Pirates Ahoy: Bring the bling to the high seas with a Gold-plated Hull

The Pirates Ahoy Gold-plated Hull in action
You'd think in a world where everyone is searching for treasure, gold would be a little more valuable. Pirates Ahoy creator Playfish just released a Gold-plated Hull for your ships to bring some style to your treasure hunts on the cheap.

The item requires you to be Level 7 to purchase it and goes for a measly 1,600 coins. That's not too shabby for a chance to look as good as the relics you'll find in it. Continue reading to find out where you can find this gem and how much it goes for.
The New Hulls available in Pirates Ahoy
Just head over to your island and click on your ship to customize it. Under the "New" tab you'll find the Gold-plated Hull as well as the new Iron Hull and the limited edition Steel-plated Hull. The Iron Hull is only available to Level 18 players willing to dish out 1,000 coins, while the Steel-plated Hull is open to Level 9 players with 600 coins for just four more days.

The Iron-plated Hull and Gold-plated Hull are only availble for the next seven days, so grab them while you still have time.

Dunkin' Donuts pushes its brand with a free Sims Social Lawn Chair

Dunkin' Donuts strikes again in The Sims Social. On top of all the free fan gifts from Playfish and EA rolling out daily on the game's official fan page, the American coffee-and-donuts chain has chipped in for the first Sims Social-branded virtual item in the form of an exclusive Dunkin' Donuts Lawn Chair.

To get the chair, you've got to 'like' the official Dunkin' Donuts Facebook page here and then head over to the section of the page titled "DD & The Sims Social".

Owning the lawn chair adds 250 points to your house value, which is a modest, but no small amount. It also sells for 15 Simoleons, which is chump change, but hey, free furniture! And lastly, the chair comes with a bit of extra animation.

Just click on the chair, and your Sim will get the option to "Sit" or "Drink Dunkin' Donuts Coffee". So kick back, and watch your Sim lie down on the chair to sip from a steamy cup.
Dunkin Donuts Sims Social Lawn Chair
Do you enjoy branded goods in games? Do you think it makes them more realistic? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment

The Sims Social Summer Blowout Week decor shows its pearly whites

With a freebie frenzy of sorts and a new feature in Land Expansions, Playfish has been rather busy with The Sims Social. Just recently, the team released a number of new summer-themed items in its Summer Blowout Week to ring out the brightest season ... again.

At any rate, there are quite a few items to check out both for Simoleons and SimCash. But we're going to focus on the decorations, so moving right along:

LuxLite Wonder

    * Costs: 8 SimCash
    * House Value: 1,200


Sunflower

    * Costs: 9 SimCash
    * House Value: 1,500
    * Bladder: 9
    * Fun: 3


Lemonade For All

    * Level 13 Required
    * House Value: 350


Contempo Chair

    * Costs: 14 SimCash
    * House Value: 2,050


Basix Lounger

    * Costs: 450 Simoleons
    * House Value: 300
    * Sleep: 11
    * Bladder: -1


Twisted Topiary

    * Costs: 15 SimCash
    * House Value: 2,200
    * Bladder: 9
    * Fun: 3


Heart Topiary     SolTrain Gazebo     LuxLite Lamp

Contempo Table

    * Costs: 19 SimCash
    * House Value: 2,800


Stunning Palm

    * Costs: 19 SimCash
    * House Value: 2,800
    * Fun: 3
    * Social: 3


ArchPine Chair

    * Level 12 Required
    * House Value: 650


Star Parasol Rose/Pale

    * Level 13 Required
    * House Value: 650


Heart Topiary

    * Costs: 25 SimCash
    * House Value: 3,700
    * Bladder: 9
    * Fun: 3


Contempo Bench

    * Costs: 25 SimCash
    * House Value: 3,700


Lizard Lounger

    * Costs: 800 Simoleons
    * House Value: 700
    * Sleep: 11
    * Bladder: -1



SolTrain Lounger

    * Costs: 29 SimCash
    * House Value: 4,300
    * Sleep: 11
    * Bladder: -1


ArchPine Table

    * Level 12 Required
    * House Value: 1,100


Contempo Lux

    * Costs: 35 SimCash
    * House Value: 5,150


Sunflower     Font of all Awesome     Pale Star Parasol

ArchPine Bench

    * Level 12 Required
    * House Value: 1,300


Mini Palm

    * Costs: 1,350 Simoleons
    * House Value: 1,450
    * Bladder: 9
    * Fun: 3


Aquatix Thrill

    * Costs: 55 SimCash
    * House Value: 8,150


Atlas Fountain

    * Costs: 1,750 Simoleons
    * House Value: 1,650


Font of All Awesome

    * Costs: 2,250 Simoleons
    * House Value: 1,800


Spheres Topiary

    * Level 23 Required
    * House Value: 3,250
    * Bladder: 9
    * Fun: 3


Dolphin Topiary

    * Costs: 4,500 Simoleons
    * House Value: 3,400
    * Bladder: 9
    * Fun: 3


Elephant Topiary

    * Costs: 6,500 Simoleons
    * House Value: 4,650
    * Bladder: 9
    * Fun: 3


Air and Air Pool

    * Level 12 Required
    * House Value: 9,500
    * Fun: 19
    * Sleep: 11



While a majority of these item unfortunately cost SimCash, a good amount of them go for Simoleons. The best bang for your buck? I'd recommend going for any of the topiaries to give your House Value an instant boost. Also, keep in mind that a number of new wall and floor patterns were added, too, most of which cost Social Points. So, keep visiting your friends if you want to change the overall palette of your Sim's home.

[Image Credit: Playfish]

Have you snapped up any of these summer items? What type of decor are you hoping for next in The Sims Social? Share with us in the comments. Add Comment

The Sims Social celebrates fans with a week of free stuff

Free stuff? Yes, please, I'll take some of that! With almost 61 million players (and climbing), the folks at EA / Playfish have a lot to be thankful for when it comes to the Sims Social on Facebook. As a way to thank their ever-growing player base for their support (even when the game suffered from some nagging loading and gameplay issues), the developers have launched a week long celebration involving free stuff that will be given away, apparently on a daily basis.

To start, we're given a gift of Social Points - a whopping 400 Social Points at that. Since your other methods of earning Social Points normally come in small increments (of 10 or less per action) when visiting friends, this really is a substantial prize. Remember, these Social Points work as a form of third currency in the game, and can be used to purchase exclusive decorations or other home items that aren't available through any other method or currency.

We've also been told that we'll be able to increase our land size in the future, although that wasn't exactly announced in as many words. To be specific, we're asked if we "need more space to build your dream home" and that with that question comes a secret that the developers just couldn't hold in anymore. We're even asked "If you could expand your land, what is the first room you'd build on it?"

Put two and two together here, and you're left with the answer that land size will soon be increasing, although no particular release date was announced (unfortunately). If you're like me, your home has already filled most nooks and crannies of land in our admittedly small square, and is surrounded by outdoor goodies to boot. Being able to increase the size of our house plot is a huge deal, and we'll make sure to let you know when that feature / ability launches as soon as it does.

In the meantime, keep checking back with the game's Facebook fan page for additional links / announcements of free prizes, and click right here to claim your free 400 Social Points.

What sorts of prizes are you hoping to receive in this week-long event of free stuff? What will you purchase with your 400 free Social Points? Sound off in the comments.