@Toxi - That's what my daughter & I agreed on, as well! It felt a little bit like cheating to send them somewhere! My TH spouse has had a book in his backpack that I was crossing my fingers he would read!

I don't like playing the insane. It doesn't seem to make regular tasks more difficult to complete. Lol... absent-minded would be awful! ("Where was I going again?")

I have a number of updates. This challenge has been loads of fun!

Chapter 9 - Caught sandy-handed

Chapter 10 - Of all the gin joints... (Yay - we meet our potential spouse!)

Chapter 11 - The unfortunate tattoo

Chapter 12 - She's just not that into you

Chapter 13 - Impulsive proposal!

@toxi Well, glowstarsinajar (as seen above) uses the Evil trait and MommyIce's founder does not have the Insane trait...am I missing something? Is the founder exempt from the trait? I am still a few months away from actively trying this, but I am already planning out my founder, lol.

You're welcome! Where did you get that custom world?

Hmm, well, I haven't really thought about it. I suppose the insane trait was written as a must since the other traits can be anything, so without the insane trait you could choose all the best and most useful traits like good, neat etc and the whole challenge would become pointless. But I guess you could work with a similar "bad" trait as well, like absent-minded, unstable or inappropriate. Hot-headed, too. It would offer more variety over the generations.

Glendalough is from Garden of Shadows, here
It's old, so you have to place most of the community lots yourself, and you have to populate it as well. But in return it loads quickly and looks great.

It's so nice to be able to discuss how other people are doing the challenge!

For instance, I was also wondering if you're allowed to change the "tone" your non-playables have at school/work - are they making friends or working hard?

Okay, thanks! I will have to wait on Glendalough, though. Pirated content has caused problems with my game before, so I have to wait until after the bills are paid (I'm 25 and living with my sister). Plus my 8-year-old Dachshund, Jackson, has been due for his shots since July. (He will be making an appearance in my eventual ISBI...I decided that last night.)

I have no idea, I don't think there's a rule for it (however, in the TS4 rules it's allowed). I allow it in my game. It doesn't make that big a difference anyway, since I'm mid generation 4 and none of my TH spouses have reached the top of their career yet.

edit: I have an update!



4.11 - A Tale of Two Sisters

@toxi Funny as always! I would join WordPress, but I am waiting until I actually have something to post first. Starting a blog about a challenge that's half-done would not do much.

@Toxi - loved the update! Etta grew up so pretty! I'm going to add to my variations that I change the tone of work/school.

Chapter 21 - Rejection after rejection - Carmen's attempt at family-planning is to push Simone away. (he must really not want a third child! he kept rejecting her advances!)

Chapter 22 - Oopsie... - Despite assurances that woohoo does not always lead to a baby, Simone finds herself pregnant

Chapter 23 - - Pushing me away... - Simone's pregnancy is progressing fine, but Carmen is still holding her at arm's length... (Seriously, he's not mad at her, he's not in a bad mood! I don't know what his problem is!)

Chapter 24 - Back in the saddle! - Simone is ready to finish solving the Case of the Freshwater Pumps. Now to track down her first suspect...

Chapter 25 - Half day... - Short update! Mostly cute pictures of Bitter Melon as she tries to annoy her sister and brother!

Chapter 26 - Needing a pick me up... - Acai attends an afterschool Paint Class & needs a ride home since the buses are long gone. Mom wouldn't forget her, though!

I have a number of updates! I'm trying to catch up to where I am in the game so I can do an heir poll.

Chapter 27 - A very, merry unbirthday to you... and you... - Bitter Melon & Citron's birthday party fizzles after Simone goes to sleep before the candles are blown out.

Chapter 28 - Check yes or no! - Simone is called over to Xavier's house to find out if he should propose to his girlfriend...

Chapter 29 - No crawling in the library... - Simone hopes Citron will learn to walk faster in the library. Nope.

Chapter 30 - A long night... - Perhaps Simone should have had Citron take a nap during the day because he stayed up late in the night, waking everyone up... again...

Chapter 31 - Field trip from hell! - Bitter Melon had a field trip to the Science Facility. Will she make it home before she collapses?

Chapter 32 - Tagging along with Mommy - Simone brings Citron with her to solve her case again, but this time leaves him alone outside the City Hall, much to the horror of a bystander.

Chapter 33 - Democrazy! - Simone solves the case for local politician Tamara Donner. Politicians are crazy!

Chapter 34 - Worst day of her life... - It's Prom night & Acai's in big trouble... Will she get to go? Will she be voted Prom Queen?

Chapter 35 - Bedtime stories with Bitter... - Bitter Melon's not sure what comes over her, but the kid-friendly Jimmy Sprocket story takes an evil twist...

If you've been reading - feel free to let me know which Persimmon teen should be Generation 2 heir! They all have different paths to walk - which do you think will be more interesting to read about?

Generation 2 Heir Vote

I just started this challenge, and I really like it so far! I always love big families and such, but I've been getting pretty overwhelmed with trying to control everyone, so this is my solution!

So far I play with opportunities and other such things where you somewhat indirectly control them (but really you're only sending them to one place). I don't feel like that's cheating, since you're not taking care of their mood or other stuff. Plus, I think it's funny when they get stuck out on the town for a while. I like to see how long it takes for them to either come home or pass out.

As far as traits, I'd think any negatives ones would be fine. I play with insane, but I don't see why others would be a problem. But to be fair, I play challenges the way I find them most fun, not strictly by the rules. What's the point of it if I'm not enjoying myself?!

Oooo... good point Mindina! It love seeing what they do when they wind up on their own on the town! But my torch-holder is usually too busy to take everyone well... anywhere! Lol.

I don't have a lot of time to play sims 3 at the moment, so I decided to try this. That way I can have the game going without actually worrying about it. Not that I keep score either. Post is a bit pictureheavy.

@urunwa - oh my plumbbob! Lol. I've never played with the bots before - but that cracked me up! I especially loved the swimming (wouldn't they short circuit) and the tanning.

Can't wait to see generation 3.

Yeah, I've never played with plumbots before, and wasn't expecting them to be so simlike. Depending on the personality- chip thingies. One might think it can be a bit cheaty, but they don't do anything useful even if they have the personalitytraits for it. And I was waiting for them to shortcut when bathing to, but they don't. Maybe simbots do that?

Yeah, I've noticed that "helpful" traits aren't that helpful when you can't control them. My first gen TH married a neat guy, yet somehow the house is always dirty. Even when the shower is too gross for him to use it, he still won't clean it and will just get stinky!

@urunwa LOL Arwen's face when SlaveBot2 is photobombing! Priceless. Also massaging a plumbot was really funny.

I'm glad to see more people trying this challenge out, it's nice to see some activity in here again.

4.12 - You, the Night and the Music

Dart puts on his dancing shoes and Eudora ages up to teen.

Okay, so far I haven't had too many crazy things happen in my family yet. Until now.

I'm on my second gen, my founder is still in the house as an elder. When I did have control of her, someone died on my loot and the grim reaper hung around, so I had her chat it up with him a bit. They ended up finding each other attractive, and I would've tried to get them together or something, but she was already married at the time.

Now I haven't had another chance to talk to him since, and I randomly get a notification. "The Grim Reaper would like to know if Roxanne would like to go on a date."

And now my elderly woman is on a date with the Grim Reaper at the firestation, of all places. No worries, her husband is already dead, so it's okay!

@Mindina Oh man, I hope she doesn't die on the date. that would be AWFUL! Lol

@MommyIce Unfortunately ol' Grimmy only stuck around for a couple minutes before poofing again! You know how it is with him.... Never sticks around very long. I hope he didn't break her heart too badly!

4.13 - The Magic Number

The Cuckoo blog's 1 year birthday is less than a month away! And I'm not even at generation 5 yet.

Chapter 44 - Making Up for Lost Time - Acai expresses an interest in Bryant. Will it be returned?!
Chapter 45 - New Beginnings - The time has come for Acai to leave the nest. But where will she go?
Chapter 46 - Crying Wolf - Bitter Melon's pranks are finally triggered. But will she get blamed even when it's not her fault?
Chapter 47 - A Game of Telephone - Simone tries to solve a case involving rumors that Nick Alto started about his son, Kerry. Will she able to squash it before it has a chance to warp and grow?
Chapter 48 - Acai's Big Surprise - Acai invites the family over for a surprise party! (As in, "I got married! Surprise!)
Chapter 49 - Passing the Torch - Bitter Melon eagerly looks forward to becoming an adult & finding out what her destiny holds!!

4.14 - The Ett Girl

Hi everyone, I hope your ISBIs are progressing ..nicely. Or something.

For my anniversary of the Cuckoos (yaaaay!), I made a new (unofficial) rule set which takes pets, loopholes in the old rules, and most expansions after Ambitions into account. It's more detailed and it allows for a few new traits besides Insane. The new score system subtracts a lot more points for big fails but also adds a lot more points for big wins.

You can read it here, and there will be a link to it on the front page as well

Tell me what you think!