‘The Simpsons: Tapped Out’ has become one of the most popular city building freemium games on the app market. Mainly because it’s The Simpsons, I imagine.
It gives players the chance to design their own Springfield as they like and interact with a number of their favourite characters.
What many players are trying to do is recreate their towns faithful to the show, so that buildings and objects are where they should be in relation to canon.
Quite early on in the game Homer points out that there is no canon layout and that the location of buildings frequently changes to suit the gag of the moment. Over the course of the show we have seen the Simpson home back on to the prison, the school, the power plant car park as well as other houses, while in the movie it seems to be on the very edge of town with nothing but woodland behind it.
Some people have made attempts at creating maps and there have been a number of Simpsons games which have a Springfield laid out a certain way. Even some episodes show wide shots of the entire town (like the one above), but none are consistent.
Bearing that in mind, some of us are still giving it a go.
This guide will help you to form your Springfield into one that should hopefully be a representation that you feel is close to the one you see in the show. Even so, if you do follow this guide, it is very likely that your Springfield will still look nothing like mine. That’s the nature of the game.
So, with that, let’s start with some basic rules to remember:
- Springfield is divided into areas including: Suburbs, Downtown, Industrial, Bumtown, Wealthy Suburbs, Malls and Hypermarkets, Squidport, Docks.
- In ‘A Tale of Two Springfields’, it is revealed that most of the wealthier areas are on one side of town, while the poorer areas are on the other.
- Place names such as Springifeld, Evergreen Terrace, Oak Street, Elm Street etc suggest that the town is a very green place. One of the ways your town is ranked is by how many trees and plants you place, so don’t be stingy.
With these basic ideas, you can set out in your mind ahead of time whereabouts you would probably put your groups of buildings.
Simpson Home and Evergreen Terrace
The Simpsons live at 742 Evergreen Terrace. At 744 are the Flanders and at 740 is a brown house occupied by various people over the course of the series.
It’s unlikely that you will be able to fit over 742 houses onto the map provided in game, so already some compromises will have to be made. Despite the street being called a terrace, the houses are detached.
A number of other characters also live on Evergreen Terrace. You will probably want to fit them in somewhere. They include the Hibberts, the Wiggums, Edna Krabappel, Professor Frink, Reverend Lovejoy, and Snake (possibly).
Across the road from the Simpson house would be a large white home where George Bush Sr temporarily lived.
Mine:
The Angel topiary was cut by Flanders in an episode. It was in his front porch bordering on the Simpsons home, but in most episodes it isn’t there. So I’ve put one in the back, so it’s in the right home, but not in entirely the right spot.
Putting it where it’s meant to be would be messy anyhow as it would bump Flanders’ home a bit too far away.
I should say that Bart’s treehouse could do with being a bit closer to the house. There are a lot of episodes where he climbs out a window onto the tree. The gap here is a bit big.
Also, the ugly red wall between the Simpson house and the brown house is there simply as there isn’t a better one half the size.
Tips & Tricks
Butting white houses together makes them look like one larger grander house. As the white houses are one of the nicest and most posh looking, they suit the richer folk, but are quite small on their own.
You can also use iron rails as gates. Having one at an angle can help the illusion, but I haven’t done that here.
Muntz House
Often the source material will make it tricky for you. These two images of Nelson’s home on 19 Fish Smell Drive look like two completely different areas.
One is right in the suburbs, the other looks out on its own near fields and wooded area.
So, at times like these you have to try and figure out whether you can take the best of both and meld them to make something that works or not, or stick with one.
Mine:
I’ve gone for the best of both route. I put the house in the suburbs but tried to recreate the car wreck and wooded area too. Also, keeping in mind the name of the street, I’ve put the house by the river.
Fat Tony’s Compound
When there’s only one image, the job is a bit easier.
But, when it comes to arranging the stuff you can’t see, you have to use your imagination.
Mine:
Taking inspiration from various gangster films and shows, I figured that Fat Tony would have some comfortable outdoor furniture to entertain honoured guests.
As one of his character jobs is to relax in the pool, it seemed logical that he would have one.
It’s all nice and secluded for privacy.
Tips & Tricks
Hedges are great for creating a bit of a 3D effect. Here I have raised the mansion to a slightly higher level by making a hill of sorts with them. Correct positioning of hedges make them look like grassy steps. You have to be careful about what else you put near them though, as you might spoil the 3D illusion.
First Church of Springfield
Often the buildings in the show look as though they are quite remote, barely anything nearby, yet you have to figure out how to get them into a space among a whole heap of other buildings. It wouldn’t make sense for them to be hidden at the end of forest trails. They’re meant to be in the town somewhere.
Use of trees can help disguise their proximity to other things.
Mine:
I’ve placed it opposite Moe’s sort of like it is shown to be in the movie.
Other sections of this Guide
Part 1: Intro, Simpson House, Flander’s House, Evergreen Terrace, Muntz House, Fat Tony’s Compound, First Church of Springfield
Part 2: Kwik-E-Mart, Springfield Elementary, Springfield General Hospital
Part 3: Moe’s Tavern, King Toots, Luigi’s, Nuclear Power Plant, Aztec Theatre
Part 4: Burn’s Manor, Bad Dream House, Springfield Retirement Castle
Part 5: Town Square: Town Hall, Jebediah Springfield Statue, Zesty’s, The Android’s Dungeon, Skip’s Diner, Herman’s Military Antiques, Jake’s Unisex Hair Palace, Bomb Shelter
Part 6: Santa’s Village, Springfield Downs, Buddhist Temple
