How do you keep it interesting?

When I became bored with TS4 families(all the Sims started feeling like clones from each other, nothing happened in my game even tho I own all the DLC, no syory progression etc) I went back to TS3 and never came back.
Nowadays I only play TS4 when I wanna build something.

I tend to get bored with a single Sim unless they’re doing a variant of a challenge. I tend to start off a save with a roommate situation or extended family right out of the tin. That way they’re not just nebulously floating out there.

I’m also rebuilding the world with my own lots and Sims. It makes me a lot happier to see my own sims than random townies.

I can’t do sims challenges as they all bore me and I can’t follow them. I need chaos in my games. I usually spend most of my sims time doing anything and everything. So there’s no set plan of doing stuff. I just wreak havoc.

This new patch hopefully will help with getting stuck - I love the new CAS feature, can't wait to try it once the update is finished! Will also make creating sims for custom saves way easier :)

I like to watch youtube videos for ideas. It kinda becomes a rabbit hole itself.

This may seem boring to some, but I also like to create different versions of my life and live them out. For example, I created sims of myself and my boyfriend four years ago (as long as we've been a couple in real life). I still play with them, but they've had many different "lives" (saved files). They've raised a kid, visited the jungle, mastered many skills between them, had multiple careers, been occults (vampire and mermaid), and lived in six different homes (three in Willow Creek, one in San Myshuno, one in Oasis Springs, and one on Sulani Island). I now refer to them as my "exploring household". I use them to explore new packs.

I like to do rotational gameplay. I also write Sims stories so I have multiple stories and alternate game play. I switch up and try different challenges. The sky is the limit. I made a list of all the different challenges to try and different ideas for characters or ideas I might have and then I've combined some or rolled at random to try different things. I also try new things - attempt things I've never tried in the Sims when I'm feeling bored. Hope this helps.

I also use mods and CC to help make life more interesting. For example, adding more CAS traits helps with expanding personality. http://modthesims.info/d/591706/more-cas-traits-for-sims-mod-amp-for-pets.html

What I like about Sims is the creation and the reaching of life goals; jobs and family. I put a lot of work in making the town my own completely, but when it comes to more actual gameplay I usually drift off to the other games on my PC. Sometimes I get a promotion for one of my Sims, sometimes I play a couple of rounds of Overwatch y'know. I do love Sims, but I fell in love with the series through the console versions of the late 00s/early 10s so I'm always looking for actual quests and more gameplay. I really hope we'll see another spinoff with the Sims 4 engine.

My 2 cts: never feel guilty for copying! If you're having fun who cares who came up with the idea, the story, or even the sims. In the end, your game will still be yours and things won't be happening in exactly the same way or order. So you'll eventually end up making it your own, regardless of where exactly you started out :)

Also, I find playing large households with specific routines & plans & things I want them to more/less fulfill until a certain time or age really helps keeping me engaged. To the point that I always end up with a rotation of 5-6 households and panic whenever aging is on. If anything, I'd be better served with learning how to let go better cause that's usually when I end up getting stuck - you know, the old FoMo :joy: