Decades Challenge
I've just started making and playing my decades challenge on youtube and the rules are too long for the description box. I figured here would be the perfect place to put them so I can link to them. ...
Forum Discussion
Hey y'all! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Last week one of the simmers here in the forum send me a LOT of private messages with questions about the Decades Challenge, and I thought I should answer them here on the forum in case others had the same questions. But first, a few reminders:
Origin of the Decades Challenge Rules
- Just a reminder that I did NOT create the Decades Challenge. That honor goes to @ZombieCleo who created this amazing challenge way back in 2015 (check out the first post on this thread)! Can you believe it? The challenge is 5 years this month! ZombieCleo is a big deal gamer with almost 100K subs on YouTube, and recently she started a new Decades Challenge series on her channel using her original rules - I would absolutely defer to her as the authority on this challenge.
- I am also not the first person to modify the Decades Challenge! In August 2016 kakeru_naruse posted over at Mod The Sims a rebooted challenge. They stated that they reimagined the rules to be more historically accurate, and it is this set of rebooted rules that served as the base for my rules update. Their modified rules are linked at the top of my Decades Challenge rules if you are interested in reading those!
- The only reason I started updating the rules (and continue to update them with each pack) is that I personally wanted to play with all of the Sims 4 packs, and the previous sets of rules were not updated to include new things like Cats & Dogs, Seasons, etc. I first updated the rules in September 2017, and have continued to update them with each new pack. My series is currently entering the 1960s, and I'm still LOVING playing this challenge (though work often gets in the way). I am grateful to be an EA Game Changer as I can update the rules quickly when a new pack is released, and while my channel still has less than 1,000 subscribers, I am excited that my subscribers are as invested in my little family as I am!
Historical Accuracy
- It's important to note that this is not intended to be a challenge to play The Sims as absolutely historically accurate as possible. It's a set of rules to make your game challenging, and the rules are based on general assumptions about various decades. If you want to adhere to more historically accurate rules, go for it! For that matter, if you want to change ANY of the rules for your game, you should! It is your game, and you should play how you want to. My goal in updating the rules is a) to make my game challenging in an interesting way, and b) make it so you have a jumping-off point for your game. Rule #1 is really interpret the rules however you want to interpret them. It's The Sims - it's never going to be 100% accurate.
- Over the years I've seen a lot of questions around how the rules were created - "how did you pick that year for XYZ," or "well actually, the very first time this happened was about 2 decades before the rules say it's OK," etc. When a new pack comes out, I do a thorough Google/Wikipedia check to see what makes sense, and then make a judgment call. A great example is air conditioning. According to Wikipedia, the first air conditioner began working in 1902, and the first private home to have air conditioning was built in 1914. However, central heating and air was not common in homes until the 1940s, so for the sake of creating a challenging game, the rules state that thermostats are not allowed until the 1940s. If you think that it's more important to go with the 1902 or 1914 date, go for it! It's your game, play it how you want to.
- Please know that I am not a historian - my full-time job is as a nonprofit executive, and part-time I am a professional organizer. I just happen to love The Sims and have been playing since I was in high school and The Sims 1 was released. I have not kept footnotes as to where each rule came from, and I don't intend to start now. If you think a rule sounds wrong, please feel free to research the answer for yourself. And, of course, I'm human! I will make mistakes and get things wrong. That's the beauty of this forum and of the comments on my Decades Challenge videos - let's keep the conversation going, and if you find a mistake let me know and I can update the rules for everyone!
OK, OK, get to the questions already!
I'm reading through the Decades Challenge Google Doc, and I had a few questions.
- Why are Sims allowed to use a computer to order seeds and books, when they can use a garden planter and bookshelf instead?
- In the 1890s, why can't teen males have part-time work? Also, can women be part-time babysitters and manual laborers even if they're married?
- Is the $1,000-per-teenager-going-to-high-school fee per day? Or do they pay it once and they're done?
- Why do girls born in the 1890s-1910s have to take Creative as their first trait?
- In the 1890s, it says that babies can only be breastfed. What happens if the mother dies? Also, does this rule only apply to this era? I can't find mention of it in any of the later decades.
- I'm sure there's a good reason for this, but why can't Sims use medicine until 1940?
- "Vacations are not allowed, but camping is." So, you can camp in Granite Falls...You just can't go there?
- Can pets be cured by some other means besides a veterinarian? I don't think they die of illness, or recover on their own, so having a cat or dog be perpetually sick until they die might get annoying.
- In the book "America's Women", by Gail Collins, she says that teaching had become a respectable career for single women by 1838, if not a little before that, and that by 1870 more than half of public school teachers were women. So why can't they be teachers until 1900?
- When are bed upgrades allowed?
- In the 1910s, boys who earn a D or F in high school "must be sent away to another household." What's the in-game explanation for that; where do we pretend they're actually going? Is the family kicking them out? Also, how long do they have to stay in this other household? Does it have to be with another family, or can they live alone? If it's with another family, do they have to be his relatives?
- What does "serving active duty" mean?
- Why do Sims who become YAs in the 1930s have to be Gloomy, Mean, or Noncommittal?
- Is alcohol allowed again in 1930 or 1933?
- Why can't babies be born in the hospital before 1940?
- Can Sims become veterinarians in 1940?
- Only 17 of ~120,000 women who were in active duty died in the Korean War, and only 8 of ~11,000 in the Vietnam War. I think that female Sims should get at least one re-roll.
- Birth control for unmarried women was legalized in 1972, so perhaps the rules should say something about that.
- In the 1960s we're allowed "fancier" sofas, beds, chairs, tables, and stairs. Fancier than what, exactly? And how fancy is still too fancy?
- On what did you base your rule about interacting with dolphins being OK starting in the 1960s?
- Why does a Sim have to be in the Business career in the 1980s? Also, what does it mean, "from this generation"? A Young Adult? Or can an Adult or Elder in the 1980s go into Business?
- "All restrictions on showers, appliances, furniture, are lifted." There were restrictions on showers after the 1940s? I didn't see any.
- How do you handle all of your Sims dying at the same age, storywise?
Answers to the Questions:
Spoiler
Q: Why are Sims allowed to use a computer to order seeds and books, when they can use a garden planter and bookshelf instead?
A: I never really thought of that - you could absolutely play it that way!
Q: In the 1890s, why can't teen males have part-time work? Also, can women be part-time babysitters and manual laborers even if they're married?
A: Teen males were supposed to be helping the family at home, and women weren't allowed to work out of the home. But you can change this if you want to.
Q: Is the $1,000-per-teenager-going-to-high-school fee per day? Or do they pay it once and they're done?
A: This rule was from the modified rules - I have always interpreted it as an enrollment payment, so one-time.
Q: Why do girls born in the 1890s-1910s have to take Creative as their first trait?
A: This rule was from the original rules - I think it was because home craft would have been the only hobbies they would have likely had access to.
Q: In the 1890s, it says that babies can only be breastfed. What happens if the mother dies? Also, does this rule only apply to this era? I can't find mention of it in any of the later decades.
A: If the mother died, then they would have looked for a wet nurse. This isn't really something that we can do in The Sims, so bottle feeding would be fine in that case (unless you want to let the baby starve as a part of your story - just make a judgment call!). As with all rules, a rule set in an earlier decade stands until it is changed by a rule in a future decade. However, you've made a good point - it looks like the rule allowing bottles may have accidentally been deleted during an update! Formula became commercially available in the 1950s, so that is when bottles would be allowed. I have updated the rules, thanks!
Q: I'm sure there's a good reason for this, but why can't Sims use medicine until 1940?
A: Mass production of penicillin and significant advances with vaccines.
Q: "Vacations are not allowed, but camping is." So, you can camp in Granite Falls...You just can't go there?
A: You can camp in a park, or your backyard . . .
Q: Can pets be cured by some other means besides a veterinarian? I don't think they die of illness, or recover on their own, so having a cat or dog be perpetually sick until they die might get annoying.
A: They won't be perpetually sick, they will eventually recover on their own.
Q: In the book "America's Women", by Gail Collins, she says that teaching had become a respectable career for single women by 1838, if not a little before that, and that by 1870 more than half of public school teachers were women. So why can't they be teachers until 1900?
A: If you want to do that, go for it! Since these rules are to make a game challenging, not historically accurate, it makes sense to add a challenging rule that women can't have a job at all at first - in the original rules, no one could have a job in this decade.
Q: When are bed upgrades allowed?
A: Since they are controlled via computerish electronics, I'd say the 1980s. I'll update the rules now!
Q: In the 1910s, boys who earn a D or F in high school "must be sent away to another household." What's the in-game explanation for that; where do we pretend they're actually going? Is the family kicking them out? Also, how long do they have to stay in this other household? Does it have to be with another family, or can they live alone? If it's with another family, do they have to be his relatives?
A: This is a rule from the modified rules. I always interpreted it as going to reform school until their grades improved. You can interpret it however you'd like!
Q: What does "serving active duty" mean?
A: According to va.gov "A person who is active duty is in the military full time."
Q: Why do Sims who become YAs in the 1930s have to be Gloomy, Mean, or Noncommittal?
A: The Great Depression
Q: Is alcohol allowed again in 1930 or 1933?
A: For the sake of simple rules, 1930. But if you want to be historically accurate, do what you want!
Q: Why can't babies be born in the hospital before 1940?
A: Prior to that, the majority of births occurred at home, usually with midwives. It wasn't until the 1940s that obstetricians started delivering babies regularly.
Q: Can Sims become veterinarians in 1940?
A: Yes - I can see how that might not be clear in the rules, will update now.
Q: Only 17 of ~120,000 women who were in active duty died in the Korean War, and only 8 of ~11,000 in the Vietnam War. I think that female Sims should get at least one re-roll.
A: Then that's how you should play!
Q: Birth control for unmarried women was legalized in 1972, so perhaps the rules should say something about that.
A: For the sake of simplicity in the challenge rules, I think what is currently in the rules is probably sufficient, but you can absolutely play your game more accurately!
Q: In the 1960s we're allowed "fancier" sofas, beds, chairs, tables, and stairs. Fancier than what, exactly? And how fancy is still too fancy?
A: This is a rule from the modified rules - I have always interpreted it as families had more expendable income, so they could buy nicer things. Adapt to the story you're telling.
Q: On what did you base your rule about interacting with dolphins being OK starting in the 1960s?
A: That's when dolphins became popular and were kept captive. Wikipedia "Dolphins" and read the species about "in captivity"
Q: Why does a Sim have to be in the Business career in the 1980s? Also, what does it mean, "from this generation"? A Young Adult? Or can an Adult or Elder in the 1980s go into Business?
A: It's the decade when things were booming and capitalism was at an all-time high - everyone was a yuppie. Watch Wall Street, Working Girl, 9 to 5, Baby Boom . . . and it's just one of your Sims, any working age.
Q: "All restrictions on showers, appliances, furniture, are lifted." There were restrictions on showers after the 1940s? I didn't see any.
A: I'm not sure the talking toilet makes sense before the 1990s. I would have to over the build/buy menu again with a finetooth comb to outline a list of specific restrictions. Essentially - use your judgment.
Q: How do you handle all of your Sims dying at the same age, storywise?
A: Not sure how to answer this one - my Sims were born on different days, so they die on different days. They all die when they get old if nothing gets them before that. Feel free to check out my Decades Challenge videos on YouTube, and you can see a variety of deaths and how I handle them.
A: I never really thought of that - you could absolutely play it that way!
Q: In the 1890s, why can't teen males have part-time work? Also, can women be part-time babysitters and manual laborers even if they're married?
A: Teen males were supposed to be helping the family at home, and women weren't allowed to work out of the home. But you can change this if you want to.
Q: Is the $1,000-per-teenager-going-to-high-school fee per day? Or do they pay it once and they're done?
A: This rule was from the modified rules - I have always interpreted it as an enrollment payment, so one-time.
Q: Why do girls born in the 1890s-1910s have to take Creative as their first trait?
A: This rule was from the original rules - I think it was because home craft would have been the only hobbies they would have likely had access to.
Q: In the 1890s, it says that babies can only be breastfed. What happens if the mother dies? Also, does this rule only apply to this era? I can't find mention of it in any of the later decades.
A: If the mother died, then they would have looked for a wet nurse. This isn't really something that we can do in The Sims, so bottle feeding would be fine in that case (unless you want to let the baby starve as a part of your story - just make a judgment call!). As with all rules, a rule set in an earlier decade stands until it is changed by a rule in a future decade. However, you've made a good point - it looks like the rule allowing bottles may have accidentally been deleted during an update! Formula became commercially available in the 1950s, so that is when bottles would be allowed. I have updated the rules, thanks!
Q: I'm sure there's a good reason for this, but why can't Sims use medicine until 1940?
A: Mass production of penicillin and significant advances with vaccines.
Q: "Vacations are not allowed, but camping is." So, you can camp in Granite Falls...You just can't go there?
A: You can camp in a park, or your backyard . . .
Q: Can pets be cured by some other means besides a veterinarian? I don't think they die of illness, or recover on their own, so having a cat or dog be perpetually sick until they die might get annoying.
A: They won't be perpetually sick, they will eventually recover on their own.
Q: In the book "America's Women", by Gail Collins, she says that teaching had become a respectable career for single women by 1838, if not a little before that, and that by 1870 more than half of public school teachers were women. So why can't they be teachers until 1900?
A: If you want to do that, go for it! Since these rules are to make a game challenging, not historically accurate, it makes sense to add a challenging rule that women can't have a job at all at first - in the original rules, no one could have a job in this decade.
Q: When are bed upgrades allowed?
A: Since they are controlled via computerish electronics, I'd say the 1980s. I'll update the rules now!
Q: In the 1910s, boys who earn a D or F in high school "must be sent away to another household." What's the in-game explanation for that; where do we pretend they're actually going? Is the family kicking them out? Also, how long do they have to stay in this other household? Does it have to be with another family, or can they live alone? If it's with another family, do they have to be his relatives?
A: This is a rule from the modified rules. I always interpreted it as going to reform school until their grades improved. You can interpret it however you'd like!
Q: What does "serving active duty" mean?
A: According to va.gov "A person who is active duty is in the military full time."
Q: Why do Sims who become YAs in the 1930s have to be Gloomy, Mean, or Noncommittal?
A: The Great Depression
Q: Is alcohol allowed again in 1930 or 1933?
A: For the sake of simple rules, 1930. But if you want to be historically accurate, do what you want!
Q: Why can't babies be born in the hospital before 1940?
A: Prior to that, the majority of births occurred at home, usually with midwives. It wasn't until the 1940s that obstetricians started delivering babies regularly.
Q: Can Sims become veterinarians in 1940?
A: Yes - I can see how that might not be clear in the rules, will update now.
Q: Only 17 of ~120,000 women who were in active duty died in the Korean War, and only 8 of ~11,000 in the Vietnam War. I think that female Sims should get at least one re-roll.
A: Then that's how you should play!
Q: Birth control for unmarried women was legalized in 1972, so perhaps the rules should say something about that.
A: For the sake of simplicity in the challenge rules, I think what is currently in the rules is probably sufficient, but you can absolutely play your game more accurately!
Q: In the 1960s we're allowed "fancier" sofas, beds, chairs, tables, and stairs. Fancier than what, exactly? And how fancy is still too fancy?
A: This is a rule from the modified rules - I have always interpreted it as families had more expendable income, so they could buy nicer things. Adapt to the story you're telling.
Q: On what did you base your rule about interacting with dolphins being OK starting in the 1960s?
A: That's when dolphins became popular and were kept captive. Wikipedia "Dolphins" and read the species about "in captivity"
Q: Why does a Sim have to be in the Business career in the 1980s? Also, what does it mean, "from this generation"? A Young Adult? Or can an Adult or Elder in the 1980s go into Business?
A: It's the decade when things were booming and capitalism was at an all-time high - everyone was a yuppie. Watch Wall Street, Working Girl, 9 to 5, Baby Boom . . . and it's just one of your Sims, any working age.
Q: "All restrictions on showers, appliances, furniture, are lifted." There were restrictions on showers after the 1940s? I didn't see any.
A: I'm not sure the talking toilet makes sense before the 1990s. I would have to over the build/buy menu again with a finetooth comb to outline a list of specific restrictions. Essentially - use your judgment.
Q: How do you handle all of your Sims dying at the same age, storywise?
A: Not sure how to answer this one - my Sims were born on different days, so they die on different days. They all die when they get old if nothing gets them before that. Feel free to check out my Decades Challenge videos on YouTube, and you can see a variety of deaths and how I handle them.
Phew! That was REALLY long! Hopefully I answered the questions satisfactorily for the person who asked, and hopefully they were helpful for others as well. Sorry it took me several days to get to these - unfortunately, being a middle-aged career woman means I don't have nearly enough time to play The Sims like I did years ago.
And special thanks to everyone who comments here in the forum about how their Decades Challenge is going - while I don't always have time to leave comments on this thread, I love hearing how others are playing their Decades Challenge as it is inspiring for me too! Happy Simming!
