island, Sims, whethertownies or visiting neighborhood Sims, cannot be cast at unless they have been greeted or have autonomously interacted with a controllable Sim.
 * 1) Select "Cast..." . The pie menu will show all spells that the Sim's wand is charged with.
 * 2) Select the spell you want the Sim to cast.

While neighborhood Sims with wands may appear as uncontrolled visitors on a lot, and all the Magic Town townies (the Stranges) have wands, this is only significant because most spells will backfire if cast on a Sim who has a wand. Sims with wands will never use them autonomously.

Charms are objects, and can be used by any magic-using household member of the appropriate age.

To use a charm:
 * 1) Click on the charm.
 * 2) Select "Cast..."
 * 3) Select the name of the charm. If using a Magic Mood charm, select whether to affect all Sims on the lot, or just the user.

While a charm will only have one "Cast..." option, this lets the player see what a charm is without using it, and gives them the chance to back out if they click on a charm by mistake.

Crystal Clear Ability Rocks
Most abilities gained from Crystal Clear Ability Rocks are Sim-to-Sim interactions that appear as "Entertain..." options. However, the Extinguish and Teleport abilities count as casting. Outside of Magic Town, and Sims who use them where wandless Sims can see may be fined by the Spellchecker.

If a Sim has the Teleport ability, the option to "Teleport Here" will appear when selecting the Sim's destination; using the ability is simply a matter of selecting that option. Sims can use this ability to get to places they cannot reach in other ways.

If a Sim has the Extinguish ability, the option to use it will appear when clicking on a fire.