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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#1 Old 29th Mar 2024 at 7:58 AM Last edited by EphemeralToast : 29th Mar 2024 at 6:00 PM.
Sims 1 Challenges and gamplay tweaks thread!
By request, here is a thread for various challenges and alternate gameplay methods to spice up your Sims 1 game. Additions are welcome!


The 8 Sim Challenge

Make 8 sims and move them into a lot, then try to manage the full household with no cheats or hacks to make the game easier--that's it! This is mostly a challenge in the first week or two; after that the benefits of having many sims bringing money home will enable you to negate a lot of the difficulty.

Variation: The 8 Kid Challenge!

Make 8 child sims and move them into a lot, then try to keep them alive. Pray to the god of your choice.


The Commune Challenge (by Corylea)

"In this challenge, you start with a single sim. Your goal is to marry (or invite to move in) other sims until you have a full household of eight. Dressing like a hippie is optional. :-)

If you want to make it more difficult, you can add the rule that the only sims you can invite to join your household are Downtownies, Stranges, Anybodies, and the like -- people who are randomly generated by the game to fill out the neighborhoods, not sims that you've created. (There's no score for the challenge; the goal is just to experience it.)"


Sims Bingo! (by DamonD'amore)

Generate 2 random Bingo cards (one good, one bad) by visiting this page and try to get a "good" Bingo before you get a "bad" Bingo! Since the cards are random the challenge level is highly variable. Be sure to print or screenshot the cards you want to use as they will re-randomize when you refresh the page.


Trailer Park Livin'

Inspired by the Hick family. Make a family of any size and build them a long rectangular house similar to the one the Hicks live in as their trailer. After initial construction, they are not allowed to expand this trailer or move the exterior walls (interior remodelling is ok), so putting extra items out on the lawn is encouraged! You are not allowed to hire a maid or have a burglar alarm and must use the lowest-value kitchen appliances. You should restrict your sims to low-paying careers at low levels in order to retain the challenge of living on a tight budget. Other than that, the specifics are up to you.

Here's some inspiration for trailer design and decor: https://nostalgiasimsthings.tumblr....oad742898#notes


Better Living Through House Parties

Use house parties to make money by asking "donations" for admission! You can use a number of different hacked objects to gain or lose household funds, or simply use the rosebud cheat and a scoring system. Examples: +100 simoleons for each guest who arrives, +1000 simoleons if Drew Carey arrives, -100 simoleons every time a clown, mime, or Dropinsky arrives, -100 simoleons for every sim who pees their pants, +100 simoleons for every sim the cake dancer flirts with or kisses, -100 simoleons every time someone is slapped, etc. etc. Set your own party goals and reward your sims for them!


The Nature-Lovers

Manage an off-the-grid commune of tree-hugging vegetarians. Make a household of Playful (>5), Nice (>5) Slobs (<5 Neat) with maximum interest in the 60s (use magazines or cheats). Build them a garden and let them farm their own organic veggies, then make salads by building a kitchen with a pantry but no stove or other cooker. Sell extra veggies for cash. ONE sim is allowed to have an outside job as long as it is peaceful and doesn't pay much. Since you're off the grid, you have to save water, so no auto-flush toilets are allowed and no manual flushing unless someone sits down. And no electricity-wasting TV allowed! Use a bubble blower instead! Be kind to animals by letting them eat whatever they want from the garden without a scarecrow or other deterrence. Other sims are always welcome to join the collective as long as they meet the personality and interest requirements. Can be combined with the Commune Challenge for extra commune-y goodness!

There is no specific end goal here except to enjoy the vibes, man.
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Top Secret Researcher
#2 Old 29th Mar 2024 at 4:15 PM
Such interesting and creative ideas you have!

I also play the Family Neighborhood challenge, which goes like this.
1. Evict and delete every Maxis sim in a new neighborhood until the neighborhood is empty.
2. Create a single sim and move them in.
3. Have your sim marry a Townie or Strange or Anybody.
4. Have a baby with your spouse, and raise that baby to childhood.
5. Once the child has an A+ grade average, use either the Age of Instant charm or the Modded Birthday Cake to age up your child into an adult.
6. Use the Simloogical Fern to move that adult out into their own house.
7. Repeat steps 3 - 6 with the now-adult child.
8. Keep going until the neighborhood is populated entirely with your descendants.

If you want to make it harder, you can make a rule that you can only marry sims who have the same hair color as you, so that your neighborhood will LOOK as if they're all related when you're done. :P

I've made some mods for The Sims 1 -- yes, The Sims ONE :-) -- which you can find at http://corylea.com/Sims1ModsByCorylea.html
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#3 Old 29th Mar 2024 at 5:56 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Corylea
8. Keep going until the neighborhood is populated entirely with your descendants.


Take THAT, Cornelia and Gunther!
Top Secret Researcher
#4 Old 29th Mar 2024 at 9:40 PM
Quote: Originally posted by EphemeralToast
Take THAT, Cornelia and Gunther!

Hee! :D

I've made some mods for The Sims 1 -- yes, The Sims ONE :-) -- which you can find at http://corylea.com/Sims1ModsByCorylea.html
Lab Assistant
#5 Old 13th Apr 2024 at 11:14 PM
Hey, now this is really interesting!! I will think about some challenges. TS1 really lends itself to, well, wathever your imagination conveys!!! I really like the challenges here mentioned and will try some, specially the House Parties (that will motivate me to plan a good party for once tee hee), and the Nature Lovers.

I remember I set up one lot as a Wild West theme park, where sims would pay for entering. But once I built it, all I had was... an Old West theme park. It got old... no pun intended... pretty quickly.
Lab Assistant
#6 Old 31st Aug 2024 at 7:50 PM
OK, so I got one that I've found pretty fun to play on my game:

The Fixer-Upper Challenge
Build a house (which you can do without any family moved in with Unleashed) that's made to look old, drab and ruined. How you will accomplish that is up to you, but keep the price of the house under the initial 20'000.

Move a family who'll put their objects in the house, without changing anything. And now... play The Sims. Instead of reaching the top of a career, the main objective is to restore the house to its old glory, wether it be the old style it's intended to be or a complete renovation. To keep things more intereseting, each week the owners have to make a significant change in the house or its exterior.

I made a Victorian house for this challenge and had a lot of fun balancing the family wellbeing with the renovation!!
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