How can I start enjoying The Sims?

Jan 18, 2020
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I'm not sure if I'm just not the type of person that this game appeals to, but with recent news regarding it's anniversary I decided to give it another shot.

I just...can't get into it. Or at least, I don't think I'm understanding how to explore it's potential. So far my experience has been;

- Make a Sim.
- Buy a house.
- Get a job.
- Work 9am to 3pm.
- Try and keep up with my needs.
- Something bad happens.
- Rinse, repeat.

I've avoided cheating for money as to me that just takes the fun out of the game, but perhaps that's the best thing for me to do? I've also not got any of the expansion packs, so perhaps the base game is just bland in comparison? I'm playing The Sims 3, by the way, as I heard that's better.
 

PCG Joanna

Hardware Staff Writer
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Dec 9, 2019
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The Sims 3 definitely has its pros and cons over the Sims 4, but the moods in 4 are far more complex and make for some funny actions too. (If your Sims is angry and they need to go to the bathroom, they can 'take an angry poop,' for instance.) It did take me a while to get used to the UI in the Sims 4, and I still miss being able to drive cars around, but now I prefer it over 3.

As far as how to play The Sims, that is really up to you. You're only limited by your imagination. I suggest exploring all the interactions you can have with other sims. Romances are quite fun, starting a family as well. World Adventures is my favorite expansion pack of The Sims 3. I had a Sims family that grew fruits in their backyard and turned it into nectar to sell and that's how they made a living. You don't need to have a 'normal' job in The Sims.

https://sims.fandom.com/wiki/The_Sims_3:_World_Adventures

There's so the Ambitions expansion pack that has a few careers where you can choose to follow your sim to work for the day: https://sims.fandom.com/wiki/The_Sims_3:_Ambitions
 
If you can't get into the more mundane aspects of the game then you need to design your sims with extreme personalities. Make a family where everyone is a kleptomaniac. Or make half of them neat freaks and the other half slobs. Go out of your way to force in some sort of chaos.
 
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It is definitely a "make your own fun" type of game. But I do think the game relies a bit heavily on expansion packs/DLC to spice things up and/or add features. Though you can also find a lot of free mods online -- though right now the focus is mainly on Sims 4 content, I think.

I have all four Sims games, and they each have had their pros and cons. A lot of people loved The Sims 2, I think, but I kinda hated that one. It had some fun interludes/moments, but... I don't know, it's been 15 years since I last played it so I couldn't even say what exactly bothered me about it. But Sims 3 was a step up in quality, though everything takes far too long to load, as I recall. One of the things I like about Sims 4 is that I'm usually not sitting and waiting for things to load. (Well, now I am because I have about 4GB of mods and custom content, on top of the handful of Expansions/Game Packs/Stuff Packs I got on sale.)

I find The Sims to be an easy game to walk away from, but when I pick it back up, I quickly lose hours to it as I try to teach a Sim how to do something, or redecorate a house, or whatever. (If you're interested in the building side of things, I think Sims 4 might be the best for that. I found it a lot more intuitive.)

But ultimately this is a sandbox/ant-farm-esque game where you watch AI and systems interact. And like any genre or type of game, you shouldn't feel obligated to like it or give it a chance. If the game doesn't resonate with you, or you "don't get it," to me that's a sign that it's perhaps not what you're suited to play, at least right now. I briefly tried The Sims 4 when it first came out years ago, didn't care for it, and set it aside until this past winter, at which point there were a ton of mods and cheap(ish) content that made the whole experience a bit more fun.
 
Sep 10, 2020
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I am playing the series since Sims 1 and tried to get back to Sims 3 after Sims 4 two times, and I just can't. Not even the fact that you have horses can make me enjoy it. I prefer the style of Sims 4 a lot more.

But it is true what Krud and others said, you have to create your own fun. I have many different save games, depending on my mood. I don't play with custom content, I only have two mods: McCommander and McWohoo. With McC you can have up to 25 sim in a household, you won't be bored. You will lose your mind if ten of those are toddlers.

Sims is a game I enjoy in "phases". There are days, weeks or months when I don't play. Then I am addicted for days and weeks, until the next phase.
 
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Jul 13, 2020
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If you can't enjoying it maybe it's not for you.
There's plenty of great games I just can't get into. Just try something else since games are meant to be fun and enjoyed.
 
Work a bit harder than the usual, and if you have enough money then invest in some business in sims, become rich to afford fancy life in sims and expand your house design, make it modern. Adopt a lot of pets to keep you busy in the game. if it still bores you then you need a new game to play. You can try Altlife :)
 
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Aug 14, 2022
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You should look into the sims 4.
I personally enjoy the options they have. Plus the possibilities are sooo fun. There’s a recent update for the sims 4 Sims with create sim
 
its a good way to simulate what ifs I guess. Do stupid things in game you would never do in real life. Drown people in pools, set them on fire... the normal things you just can't do without people complaining and ruining the fun

I played Sims 1 and used time cheats as I found having to work was getting in the way of fun... much like real life but the cheat codes don't work in reality. Guess I am not a very social person and that extended into the game. Could be why i don't like group games and prefer to just concentrate on one character.

Latest Sims 4 expansion, school life... but its US School life, really. Its one countries experience, not all schools look or are the same. Where is the expansion that lets you play them from birth? You can already make them whatever you want now from teenage, so why not all. Some of the "bugs" introduced with latest expansion make me think... how is that accidentally introduced?
 
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