A List of All the Witchy Things I Plan to Do Now That ‘The Sims 4’ Has Moon Phases

Erika W. Smith
·4 min read
Photo credit: Getty/Margie Rischiotto
Photo credit: Getty/Margie Rischiotto


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Hold on while I clear my schedule for the next day week month: The Sims 4 now has Moon phases. They were quietly added as part of a free patch update that dropped yesterday—during the Full Moon in Sagittarius, in fact. This update comes in advance of a Werewolves pack that is launching on June 16 (and will cost $19.99). And yes, I do plan to buy the pack just so I can put my Sims in a Twilight-esque human/vampire/werewolf love triangle, but even without the werewolves, Moon phases are going to totally revolutionize how I play. Of course, I immediately created a new spellcaster couple for my game and tried it out.

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First, a few details on how Moon phases work in The Sims 4:

  • There are eight Moon phases in the game: New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Third Quarter, and Waning Crescent.

  • The bottom of your screen shows the current Moon phase, and so does your calendar. By default, each Moon phase lasts for one night, but by changing the settings, you can adjust the length of each lunar phase or even give your Sims a permanent Full Moon.

  • The Moon will look different in the sky from night to night, and the amount of light it gives off will change too.

  • Occult Sims—mermaids, vampires, spellcasters, and, of course, werewolves—all have their powers affected by different phases of the Moon. For example, spellcasters have a better chance of spell success during the Full Moon.

  • Sims can moonbathe—like sunbathing, but no risk of sunburn. My Sims loved it!

  • They can also “moongaze” by using either the observatory or the new telescope…but be warned, this can be deadly due to the risk of falling meteorites (!).

  • Toddlers can ask special questions during each Moon phase, say “goodnight, Moon,” and even have special “Moon dreams.” Cute!

And as for how I, personally, plan to play:

  • My Sims all have Moon-inspired names now. My spellcaster couple: Selene and Artemis. Their pet cat: Mona.

  • Sorry, they can’t have jobs because they have to sleep all day and moonbathe all night. Hopefully they win the Sims lottery because who has time to make Simoleons at a 9-to-5 when there’s a New Moon to celebrate!!!

  • Full! Moon! Wedding! The guests can dress in black and the happy couple can exchange vows at midnight.

  • My Sim toddlers will have one hobby: being obsessed with the Moon.

  • My herbalist Sim can go out and gather chamomile and morel mushrooms during the Full Moon. Does this make a difference to the quality or quantity of the plants? Doesn’t look like it, but it’s important for the vibes.

  • Likewise, I can’t make Full Moon water (yet), but I *can* create potions under every Full Moon.

  • New Moon baths, however, can definitely be a thing. Maybe I’ll even take my Sims to the spa, if they’re lucky!

  • I’m creating a holiday and giving my Sims the day off work and school for each Full Moon. The Moon phases don’t include zodiac signs, but I’ll manually add them in the holiday title and choose different holiday activities based on the sign’s traits. Like, the Full Moon in Virgo can be all about cleaning, the Full Moon in Aries can be a day for fighting, and the Full Moon in Leo can be dedicated to partying.

  • The Sims 4 doesn’t have eclipses (yet), but I can manually create a holiday on a Full Moon or New Moon, call it an eclipse, and fill it with CHAOS.

  • Because there are no zodiac signs (again, yet), Sims don’t have Moon signs, but I WILL know what Moon phase any Sim babies are born under, and that is also important in astrology. Yes, I’m going to create a spreadsheet so I can remember the Moon phase each Sims baby is born under and choose corresponding personality traits when they age up. For example, people born during the New Moon are intuitive, self-reliant, stubborn, and a little bit flaky—so the “independent” and “noncommittal” personality traits would be perfect for them.

  • Astrologically, Moon phases also influence your love life and libido, so my Sims will WooHoo all day during the Full Moon.

Now I’m just waiting for zodiac signs so I can make my Sim a Scorpio, and my game will be complete. Your move, EA.

Moon phases are now included in the Sims 4 base game:

Origin EA App for Windows Steam Xbox Playstation

Preorder The Sims 4: Werewolves:

Origin Steam Xbox

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