Apart from just pleading with Grim, how do we beat the grim reaper when it comes to our Sims on the brink of death? From base game to almost every expansion pack and sprinkled in some Game and Stuff packs – there are plenty of death types in The Sims 4 lurking in almost every corner. Are you keeping your Sims safe or letting them live life to the fullest and hoping for the best?

We may know how to bring a ghost back from the dead but what about saving a Sim whose time has suddenly run out.

When our Sims time comes our fabulous floating friend, good old Grim Reaper, glides in to tie up any loose ends in a neat little bow… or rather a shiny urn or tombstone. Reaping souls is his job, it is what he arrives for (despite those of us who mainly try get him to pitch up so we can seduce him…) and what he comes to complete.

But what if this death was unplanned? Maybe you are mid legacy challenge and your heir just can’t leave this Sims world just yet. So how do we actually beat Grim to save our little pixel friends?

Death types

I won’t sit here all day and list all the possible death types in the Sims 4… there are over 20 death types for you to explore or accidentally stumble into all on your own. What I will say is that there are plenty of creative ways to meet the Grim Reaper and in turn, a few ways to also beat the Grim Reaper. The latest death came with the latest expansion pack – The Sims 4 Royalty & Legacy in the form of a grandfather clock which is entertaining to see.

Every death brings with it a specific ghost with unique behaviors… but what if we never want to get to the ghost stage? What if all of this was a misunderstanding and we want… or NEED, this particular Sim to live?

This is where we try our hand at pleading for life with the grim reaper.

Plead with the Grim Reaper

One way to beat the grim reaper is to seduce him first. Perhaps you have been lucky enough to have encountered him in a previous situation that wasn’t quite as close to your heart as this one. So getting that flirty side of your Sim out could come in handy if all goes well. Seduce the Grim Reaper and your Sim may just be saved!

Beware the down side… Grim might laugh at you , shake his finger and decline your seduction and then you have failed to beat the grim reaper and your poor Sim is all Grims. ‘Pleading’ for your Sims life is a normal interaction that pops up in the social dialog when Grim appears. But seducing is one that appears if your Sim is in a flirty mood.

Though you must wait for him to reach the dying Sim for the reaping to begin. Pleading has a 50/50 outcome, sometimes having a higher relationship with the unfortunate Sim who is passing away helps sway Grim in your favor to save the Sim. Having a higher relationship with Grim also helps.

Being in the right mood

Being in the right mood could help your Sim beat the grim reaper with their pleading. And not just any mood, but a confident one. Two of the easier ways to get your Sims into a confident mood is either finding the nearest sink, lets hope the bathroom one is the closest, and get your Sim to brush their teeth. Brushing teeth will usually give your Sim a +1 confident moodlet for about 4 Sim hours.

And the second easy way is to find a mirror and get your Sim to “psych self up” in the mirror which will give your Sim a +1 confident moodlet for 3 hours. Last but certainly not least is to get your Sim to brew themselves some tea with a teapot. Now I am not talking about just any old tea, but specifically an Early Grey Tea which will give your Sim a +2 confident moodlet for 4 hours.

There are a few other ways to get your Sims confident, viewing or being around confident artwork being another, but the three mentioned above (mainly the first two) are some of the easier ways to go about it. So being in a confident mood when pleading for a Sims life to the Grim Reaper is a huge plus in being successful in saving another Sims life.

Gifts to Beat The Grim Reaper

Death Flower

Offering a Death Flower to the Grim Reaper almost guarantees success which is a win if you happen to have some death flowers lying around, which isn’t extremely likely but it is an option. Grim will accept the flower and revive your Sim.

It is said that the death flower has a 100% success rate as he’ll always accept this in exchange for the life of a Sim. To grow a Death Flower, your Sim needs to be a level 5 in the gardening skill to unlock grafting. To make the death flower you need to graft a pomegranate to an orchid which will result in a death flower. Use that or plant it to create a whole bunch of death flowers… just in case.

Gift Grim a Death Frog

In The Sims 4 Life & Death Expansion Pack, when Grim comes to reap a Sim’s soul you can gift him a Death Frog. When gifted, there’s a high chance Grim will accept this in exchange for the life of a Sim. You can find Death Frogs the same way you’d look for regular frogs in the game, by selecting the ’Look for Frogs’ interaction on logs and in ponds. Your Sim will have a greater chance of finding one if they search around midnight. 

However… I had the death frog in my inventory when I tried to plead and gifting the frog did not come up as an option. Let us know down below if you have managed to get this to work?

Having The Right Skills

You only get to plead once. In The Sims 4 Life & Death, Sims can challenge Grim to a game. If they beat him, the dying Sim will be revived and get another chance at life. One of the games has to be on the lot at the moment of death for Sims to be able to challenge Grim. One of these games is chess, a very popular item at community lots which will get your logic up. Having very high logic is a definite must if you plan on challenging Grim to a game of chess.

Darts, which came with The Sims 4 Get Together, is another option along with ‘Don’t Wake The Llama’ and foosball. If you like playing games and your Sim is inclined to win, do consider this option but beware… the games mentioned are always heavily swayed in Grims favor so winning is less than a 50/50 chance… though there is always that slight hope right?

Other games your Sims can play include basketball (a hoops contest or dunking contest) which is an option with The Sims 4 City Living expansion pack, as well as juice pong and ping pong – both of which came with The Sims 4 Discover University.

Have you managed to beat the Grim Reaper in your game? It can be a game of wits, skill or just pure luck when it comes to Grim but at the end of the day, unless you have aging turned off, all your Sims will meet Grim sooner or later. Now at least you will be prepared with a handful of ways in which to save another Sims life!

However, if you are a lone Sim living by themselves on a lot, well… may the odds be ever in your favor! Let us know in the comments what your encounters with Grim have been like and see more of our Original Articles and Game Guides!