@SnowBnuuy I think you said it very well, and I agree. History isn't always pretty and trying to tell history without its ugly part becomes, in my mind, sort of pointless. Then it's all the pretty clothes and nothing else. That can be fun escapism, but it's not history.
I also sometimes do think the decades challenge is a bit 'gimmicky' and over simplified (it's the depression, don't pay your bills until the power is shut off and only live of what you can scavenge for few days then go back to normal), but it can also be a great inspiration for deeper play if you want it to be. For me, I've come to realise that I get bored if everything is too easy, and I like my sims going through hard stuff sometimes.
