EA is partying like it’s 2004–and that’s because the publisher is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its juggernaut franchise The Sims with brand-new re-releases of The Sims and The Sims 2 that include all their DLC and work on modern systems. Since it’s been quite a while since most of us have messed with The Sims 2–EA stopped supporting the title when it released The Sims 3 back in 2009, after all–we could use a bit of a helping hand as we revisit this old classic. Fortunately, we’ve still got plenty of The Sims 2 cheat codes to work with.
Fortunately, The Sims 2 has a lot more cheats than The Sims 1 did. Like a lot of first sequels, The Sims 2 is where the series really established most of its norms–meaning that the way you can cheat in The Sims 2 is pretty similar to how you can cheat in The Sims 4. Because of that, in general, The Sims 2 is a lot easier to go back to now than The Sims 1 is.
But there is one thing that has stayed the same from the start: You press ctrl+shft+C to open the console where you can type in your cheat codes. No need to mess with any game files or anything like that–the console works by default. Once you’ve opened it up, just type in one of the codes below and have fun. Just keep in mind that The Sims 2 doesn’t tell you if you typed it correctly, and it can be case-sensitive about some of the codes, so be sure to enter them exactly as written below.
There are two kinds of cheats in The Sims 2, the first being the kind you type into the console, and the second being interface-based. We’ll start with the codes.
| Cheat code | Effect |
|---|---|
| kaching | adds 1,000 simoleons |
| motherlode | adds 50,000 simoleons |
| familyFunds [last name] [number] | sets the given family’s funds to the stated amount |
| maxMotives | fills all needs for all sims on the current lot |
| motiveDecay [on/off] | toggles need decay for all sims on the current lot |
| aging [on/off] | toggles aging for all sims on current lot |
| disablePuppyKittenAging [on/off] | toggles aging for pets |
| aspirationLevel [0-5] | sets the selected sim’s aspiration meter |
| aspiration points [number] | adds aspiration points to the current sim |
| unlockCareerRewards | unlocks items you’d normally have to level your career to earn |
| setHour [0-23] | set the time of day according to a 24-hour clock |
| slowMotion [1-8] | slows down the game–the higher the number, the slower it goes |
| stretchSkeletion [multiplier] | makes the selected sim taller or shorter–1.5 makes you 1.5x taller. |
| moveObjects on | allows you to pick up or delete any object–this is different from MoveObjects in The Sims 4 |
| setQuarterTilePlacement [on/off] | allows much more granular placement of items in build mode |
| boolProp testingcheatsenabled true | enables cheats that you activate by shift+clicking on things |
As was the case with The Sims 1, the moveObjects cheat here is not the same moveObjects in The Sims 4, which lets you place build objects closer together than the game’s grid normally allows. In The Sims 2, this cheat is instead for literally moving or deleting any object in the world.
Interface cheats in The Sims 2
That last cheat is of particular interest to us here. On top of the cheats listed above, there are a lot of other cheats in The Sims 2 that you can activate by holding shift when you click on a sim or object in the game–doing so opens a new, cheat-focused pie menu that will allow you to change all sorts. In order to access this other group of cheats, you’ll need to enter boolProp testingcheatsenabled true in the console, and that will activate the ability to use these UI cheats. For the most part, you’ll be using cheats that you find by shift+clicking on a sim or a sim’s mailbox.
There are two additional console commands that unlock some extra options. There’s addNeighborToFamilyCheat [on/off], which will add an option to add a sim to a household when you shift+click them; and there’s ageSimsCheat [on/off], which will let you set a sim’s age. Scroll on for a list of stuff you can do with this other type of cheat.
| What to click | Option | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Any sim | Set age | choose the sim’s current life stage |
| Any sim | Set birthday | makes today the day the sim ages up |
| Any sim | Set aspiration | change the sim’s lifetime goal |
| Any sim | Add to family | adds the selected sim to your household |
| Any sim | Change suit | change the sim’s outfit |
| Any sim | Kill | kills the sim |
| Any sim | Make vampire/Cure vampire | turns the sim into a vampire or back into a human |
| Non-household sim | Make sim my contact | adds the selected sim to your relationships list |
| Non-household sim | Make furious with this sim | makes your sim really mad at whoever you clicked |
| Non-household sim | Add to family | adds selected sim to your household |
| Any plumbing object | Set state of cleanliness | makes your toilets, sinks and bathtubs dirty or clean |
| Mailbox | House > Make all happy | fills needs for everyone in your household |
| Mailbox | House > Make all needs static | freezes needs for entire household |
| Mailbox | House > Make all needs dynamic | turns needs back on |
| Mailbox | Neighborhood > Make me know everyone | adds everyone in the world to your relationship list |
| Mailbox | Neighborhood > Make friends for me | makes everyone on your relationship list your best friend |
| Mailbox | Neighborhood > Invite all neighbors | every sim in the neighborhood shows up at the current lot |
| Mailbox | Make NPC | spawns an NPC of the specified type |
| Mailbox | Make Pet | spawns a pet of the specified type |
And with that, you’ve got everything you need to get your Sims 2 dynasty up and running. If you need them, we also have a list of all The Sims 1 cheats.