How did you get started playing The Sims?

I found the game in a bargain bin at Staples in 2001 and have played ever since!

Back in 2001 I heard some co workers  talking about The Sims

 I was  intrigued by what I was hearing ,so I decided to take a look at what they was so excited about.

I was hooked on it like hooked on phonics. 😁

I followed articles in game magazines during development, was intrigued about such a strange game and got The Sims on or close to release. Same with Sims 2, only by that time I didn't call a "strange" game anymore.

I had all expansions for The Sims and Sims 2, but never warmed up to Sims 3, so by the time Sims 4 rolled around I was still (or again) playing Sims 2. I started playing Sims 2 with mods only in 2012 or so, so there was still much to discover.

I played Sims 2 and 4 parallely (one memorable day on the same day, even, but never again because the differing controls caused a headache), before Sims 4 advanced to my favorite, a fact that I was in denial about for quite some time, because it felt like betrayal.

I was 13, my friend gave me a burnt copy of Sim City 3000 (Sorry Maxis!) and it had an optional trailer for 'The Sims' on it.

I watched that trailer over and over and over and over again.  

The trailer had no dates with release on it that I remember and games being connected to the net an updated wasn't a thing so I had no real idea when The Sims would come out. Google may have existed in 2000 but search engines (even Ask Jeeves) weren't a thing I knew about yet and I was fast becoming the most internet-savvy person in my friends/family.

Then later in 2000 my dad had to go to a computer shop and like a Quest lighting up there was 'Livin Large' (the first Sims EP) placed prominently on a stand. I think I ruptured a few people's eardrums that day in the store with my squeals of excitement. I fangirl'd over The Sims the same way girls fangirl over boybands.

My poor dad clearly was forced to buy The Sims and Livin Large (i have no recollection of this encounter but i defininitely remember going home fawning over the booklet etc so i guess he paid for it? thanks dad!).

I've bought nearly every pack from nearly every game since then. (Like, i didn't get the Katy Perry thing).

I remember my friend mentioning a game she was interested in that was coming out soon. She didn't make it sound that interesting. Granted, her main takeaway was that they could "woohoo" and that wasn't that exciting to me as a young child. So I had NO interest in this game at the time.

A year or two later my mom got this game that one of her coworkers recommended to her, she tried it and thought I would like it so told me to check out the new game on the computer. That game was Sims 1.

I eventually realized it was the game my friend had been talking about that I thought sounded dumb. It was not dumb, and I've been hooked ever since.

My mom doesn't play anymore and I'm pretty sure has no recollection of being the one to introduce me to this addiction of mine. I have no idea if the friend ever ended up even getting the game, we never discussed it again and haven't been friends in a very long time. But I am still here 22 or so years later, took a few year break against my own will but never ever stopped loving or missing The Sims.

Oh I wish I’d been introduced early enough to play TS1 myself! I was introduced to the franchise for the first time when I was 10 and my best friend asked me if I could come round and make my family on her TS1 game so that she could come and have her sim visit sim-me in her game 😆 I went home and raved about how much fun I had so much that I got TS2 base game for Christmas that year ❤️  

It had only been out for a couple years at that point, so I collected all the packs I’d missed and kept going til TS3 released. I had a bit of a break before picking up TS4 in about 2017. I had a fantastic time playing TS3 after that, but honestly I kind of wish I’d kept mainly playing TS2. It really made me fall in love with the franchise. 2+4 are my absolute favourites ❤️ 

I've told this story before on the previous forums but I first started playing the sims 1 when I rented it from a video store. Couldn't figure out how to keep all my sims happy so didn't play for awhile. I finally got back into it with Bustin Out, Sims Stories, The Urbz, then finally Sims 2 for the ps2 and the rest is history. Got my first pc sims game with The Sims 3 and have been playing sims games ever since.

I was looking for a game to play, my hubby was playing some type of dungeon game. A friend suggested I try Black & White so on the way home from work I stopped at Best Buy told the guy what I was looking for. He showed me Black & White but suggested the Sims it was release day, I bought it and have played ever since.

I received a free mail-in coupon for the sims 1 when I purchased an Apple computer. The rest is a happy history.

I didn't play much on the computer when my brother said 'hey, I found this game. I'm not interested but it's something for you'. That game was the sims (now known as sims 1). This must have been close to the release of the game. A few weeks later I was in a store and saw that there was one (!) expansion available. The rest wasn't released yet. I liked it but got really hooked with the making magic EP. 

For sims 2 I was there from start to finish. I bought the game at release. I got every EP at release, created some CC. I played regularly, almost daily until sims 3 was around. 

I didn't get sims 3 at launch and then I had a long break for about a decade due to real life situations. When I returned to playing I had to decide if I should go for sims 3 or 4. I got sims3 it at a discount beck I thought the older of the two would be cheaper and less demanding on my pc.  Sims3 never felt quite right for me personally and shortly afterwards I switched to sims 4 when I learned finally added . I haven't stopped playing since.