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The green diamond floating above a Sim’s head is called the plumbob. It marks the Sim you are currently controlling and is tied to that Sim’s mood. A separate green tube can also appear near a Sim, and it is easy to confuse with the plumbob, so it is worth knowing the difference.
What the plumbob does
The plumbob is a floating crystal that sits over a Sim. In a GameFAQs discussion filed under The Sims 3, a participant explains that it identifies the Sim the player is controlling and indicates that Sim’s mood. That is the core function readers are asking about. The name also appears in the older SimsNetwork forum material as “plum bob,” so you may see both spellings.
Plumbob or progress tube?
Players often mix up two green objects, and the shape is the quickest way to tell them apart.
- Plumbob (floating crystal): a diamond-shaped gem above the head of the selected Sim. It identifies the Sim and reflects mood.
- Green tube: a thin, tube-shaped indicator that shows how long an activity will take. The same Sims 3 discussion gives reading a book and repairing a sink as examples.
In short, the crystal tells you who and how they feel, while the tube tells you how far along a task is.
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Mood colours: check your game version
One participant in the same Sims 3 discussion describes the plumbob’s colours as green for good, yellow for alright, and red for bad. That mapping comes from user reporting, not from an official EA or Maxis statement, and the exact colours and thresholds can differ between games and versions of the series. Treat the colour scheme as a general guide and confirm it in the version you are playing.
Hiding the plumbob and other overlays
A Sims 3 forum participant reports that the cheat hideHeadlineEffects [on/off] hides meters and effects, including the plumbob and the skill meter. This is secondary forum reporting, not official documentation. Before using it, confirm that the command exists and works in your game version and on your platform, since cheat availability varies between PC, console, and later titles.
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Source limits
The clearest evidence for the name and function comes from a user-generated GameFAQs discussion about The Sims 3. A historical SimsNetwork forum transcript dated September 25, 2003 attributes the sentence “the plum bob is the green thing above the sims head” to a community staff member, but that page could not be independently opened, so treat that quote as unverified. No official EA or Maxis explanation of the plumbob was located for this article.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Quick reference
| Object | Shape | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Plumbob | Floating green diamond or crystal | The selected Sim and their mood |
| Green tube | Thin green tube near an activity | Estimated time remaining for that activity |
If the object is a diamond above a Sim’s head, it is the plumbob. If it is a tube attached to an activity, it is the progress indicator.
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