The 35 Most Fascinating Easter Eggs in The Sims 3

Considered by many simmers as the best game in the franchise, The Sims 3, developed by Maxis Studios and published by EA Games, arrived on players' screens nine years after The Sims 1 and five years after The Sims 2.

It introduced a groundbreaking feature that continues to impress players today: the open world!

No more entering a car, disappearing, and instantly reappearing at your destination. Now, you can see your Sim traveling to the location, whether walking, driving, or even taking the subway. For its time, it was incredible to have such a large city or neighborhood rendered in real-time, allowing you to observe what other Sims were doing while yours stayed at home.

The game also came with a massive collection of DLCs, adding countless hours of gameplay and an impressive variety of content. Even now, many players still haven’t explored everything the game has to offer. Along with all this content, players encountered numerous easter eggs.

Have you found them all? Do you know of any others? Leave your discoveries in the comments!

1. Hot Air Balloon and Airplane in the Sky: Occasionally, a hot air balloon drifts over your town. If you zoom in on its basket, you’ll see two 2D adult Sims, appearing as a couple.

You can also spot an airplane flying above the neighborhood if you look up at the sky.

2. Maps of the U.S. in Sunset Valley: In Sunset Valley, press "Tab" and explore to the left of the school to find a map of the United States. On the right side of the school, there’s another U.S. map, but it’s inverted.

3. A Real Person in the Police Station: Inside the police station, you can spot a blurred image of a real-life person. This same image appears as wallpaper on the walls inside the building.

4. EA Logo: On the bistro door in Sunset Valley, there’s a blue logo that is actually an old, inverted EA logo. Similar logos appear elsewhere in the game, though usually not flipped.

5. Tragic Clownfish: There’s a fish called the Tragic Clownfish. Its name and appearance are inspired by the Tragic Clown, an NPC who attempts to entertain Sims but always fails miserably.

6. Missing Tragic Clown: On milk cartons in the game, there’s an image of the Tragic Clown, possibly suggesting he is missing.

7. The Tragic Clown’s Ghost: In the Sunset Valley cemetery, you’ll find the ghost of the Tragic Clown. His ghost’s color reveals he drowned, which is ironic given his hydrophobic trait. If revived, he appears in a top hat with his clown makeup. Editing his appearance to remove the makeup reveals his misery, hinting that he hides his sadness behind it.

8. Origins of Servo: At the science building in Sunset Valley, there’s a large golden statue of Servo, the playable robot from The Sims 2. Since The Sims 2 takes place 50 years after The Sims 3, this suggests Servo was created long ago. The Simbot from The Sims 3: Ambitions is not as advanced as Servo, indicating they are distinct.

9. Alien Inscriptions: Near the Crystal Springs fishing spot in Sunset Valley, two large rocks feature alien inscriptions. One rock shows a UFO abducting humans, while the other depicts human life.

10. Don Lothario: In Riverview, a free DLC neighborhood, Don Lothario returns. Known from The Sims 2, his family description says he entered a teleporter while women laughed, likely a nod to the Caliente sisters. He woke up in a new world and now lives in a small cabin. The reason for his arrival remains a mystery.

11. Soundtracks from Champs Les Sims: In The Sims 3: World Adventures, while visiting Champs Les Sims (a French-inspired town), the map view sometimes plays music from The Sims 1: Makin' Magic. This is the same theme heard in Magic Town.

12. Simhage: In Sunset Valley, you can find a monument resembling Stonehenge called Simhage. Two additional formations can be found in Riverview. One more appears in Champs Les Sims, functioning as both a tomb and a tourist attraction.

13. Dinosaurs in Appaloosa Plains: In The Sims 3: Pets, Appaloosa Plains features a giant dinosaur statue. Behind it, you can see scattered real dinosaur bones.

14. Laura Coffin’s Tomb: The Lunar Lakes DLC world includes a cemetery with five occupied tombs, one of which belongs to Laura Coffin (Laura Bachelor in this version). Oddly, she looks different from her previous games. Producer SimGuruSarah stated this is the same Laura Coffin featured in Pleasantview (The Sims 2) and Sunset Valley (The Sims 3), connecting her curious disappearance across the franchise.

15. Abandoned Mines: Near Sunset Valley’s perimeter, there’s an abandoned mine. Its creepiness comes from the glowing yellow eyes visible in its dark depths. Similar caves appear in Twinbrook, Bridgeport, and Riverview. Appaloosa Plains contains two, one by the criminal warehouse and another on the city’s outskirts, but neither has glowing eyes.

16. Reference to The Sims 4: In the Roaring Heights DLC, examine City Hall, and you’ll see renders of Sims from The Sims 4.

17. Ghost Colors in Neighborhoods: Ghost Sims in The Sims 3 neighborhoods have unique, shared color schemes. Reviving a ghost restores their consistent skin tone and clothing color. Neighborhoods include green-toned ghosts in Twinbrook and Lucky Palms, red in Appaloosa Plains, purple in Hidden Springs, and others.

18. Foreshadowing DLC Content: In The Sims 3: Ambitions, you can find a bat under the trampoline, hinting at The Sims 3: Late Night. A baby gnome in The Sims 3: Generations has a small dog paw on its back, teasing The Sims 3: Pets.

19. Baby Gnome Family: In The Sims 3: Generations, two mysterious gnomes can produce a baby gnome. Gnomes now age like Sims, progressing from baby to elder and leaving a gravestone behind when they die.

20. Led Zeppelin: In build mode, there is an arch called "Archeway to Heaven," which is a clear reference to the song "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin, as its description nods to the song's opening lyrics.

21. Nyan Cat: In The Sims 3: Pets, you can find a painting called "Rainbows, Lasers, Cat," which closely resembles the popular internet meme Nyan Cat. Another reference appears in The Sims 3: University Life, where a T-shirt displays a similar figure to Nyan Cat, but with the face of a goat.

22. Sixam: In The Sims 3: Seasons, if your Sim has a UFO or a "Galaxas Base" car upgraded for space travel, they can visit Planet Sixam. The name "Sixam" is "Maxis" spelled backward, paying tribute to the game’s developer.

23. Meteors and Meteorites: In Starlight Shores, the city introduced in The Sims 3: Showtime, there is a billboard featuring a Sim who looks exactly like the Sim on the cover of EA’s Battlefield 3. There is also a space rock called Bellacite, a reference to Bella Goth (known as Laura Coffin in Brazil), and another rock named Sporeside, a nod to EA’s game Spore.

24. Command and Conquer: Players who enjoy collecting gems in The Sims 3 may know of Tiberium. This gem is highly valuable, especially after being cut. When it grows over time, it can reach a value of tens of thousands of simoleons. Tiberium originates from EA’s Command and Conquer series, where it is radioactive. In the game, if left in your inventory for too long, it causes the Sim to develop the "Visceroidal Nausea" state, which appears to reference radiation-induced mutations from Command and Conquer.

25. “I’m Late!”: In The Sims 3: Ambitions, exploring a glowing drill hole created with the Miner’s Drill may result in a message saying your Sim met a very busy rabbit. This is a reference to the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland.

26. “I Should Go”: In Ambitions, using the time machine to travel to the future can generate messages with various outcomes. One message mentions a "shepherd" saving the galaxy from a threat of ancient machines, referencing Commander Shepard from Mass Effect, another EA franchise.

27. Martian Unionist: Another potential message mentions your Sim defending the rights of Martian miners and subsequently being arrested by Earth’s police. This is a reference to Red Faction: Guerrilla.

28. Movies and Books: In buy mode, there is a poster called "The Detention Hall," which references the movie The Breakfast Club. Several book titles also reference pop culture, for instance:

- Game of Thorns is a play on Game of Thrones;

- The Silence of the Llamas refers to the novel and film The Silence of the Lambs;

- The Vampire Blogs is a nod to The Vampire Diaries;

- Plan 8 from Lunar Lakes is inspired by the movie Plan 9 from Outer Space;

- Where is Bella? references Bella Goth’s disappearance in The Sims 2 and the children’s book Where’s Waldo?.

29. Call Your Lawyer: Bridgeport includes a billboard featuring an advertisement with a Sim, referencing Saul Goodman from Breaking Bad and his slogan, "Better Call Saul."

30. Haunted Paintings: In The Sims 3: Supernatural, there is a collection of paintings that appear normal during the day but transform into creepy versions at 6:00 PM. By 6:00 AM, they return to normal.

31. Unknown Relative: In the Goth family's Sunset Valley backyard lies a small gothic cemetery with several tombstones. Most belong to Goth relatives, but one tombstone is marked for Lolita Goth. Reviving her and examining her family tree reveals no connection to the Goth family. Some speculate she was Gunther Goth’s ex-wife, while others believe she was added as a fictional mystery. Her true story remains unexplained.

32. Breaking Bad: In The Sims 3: University Life, some street art murals reference popular media. One mural shows an eye resembling a design from EA’s Spore. Another resembles the face of Walter White, also known as Heisenberg, from Breaking Bad. A third mural depicts an RV, similar to the one used by Heisenberg in the show.

33. Movie Posters: In the university town from University Life, posters outside the cinema parody real-life movies. One mimics Black Swan and another resembles Iron Man. In The Sims 3: Island Paradise, there is a poster titled Joes, directly referencing the movie Jaws.

34. Time Traveler: In The Sims 3: Into the Future, the time traveler’s name, Emit Relevart, is "time traveler" spelled backward. The futuristic car DeLorraine Flying Roadster also references the DeLorean time machine from Back to the Future. In addition, the protagonist’s girlfriend in the movie is named Lorraine.

35. Families of the Future: In Oasis Landing, one family consists of Chelsea and a machine named Gladys, referencing Portal, where the protagonist is Chell and the antagonist is the robot GLaDOS. Another family includes Frydryk Rama, Lilah Turni, and a robot named Bend0, referencing Fry, Leela, and Bender from the animated show Futurama.