The Sims FreePlay

The Sims FreePlay is a Free-To-Play iOS and Android game from Iron Monkey. It was released worldwide on December 15, 2011 for iOS and February 15, 2012 for Android. A Windows Phone 8 version was released on September 14, 2013. It is the first Sims game released on the iPad. It differs from the regular Sims game in that it uses regular time. For example, in a normal The Sims PC game, 1 hour of game time is one minute. However in Freeplay, 1 hour really is one hour.

Release
On November 23, 2011, IGN was first to report  that the game is being released for iOS. The game was early released in Singapore App Store on December 1, 2011, weeks before the official iOS release. The same day, official Facebook page for the game was created. Previews, sneak peeks and polls posted on the page lead to the launch trailer and the game was available worldwide in the App Store on December 15, 2011. Much anticipated game was released for Android players two months later. Soon after the Pre-Teen update, the game team revealed that the game is coming to Kindle Fire.

In December 2012, EA released the highlights from the first year, since the official launch of the game a year ago. An interview with producer was also released that time in honor of its first anniversary.

Changing time and date
Changing time and date settings may skip time-based actions. The "Time cheat" is very popular among players, however there are side effects players may experience:
 * Buildings taking longer to complete
 * Sims and babies taking longer to arrive
 * Sims no longer attempting to go to work
 * No more daily rewards
 * Party Boat gifts and Competition Center competitions taking longer to arrive
 * No longer being able to access timed events and limited edition awards

Having incorrect time and date may also prevent players from having access to online features:
 * Cloud
 * Online store
 * Party boat, leaderboard, and gifts.
 * Collecting other things

Updates

 * Valentine's Day
 * Marriage and Babies
 * Easter
 * Toddler
 * Social
 * Salon
 * Pre-Teen
 * Supernatural
 * Holiday
 * Pool
 * Livin' Large
 * Moving Up
 * Climate Control
 * Neighbors
 * Mystery Island
 * Teenagers

Added Features
This section shows features added in each update.

If a line has a * at it, it means that feature is only available in that update.

Valentine's Day

 * New Valentine's Day items (such as Love Tub and Love Bed)
 * New Scientist career at Science Lab (see Science)

Marriage and Babies

 * Marriage and Babies

Easter

 * New pet (rabbit)
 * New wallpaper*
 * New objects and clothing*

Toddler

 * Toddlers and new objects (such as Tea Set and Dollhouse)

Social

 * New social objects
 * New places (such as Nightclub, and Party Boat)
 * New pet (cat) and new pets stuff
 * Neighbours
 * Leaderboard
 * Take a photo in-game and post it to Twitter and Facebook

Salon

 * The salon (pre-built in town map)
 * Katy-Perry themed style pack (buyable from the online store)
 * New pre-themed homes

Pre-Teen

 * Grow your Toddlers into Pre-teens
 * School and Sports Center
 * Teacher career
 * Game Center support for iOS

Supernatural

 * Haunted House*
 * New Ghost Hunter hobby
 * Halloween-themed objects
 * New places (such as Costume Shop, new stadium and Competition Center)
 * More achievements added to the Game Center

Holiday

 * New hobbies (Fishing and Fashion Designing)
 * New objects and clothes
 * 12 Days Of Christmas quest*
 * iPhone 5 support

Pool

 * Swimming center
 * Reach level 20 to build your own pool
 * Swimsuit and Dolphin bundles available for purchase from the Online Store
 * New outdoor furniture and plants
 * New name for Costume Shop to cater to swimsuits (Now the Fashion and Fancy Dress Shop)
 * New diving hobby
 * Sims maximum increased from 21 to 23 Sims
 * Sim-Eating Plants put up less resistance
 * Fires burn out faster

Livin' Large

 * Beachside lots that are twice as big as standard ones
 * Seven more Sims (31 total)
 * Town Map expanding: Movie Studio and Real Estate Agency
 * New houses: Neo Tokyo theme, Beachside Escape and Dream Home Contest Winner
 * New Designer Countertops for kitchen
 * New careers: Actor and a real estate agent
 * Automatic vomit and pee cleaner
 * Level up faster from level 30 upwards all the way up to level 52

Moving Up

 * Add second and third floor to houses
 * Fire poles, elevators and escalators
 * New woodworking hobby
 * New Home Store items: lounges, dining tables, bathroom sinks, windows and doors
 * Limited time Construction-O Coins (CC)*
 * Adidas male and female pack in the Online Store

Climate Control

 * Weather Machine
 * Snow Park on Town Map
 * New Figure Skating hobby
 * New Home Store items: weather machine, lights, fans, heaters
 * New warm clothes for Sims: beanies, winter coats, ear muffs
 * Ice Hockey Set (Limited edition)
 * SimTracker displayed when you start the game

Neighbors

 * The start-up screen now also shows Firemonkeys logo (used to be only EA logo)
 * Redesigned Party Boat
 * Visit neighbors' town, houses and buildings
 * Complete Social goals to earn Social Points
 * New Scandinavian House (worth 450 SP)
 * All-new furniture and items, new released each week
 * NBR section of the Home Store no longer available
 * Social items no longer require neighbors, can be paid with SP
 * ‘Another Simtown’ on Party Boat for players without neighbors
 * Status bar displays Social Points instead of NBR
 * New globe button at the bottom of the screen redirects you to the Party Boat
 * Cloud saves now also support Game Center (iOS only) if you do not have a Facebook account
 * Your save data will now be uploaded to the Cloud automatically every time you access the Party Boat
 * Transfer your Cloud save data between Android, iOS and Amazon devices
 * Two goals are always displayed on the screen (regular and social)
 * Sim's needs and goals are smaller size
 * Changed Account Manager helps keep all of your accounts logged in

Mystery Island

 * Complete new goals to repair the bridge leading to the mystical new island
 * Build on premium island house lots
 * Simoleons Sprout and Lifestyle Points Lotus
 * Houseboats — Economy and Premium
 * Firemonkeys logo is no longer shown at the start of the game
 * Town button on the bottom now has two options: Sim Town and Mysterious Island
 * New Home Store items
 * When taking a screenshot, the lines above Sims' heads are gone
 * Limited-time Treasure Chest
 * Collect resources to upgrade island monuments (maximum to Level 70)
 * Ancient Monuments


 * The Riches Of Terra - Gives your Sims a chance to gain bonus Simoleons after doing Simoleons generating actions, such as gardening, baking, and working!
 * The Tempest Of Bliss - Decreases a rate at which your Sims' motives drain
 * The Flames Of Wisdom' '- Gives your Sims a change to gain bonus XP after doing XP generating actions, such as using objects, gardening, baking, and working!
 * The Springs Of Fortune - Increases chance of getting XP and Simoleons bonuses from 'The Riches Of Terra' and 'Flames Of Wisdom'
 * Island Volcano - Upgrade all four Monuments to Level 25 to watch the Volcano burst into life, exposing untold riches!

Teens

 * Alien Osiris is back with new goals
 * Age your Preteens into Teens by completing the “Coming of Age” quest at Level 23 and higher
 * “Higher Education” quest at Level 24 and higher unlocks Sim Town High in the Town Map
 * Teens can become a Teen Idol by completing “Road to Fame” quest
 * Build a Sim Town Sign to unlock Teen Idol Mansion
 * Complete “Great Ghost Escape” quest at Level 10 by November 1st to unlock new Halloween costumes and items
 * Use a telephone to adopt Preteens or Teens (costs real money)
 * New Home Store items for Teens
 * Earn Keys and win prizes at Mystery Box Shop with weekly quests
 * School for Preteens is redesigned
 * Relationships between siblings

Events
One Day Without Shoes (April 2012)

On April 10, look out for an in-game message asking you to take off your shoes. Show your support by going barefoot and your Sims will be rewarded with some tiny, virtual TOMS Shoes of their very own for free!

Student Of The Year Competition (October 2012)

The Student of the Year Competition has started. The first student to achieve an A grade before October 16 will win a free Arcade Dance Machine!

Dream Home Contest (November 2012)

Send us a screenshot of your Sims dream home by 21 Nov for a chance to get it featured IN-GAME!

''Winning house featured in Livin' Large update. "Player Designed House" costs 39 Lifestyle Points. Winner ''

12 Days Of Christmas (December 2012)

Fix Santa's sleigh before Christmas and be rewarded with Christmas items along the way.

The Fishing Tournament (January 2013)

Collect all six fishes to win an inspiring reward — Singing Salmon!

Fashion Designer Awards (January 2013)

Collect all six designs for a fabulous gardening outfit, that gets you 25% more Simoleons and XP every time your Sims wear it while gardening.

The Sim Town Diving Challenge (February 2013)

Tired of cleaning your pool? Collect all 6 medals in our Diving Event to win an automatic pool cleaner!

Construct-O-Coins (April - May 2013)

Earn Construct-O-Coins via Woodworking and Town Map Revenue Collection

Limited-time items in the Home Store will no longer be available when the timer expires, so get them before they're gone!

Alien Encounter Challenge (May 2013)

Help Osiris the alien complete limited-time goals to unlock a futuristic teleporter!

Weather Machine (June 2013)

Complete your limited-time goals to unlock a Weather Machine!

Design A Dream Backyard (September 2013)

Is your garden worth showing off? Now is your chance to win a Limited Edition The Sims FreePlay 32GB iPod Touch just by submitting a screenshot of your outdoor area by September 29 in the Design a Dream Backyard competition!

Official Rules / Winner 

The Sims Official Magazine
The game has been featured in The Sims Official Magazine, a free magazine about The Sims in general that players can read online or as an universal app for iOS and Android.
 * Issue 1: What Do You Do in The Sims FreePlay?
 * Issue 2: The Sims FreePlay Stuff, FreePlay Anniversary
 * Issue 3: The Sims FreePlay Stuff, FreePlay: Climate Control
 * Issue 4: Mystery Awaits In The Sims FreePlay

FreePlayers' Choice Program
FreePlayers' Choice Program is a way for players to vote for their favorite items they would like to get discounted. Each offer lasts for a limited time. The voting is enabled on the game's official Facebook page.

1. 50% OFF on Engagement Rings

2. 80% OFF on Dress-Up Chest

3. 50% OFF on Swimwear

Trivia

 * The Sims FreePlay is the third game in The Sims series to require an Internet connection (the first is The Sims Online and the second being The Sims Social).
 * FreePlay's Time feature originated from the DS version of The Sims 2.
 * FreePlay is the first game not to use the name Child in the life stage. Instead, they are called Pre-Teens. This would make Child the first life stage in The Sims series to have its name changed.
 * FreePlay is the first The Sims game to support the iPad's fullscreen.
 * FreePlay is the first game to have more than 8 Sims being able to be controlled at the same time without having to change a household, although pets cannot be controlled.
 * FreePlay is the first game that has a changing icon.
 * In FreePlay, young adults do not age at all. Children age by having a birthday cake, but the oldest a Sim who started as a baby can get is the age of a teenagers.
 * There are no NPCs in Freeplay, meaning the players have control over every Sim in the town. All Sims in the town are added by the players.
 * All workplaces and the school are rabbit holes.
 * Sims only have one personality trait and no wishes, wants, likes, or skills.