Technologies

Sims 4 Cyber Week Deals: The Best DLC Packs to Buy Before Dec. 7

You can still save up to 50% on Sims 4 DLC packs.

The Sims 4, which is free to download across all platforms, still has deals to snag on downloadable content through Electronic Arts’ website for Cyber Week. It’s a great time to grab the expansion packs you’ve been curious about for Origin on Mac or the EA App for Windows.

You can save up to 50% on expansion packs, game packs, stuff packs, bundle deals — even expansions for The Sims 3. The deals through EA’s website will run through Dec. 7.

Not sure where to start downloading? I recommend checking out these packs:

Cottage Living

$20 from EA (save 50%)

Cottage Living is one of my all-time favorite expansion packs. The pack introduces the world of Henford-on-Bagley — a gorgeous location filled with woodland creatures, lush forests and cozy cottages. It’s the perfect pack for a Rags to Riches or Living Off the Land challenge.

High School Years

$30 from EA (save $25%)

The Sims 4 High School Years expansion pack was one of the franchise’s most ambitious undertakings yet. The pack lets your teen Sim go to high school and you can actually sit in on the classes — unlike with Discover University. The choices your teen Sim makes in high school also have a bearing on their college acceptance.

Dream Home Decorator

$14 from EA (save 30%)

If your favorite part of The Sims is building new properties, renovating premade builds or making over a room, Dream Home Decorator is the perfect pack. Your Sim can take on a career as an interior designer and let their creativity run wild.

Snowy Escape

$20 from EA (save 50%)

The Sims 4 Snowy Escape expansion pack whisks players away to the picturesque world of Mount Komorebi. Take your Sims on a wild winter adventure with skiing, rock climbing and snowboarding, or on a relaxing mountain retreat with Komorebi’s bathhouses, meditation centers and peaceful walks. Mount Komorebi is the first Sims 4 world where Sims can either visit on vacation or live permanently as residents.

Get to Work

$20 from EA (save 50%)

Instead of waiting for your Sim to get home from their job, the Get to Work expansion pack lets you be more involved in your Sim’s career. The pack introduces doctor, detective and scientist career options where you can tag along with your Sim during their work day. You can also open your own business, hire employees, interact with customers and more.

Island Living

$20 from EA (save 50%)

Island Living, which was released in 2019, introduced the gorgeous tropical world of Sulani. Your Sims can make their home on the beach, take a sunny day trip, scuba dive in crystal clear waters, play with dolphins and take up a career in conservation to protect the environment. Did I mention there are mermaids?

Seasons

$20 from EA (save 50%)

The Sims 4 Seasons expansion pack incorporates spring, summer, fall and winter, as well as different weather into your game for a more dynamic experience. The pack also unlocks holidays like Winter Fest, Harvest Fest and Love Day. Decorate your home, throw a festive party, rake leaves and play in puddles — just make sure your Sim is dressed appropriately so they don’t freeze or overheat.

Parenthood

$14 from EA (save 30%)

Parenthood is a great pack to own if you’re a fan of legacy gameplay or are trying your hand at the 100 Baby Challenge. Sims can build up their parenting skills by interacting with babies, toddlers and teens, encourage good behavior, discipline bad behavior, help with school projects and more.

Nifty Knitting

$7 from EA (save 30%)

Nifty Knitting, a craft-themed pack voted on by The Sims Community in 2020, lets your Sims take up a new hobby — knitting. Your Sim can practice knitting to increase their skills, unlock new knitting styles, teach other Sims to knit and sell their handmade goodies on the in-game marketplace, Plopsy. As a fan of the Rags to Riches challenge, I like knitting as a way to make money — and the pack decor is adorable.

Tiny Living

$7 from EA (save 30%)

If you’re a fan of building, the Tiny Living stuff pack offers a new challenge — tiny and micro homes. Build economically and make a cozy space for your Sim to embrace a low-key lifestyle. Get creative with furniture choices to make everything fit in your home like a fold-up Murphy Bed. Just make sure the bed doesn’t drop on your Sim.

For more information, check out our sneak peek at The Sims 5 and tips and tricks for Sims gameplay.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, April 7

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 7.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Informative commercial, for short
Answer: PSA

4A clue: Something you trace to draw a Thanksgiving turkey
Answer: HAND

5A clue: ___ Johnson, former Prime Minister of the U.K.
Answer: BORIS

6A clue: Opposite of include
Answer: OMIT

7A clue: Crosses (out)
Answer: XES

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: City with the Notre-Dame Cathedral
Answer: PARIS

2D clue: Bad mood
Answer: SNIT

3D clue: About eight minutes of the average half-hour sitcom
Answer: ADS

4D clue: Remote worker’s office, perhaps
Answer: HOME

5D clue: Word that can follow each group of circled letters (and hints at its shape)
Answer: BOX

Technologies

NASA’s Artemis II Breaks Record With Trip Around The Moon

Technologies

In Honor of the Artemis II Mission, Explore the Moon in Fortnite Now

You might not be able to see the moon the way the Artemis II team is, but there’s an educational Fortnite simulation that will get you onto the celestial body’s surface.

You may not be able to explore the vast majesty of space in the same way that the four-person crew of the Artemis II is, but you can still get an up-close-and-personal view of the moon… in Fortnite, at least.

While you may not be able to slingshot around Earth’s own lunar body, space enthusiasts can see a little bit of what the Artemis II crew is seeing by spending time on the Lunar Horizons Fortnite map right now. The map is a creative collaboration between Fortnite’s creator, Epic Games, and the European Space Agency. Lunar Horizons was released in 2024 after extensive testing and play from ESA trainee astronauts.

If you’re looking to learn more about our own orbiting body, the Lunar Horizons map is an educational simulation of the surface of the moon’s South Pole.

It blends game mechanics with learning, as players get to build up their own sterile lunar habitat bases, interact with ESA astronauts and roll around with robotic rovers as they discover informative plaques that contain information about the moon and international space agencies. There are still dangers to navigate, too — a solar storm may strike when you least expect it.

If you’re interested in exploring the moon, we’ve got all the information you need to join in on the Fortnite fun below. And if you’re looking for a more serious livestream during this momentous human achievement, tune into NASA’s feed here.

How to join the Moon Fortnite island while you follow the Artemis II mission

The Lunar Horizons Fortnite map is a great educational simulation that shares details about ESA’s work and catalogs information about humanity’s lunar research.

These three simple steps will get you up and running (or more accurately, taking slow leaps and bounds) on the surface of the Lunar Horizons Fortnite map:

Download Fortnite

If you haven’t played Fortnite before, but you want to check out this limited-time event, you’ll have to download the game. If you’re on PC, you can download Fortnite for free from the Epic Games Store. Console players can navigate the PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store or Nintendo eShop in order to download Fortnite on their devices.

Navigate the in-game menus until you reach the Search button

Once you’re in the game, scroll down past the different official Fortnite game modes and the Discover tab until you find the Search button.

Input the Lunar Horizons island code

In the search bar, you can input a map’s name or its distinct search code in order to find it in the map directory. You can search for the Lunar Horizons map or input the code 3207-0960-6428 to explore this map in time.

Correction, 3:35 p.m. PT: This story initially was in error about the features available in the Lunar Horizons map. There is no Artemis II-specific mission in Fortnite. Rather, the Lunar Horizons map is an educational simulation of part of the moon’s surface.