A semi-thorough guide to Sims 1 social interactions! (WIP! WAY too long!)
Corylea has already written
an excellent guide on making friends which covers all the basics. But I still frequently find myself confused about how to get sims to accept certain interactions, while others I'm pretty sure I have figured out. I'm posting this in the hopes that other people will benefit from my learnings and can also provide information where I am lacking it! Please help me figure out the finer points of sim social interactions!
Why did they refuse?
Sometimes sims will tell you why they did not accept an interaction with an icon inside a thought bubble, but that's only helpful if you know what the icon means.
Drama mask: This means the interaction was rejected due to bad mood. They might accept it if their motives were higher, i.e. you get them food or let them pee or whatever.
Two faces: The interaction was rejected because you tried to do it too many times in a row. Hot Date introduced this anti-spam mechanism so you can't just repeat the same action over and over. I believe you need to use at least 3 different interactions in rotation to avoid this, e.g.: Joke, Admire, Talk, then you can Joke again without it being rejected. (N.B. this also affects YOUR sim. If you have a visitor who keeps repeatedly trying to gossip or kiss your playable sim, your sim will eventually refuse. To avoid a relationship hit, cancel the repeated interaction before the animation starts.)
Crossed out shower: You smell! Your hygiene is too low and the other sim doesn't want to hug you or whatever. Take a bath, Pigpen.
Are there any others?
When they DON'T tell you why they refused
Unfortunately this is most common. Interactions just fail and you don't know why. But they are usually a combination of:
MOOD: Sims in a bad mood will refuse many social interactions. And unfortunately, visitor sims and townies always arrive on a lot with most of their motives tanked. If you plan to do anything more than a few chats and jokes with a sim, feed and entertain them and let them pee before you go to work.
PERSONALITY: Playful and Nice scores contribute to acceptance of many interactions. Outgoing influences how fast they build relationship points generally.
RELATIONSHIP SCORE: Many interactions need both sims to already have a high relationship with each other before they have any chance at succeeding, especially romantic ones.
Here are various interactions that I either have figured out or am looking for more info on.
Platonic interactions (no chance of causing crush/love or jealousy)
Talk About Interests: Be sure to read
Coreylea's guide if you haven't. Basically this is affected by the two sims' interests and their Niceness. One sim will pick a topic at random from their list of high (7+) interests, and if the other sim shares it as a high interest, the conversation goes well (several green plusses). If the other sim has it as a medium or low interest, they will do one of three things, which is affected by their Niceness, how much they dislike the topic, and (possibly?) their mood: stop the conversation and walk away (usually red minus), change the topic (no direct impact), or play along and talk about something they dislike (sometimes no impact, sometimes green plus).
If you are talking "passively" i.e. while doing something like watching tv or eating, YOU can change the subject manually by clicking on your own sim. If you can pick something the other sims loves, you can get a good boost to relationship while also getting your motives up. If you are just standing around talking, you can't do this, because uhhh... unclear? I guess sims get stupider when they stand up.
Reading magazines to change your sim's interests is an option but I find it tedious, so I recommend either using a hacked object to do this or just picking friends who already share your interests.
Talk About Cats/Dogs:
I have never seen this succeed. FINALLY got it to work by having Mama and Elden Hick talk about Dogs, and they had a nice conversation about their dog Duke. Maybe both sims need to be part of the pet's family? Will test more.
Talk/Gossip: Again, I have never seen this succeed, which is a real bummer since sims want to do it ALL THE TIME. I have seen two different failure states: one where the other sim goes "uh-uh" and crosses their arms, refusing to participate in the gossip, and another where the action actually completes and the sims gossip, but you get a red minus anyway! I have no idea why and I have no idea what could make this interaction have a positive result. More info needed!
Entertain/Joke: Playful sims (6+) like jokes. Less playful sims don't like them as much but may accept if in a good mood. Serious sims (3 or less) do NOT want to hear your stupid limerick. Unfortunately, this nice quick interaction goes away at 70 daily relationship.
Entertain/Puppet or Entertain/Juggle: Generally the same as above, but Juggling appears to require a better mood for acceptance. The puppet is hard for me to test because I hate the creepy thing, but probably acts similarly.
Cheer Up/Encourage: This appears when the other sim is in a VERY bad mood. It always seems to succeed, but if it's even an option it means you need to get that sim some food and entertainment if you want any other interactions to work.
Cheer Up/Puppet: This usually results in the puppet being punched. I don't know the mechanical reasons why but on a vibes level I totally get it. Go away, Mortimer.
Hug/Friendly: Nice sims (6+) like hugs. Less nice sims may accept if in a good mood. Mean sims (3 or less) really don't want to be hugged. I am unsure if Outgoing score also contributes anything here.
Tickle: The goofiness of this game is charming in many ways but I can't say I'm a fan of the way grown adults are constantly running around tickling each other and whipping out puppets. Anyway, this silly interaction is only liked by playful sims (6+) in a good mood. Everyone else is likely to think you're a creepy weirdo, and I can't say they're completely wrong. Be aware that Extreme tickling may cause a sim with a full bladder to pee on your floor, and you will have only yourself to blame.
Brag/Various: Sort of mysterious. I see it both fail and succeed all the time and don't quite know why. Clearly mood plays a part, perhaps Niceness as well? Meaner sims seem to accept it more. More info needed here.
Tease/Various: This seems to be available to sims who are at least a little Playful and Mean. It seems like it would be a hostile interaction, but it's quite common that the other sim will accept it good-naturedly and have a chuckle at their own expense. It's likely that this depends on mood and Niceness but I see it yield green plusses surprisingly often.
Greet/Various and Say Goodbye/Various: These don't fail, exactly--the sim will always be greeted or leave--but it can rarely cause red minus relationship, usually when the two sims already hate each other. I have little information on this as I tend to be conservative in my choices. I've never seen Shake Hands cause any issues, but sims seem to consider a Wave to be more casual and may be offended if you use it at very low relationship. More info needed.
Beware as some greetings and goodbyes that you might not expect can cause romance hearts, including Air Kiss/Kiss Cheek (this would probably be news to much of Europe and also your grandma). Hugging is safely platonic.
Romantic interactions (can cause crush/love hearts and/or trigger jealousy)
Crush can be triggered by a romantic interaction at 70 daily relationship. Love can be triggered the same way at 70 lifetime relationship. Both cause the infatuated sim to feel jealousy. I think the only mechanical difference between the two is that love enables marriage proposal. Sometimes crush or love will be one-way if one sim likes the other more or the interaction just works that way.
Compliment/Admire: Believe it or not, this triggers jealousy. Bella Goth will absolutely slap you silly for telling her husband he looks nice today. However, it does NOT cause crush/love hearts (it disappears as an option long before the appropriate friendship levels are even reached). This is almost always accepted; only sims who are very mean or in a very bad mood will refuse a nice compliment. Disappears at friendship level 40. Edited to add: eating a meal at a restaurant table Downtown can make the Admire interaction appear even at high relationship levels, and in this case, it WILL cause romance hearts!
Compliment/Worship: A rare and strange interaction only available when daily relationship is below 40 but lifetime relationship is higher than 20ish. This combination is, for me at least, really rare outside of freshly moved-in families. I tested it a bunch with different personality sims in a great mood and was not able to get the worship-ee to accept the interaction successfully even once, so any further information is welcome! (Also, I don't know whether it causes jealousy, but since Admire does, it's in this section just to be safe.)
Dance: Again surprisingly, dancing can cause jealousy, even the non-Slow variety. This is usually accepted and I have little other info on it. You usually need music playing, but sometimes sims with high relationship will have the option to dance without music, which is kinda cute.
Give Gift: Guess what, it's yet another interaction that inexplicably causes jealousy! Giving your friend a video game will make your spouse think you're a filthy cheater! Nobody at Maxis has any idea what healthy relationship boundaries look like! Anyway, this almost always succeeds, because who doesn't like gifts? Well, Cornelia Goth, for one. That evil harridan crushed my flower beneath her boot and I have no idea why. It's likely that mood and/or relationship level affect acceptance but I don't know for sure. Screw you, Cornelia!
Gifts that DO NOT cause hearts: Yellow rose, lollipop, The Sims, jewelry (I think? Needs testing), gnomes, food/drink from expansion packs
Gifts that CAN cause hearts: red roses, box of chocolates, stuffed animal (definitely Patrick the Pachyderm, and probably Teddy Bear as well, despite my earlier assertions).
I believe this only causes hearts in the gift recipient, not the giver. Wrong again, it CAN cause hearts in the gift giver.
Flirt/Various: Obviously a romantic interaction. I believe that only mood and daily relationship impact acceptance, but perhaps Outgoing plays some part? There may be a different relationship threshold for acceptance of various Flirts, but I'm not sure what they are, as Flirt disappears surprisingly early in a relationship so it's hard to test. Holding a bar drink enables some different flirts, perhaps it also increases acceptance? More info needed.
Hug/Intimate:
Despite the name, it does not cause hearts nor jealousy. Wrong, it DOES cause jealousy (though it still seems that it does NOT cause hearts). I think I was confused because the stand-alone Intimate Hug uses the same animations as the Say Goodbye Hug, and the goodbye hug does not cause jealousy. At this point I think Maxis is just trolling.
Hug/Romantic: Obviously romantic. It's not available as an option for all sim couples, even those with relationship of 100/100. Unclear what is gating it, possibly mood?
Hug/Leap in Arms: My personal favorite. Requires quite a high relationship score to even appear. Probably same rules as other hugs, and I'd guess it requires higher mood for acceptance.
Kiss/Various: Kisses require a VERY high mood to be accepted. They appear in the menu clockwise in order of how high your relationship has to be for them to be accepted, so only sims with incredibly high mood AND relationship will accept a Passionate or Romantic kiss. Kisses appear to cause hearts in both the kisser and the kiss-ee. Since the names are somewhat vague, here's a detailed list:
Suave Kiss: Sims A kisses Sim B repeatedly on the hand and wrist while Sim B giggles. Lowest acceptance threshold, pretty safe.
Peck: A quick peck on the cheek. Cute and fast.
Polite Kiss: Your basic romantic kiss on the mouth. This is where we start getting into higher acceptance threshold territory.
Passionate Kiss: Dramatic music swells! Needs VERY high mood and relationship to be accepted. It's commonly recommended that you try this, and if the other sim accepts, they are in a good enough mood to accept a marriage proposal, and in my experience it works!
Romantic Kiss: The sims make out and do some sound effects that will make other people in the room where you're playing think you're some kind of pervert.
Fiery Kiss: Sim A bends Sim B over in a dramatic swoop and they kiss while Sim B kicks a leg in the air. Only appears at high longterm relationship and requires absurdly high mood. But if you can get it to work, it's quite amusing.
Play in/Various: Hilariously, sims will accept this more easily than they will many types of kisses, although they do still need to be in a fairly good mood. Sims seem to treat it simply as a fun-raising activity rather than a romantic one, meaning they'll agree to it more easily. This can be accepted if the sim is over 50-ish daily relationship, unclear if there is a lifetime relationship requirement. Thus you can Play with a sim you don't have hearts with and without causing any if you are between 50ish and 70ish daily relationship. It will still cause jealousy, though... I mean, obviously. Can rarely cause the "Should we have a baby" prompt in hetero couples in love, but I believe that can only trigger in bed, not the various public places you can besmirch with your filthy passion.
HOSTILE Interactions!
These are social interactions whose main effect is to LOSE relationship points. Why would you want to do this? Well, usually you won't, which is why there's not much information here. These are generally to be avoided unless you're in a sim-torturing mood or need to break up a relationship for some reason.
Nag About/various: This interaction only appears when a sim is in a very bad mood and is interacting with a spouse or friend they have a high relationship with. Grumpy sims sometimes do it autonomously, so you might see Mortimer nagging Bella in the welcome wagon if you're being a poor host. A jagged speech balloon appears with the nag topic and the sims bicker and lose relationship.
Insult/Shake Fist and /Poke: This is always available to sims with 3 or less Nice points. It does what it says on the tin. Even a sim with great mood and 10 Nice points will not like to be Insulted and will even Poke the instigator back (yes, I tested it and yes, I feel bad). Obviously, relationship points are lost.
Attack: This can appear when two sims absolutely hate each other's guts and causes a cartoony brawl to break out. Be aware that THE LOSER MAY LEAVE THE NEIGHBORHOOD FOREVER. This is PERMANENT. It is even MORE permanent than death! Miss Lucille can reach beyond the veil to the spirit world but even she can't make your enemy forget what a colossal butthole you are! What I'm saying is, if you click this option for the lulz, know the consequences and approach the save screen accordingly.
Pets and Children
Honestly, I don't have a lot of information here. Sim children bore me and pets get in the way, so I rarely have either around. Kids seem to accept any interaction from mom or dad if their mood is good. I have never seen a dog or cat refuse to be Petted, even a stray, but mood may impact this. Hugging will get your sim nipped if the pet doesn't have a relationship of around 50ish with them. The guinea pig is technically an object but can also bite a sim, possibly resulting in disease, but I think this biting is completely random since objects don't have mood or personality!
(Tangentially, please note that the "guinea pig" in the game is shown in a cage that is inappropriate for a guinea pig and is running on a hamster wheel that can IRL break a guinea pig's back. Guinea pigs are not hamsters! Please do not take small animal husbandry tips from this 20-year-old video game! Okay thank u)
Anyway, if you have more detailed information on kids or pets, it is sorely needed!
Okay, that is it for now, obviously this does not cover EVERY social interaction in the game but it's a fair start and I am hoping that other people can add information that I am lacking. Also please feel free to correct me if you know for certain that anything I have said is incorrect! Just please... don't do it with a puppet.