I have all the CD's of everything of The Sims 2, but, it doesn't work on any Windows newer than Vista, so don't waste your money on buying the CD's!
Now I got my downloaded free version when I contacted EA about a problem I was having getting back on Origin, I just brought it up to the nice lady I was chatting with online and she asked me if I have at least the base game activation code, and I did, so I gave it to her and she gave me the game, added it to my library! And that was at the beginning of this year!
I thought I had totally missed it, but I guess it depends on if you get lucky and talk to the right person from EA!
But if you want to see if you can play them somehow or see if you can get the free download, here's a link to what I found on Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=The+Sims+2+basegame&_sacat=45100
They aren't really expensive either! Good luck, and Happy Simming!
Okay, for some reason the link keep changing, so it wont let me put a direct link, but just search for The Sims 2 Basegame and you will find a few!