The Sims 3: Guide to Cheats

The Sims™ 3★ 5 · 179 ratings5.7k views385 favorites5 min readby 𝖝𝖔𝖓𝖎Updated Oct 14, 2024View on Steam ↗

The Cheats Console

To begin being able to input cheats, you'll need the cheats console.

Operating System
Controls
Windows
Hold Shift and Ctrl, press C.
Mac
Hold Command and Shift, then press C.

Secondly, most cheats will need the main activator that basically allows all cheats to be enabled.
Cheat
What It Does
testingcheatsenabled true/false
When set to true, it enables all testing cheats; such as ones related to shift-clicking on areas or the mailbox.

Money-Related Cheats

All cheats that are money related.

Cheat
What It Does
kaching
Adds 1,000 Simoleons to current household.
motherlode
Adds 50,000 Simoleons to current household.
familyFunds LastName HowMuch
Set household Simoleons to a specific amount, such as "familyFunds Malado 23500". Ensure that the 'F' is capitalized in Funds, or the cheat will not work.
freerealestate
Enter before placing a copy of a family in the world to buy any property for free. If you enter this afterwards just press to back button then go to move in household to reselect the family with the cheat activated!

Live-Mode Cheats

All cheats related to live-mode, some are console cheats and others are mouse-related cheats.

Cheat
Controls
What It Does
Remove Moodlers
Crt and Left-Click on the Moodlet
Removes the selected moodlet from the sim's moodlet panel.
Improve Needs
Crtl, Left-Click and Drag
Use your mouse to fill up any needs on the selected sim.
resetSim FirstName LastName
Cheats Console
Cancels a Sim's current action and resets their position if stuck, but does not change their needs or mood; for example, "resetSim Page Monty"

Some of these cheats may require testingcheatsenabled to be activated; just a note that if you're using cheats to always activate it.
Cheat
What It Does
testingcheatsenabled true/false
When set to true, it enables all testing cheats; such as ones related to shift-clicking on areas or the mailbox.

Build-Mode Cheats

All build-mode related cheats.

Cheat
Controls
What It Does
moveobjects on/off
Cheats Console
This cheat allows you to place objects more freely, even if they're clipping into another object.
Place Items More Freely
Hold Alt
This allows you to move objects more freely off of the grid.
disableSnappingToSlotsOnAlt true/false
Cheats Console
This cheat stops objects from snapping into slots on surfaces like tables or counters while you are holding Alt.
buydebug true/false
Cheats Console
This cheat allows you to buy and place "debug objects" that are normally inaccessible such as career-related items and small clutter items.

Some of these cheats may require testingcheatsenabled to be activated; just a note that if you're using cheats to always activate it.
Cheat
What It Does
testingcheatsenabled true/false
When set to true, it enables all testing cheats; such as ones related to shift-clicking on areas or the mailbox.

Shift-Click Related Cheats & Miscellaneous

These cheats are you shift-click related ones as well as miscellaneous.

Firstly, all shift-click cheats need to have testingcheatsenabled activated.
Cheat
What It Does
testingcheatsenabled true/false
When set to true, it enables all testing cheats; such as ones related to shift-clicking on areas or the mailbox.

Shift-Click Cheats

Cheat
Target
What It Does
Modify Traits for Selected Sim
Sim
Opens a window to edit the selected Sim's traits.
Edit the Selected Sim in Create-A-Sim
Sim
Opens Create-A-Sim and allows you to edit everything about your Sim.
Trigger Age Transition
Sim
Ages the selected Sim to the next life stage.
Add to Active Family
Sim
Adds the selected Sim to the currently active household.
Teleport Me Here
Ground
Teleports the active Sim to the selected location in the world.
Build/Buy On This Lot
Ground
Opens Build/Buy mode on the selected lot even if unowned by the active household.
Make Me Know Everyone
Mailbox
Adds all Sims in the world as acquaintances for the current Sim.
Make Friends For Me
Mailbox
Adds five random Sims as friends for the current Sim.
Make All Happy
Mailbox
Fills all the Sims' needs in the active household.
Make Needs Static
Mailbox
Pauses need decay on all Sims in the active household. To Re-enable need decay Shift-Click the mailbox and select "Make Needs Dynamic"
Set Career
Mailbox
Opens up a new pie-menu which allows you to change the current Sim's career and you can select their current promotional role.
Force NPC
Mailbox
Spawn an NPC Sim of your choice like the Grim Reaper, Firefighter and others.
Force Visitor
Mailbox
Spawns a visiting Sim on the active household's lot.
Delete It
Object
Deletes the selected object. This does not refund the Simoleans back to your household.
Force Opportunity
Workplace
Triggers a workplace opportunity for the active Sim's career, bringing up the normal notice allows you to accept or reject as normal.
Force Event
Workplace
Triggers a popup event related to the active Sim's career.
Force All Events
Workplace
Triggers one of every possible popup event for the active Sim's career

Miscellaneous Cheats

Cheat
Controls
What It Does
hideHeadlineEffects true/false
Cheats Console
When set to true this cheat hides plumbobs and skill bars over Sims' heads, it does not remove thought bubbles though; this is useful for taking screenshots. Set back with false to disable this. If you don't capitalise the 'H' in Headline and the 'E' in Effects this cheat will not work.
fullscreen true/false
Cheats Console
This cheat forces your game into windowed or fullscreen mode depending on if you use true or false.
fps on/off
Cheats Console
This cheat adds an FPS counter to the top right of your window. To disable this, simply reenter the cheat with "off" instead of "on".
maptags on/off
Cheats Console
This cheat disables or enables the symbols showing what each lot is in neighbourhood view. This does not work in Edit Town mode.
discotags
Cheats Console
This cheat changed the lot symbols to flash different colours when in neighbourhood view, this is just a for-fun "cheat".
jokeplease
Cheats Console
This cheat makes the cheats console tell you a joke! Once again just another just for-fun "cheat".

Notes

If you think anything is missing; please let me know even though I think I covered everything.

I hope this helps everyone on their simming adventures from cheating your way to being a millionaire or just trying to get some nice screenshots!

If you like this guide let me know via commenting and/or rating, I might make some more Sims 3 related guides for performance, increasing the longevity of save files, etc!

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