How to manage an 8 sim household?

I almost ALWAYS run a household of 6-8. Otherwise I get bored easily. I agree about the pause button. It's funny, when I re-enter after playing another household, I assume I'll have to clean things up when I re-appear. First thing I do is pause the whole game and go sim by sim and check their needs and assign them 2 or more things to (as if they have no idea that they REALLY need to pee and where to do it , and that they also are in need of a shower or eating.). It's rather funny when I hit play then, as they all suddenly have a purpose and they're off and running. ;) Expect that your days will go much slowly and be full of lots or 'pause and assign' times. It can actually be rather a handful...

On the other hand, you have a group that will become much closer and social than they would have otherwise, and you have the options of having them help each other out -- (cook for the group, help with household tasks and children, etc.), garden, fix things, and support each other financially. I really miss that when I run a smaller household. I oftentimes combine two or more households so they can enjoy the benefits of 'communal living'.

Maybe households of 8 are best for micromanagers like me - or those who enjoy a little chaos. Either one will find it there. ;)

Like what everyone has said. Pause is your best friend. With a toddler to look after I would also suggest have one elder/adult be stay at home and make money through painting, gardening or writing. As they can do stuff with the toddler but still earn income when they have free time. Pause set up everyone's to do list play then repeat!

This thread is from March 2017; is there anyone currently commenting/reading who is still looking for tips on managing an 8-sim HH?

('Cuz if you have Get Together, creating a family-only club is a huge help. Keep changing the club's activities to match what you need people to be doing & to accumulate points so you can buy all the mood-buffs, skill bonuses, etc. that you want. I find it a big help.)

There are options in settings to change autonomy for your sims. You can set it so that autonomy is off for whichever Sim is selected so you can get everything you need to get done for that Sim and then move onto another one.

I find myself pausing a lot with large households. Pause. Give each a queue of tasks. Hit play again and hope they obey orders!

I use the pause button a lot, giving everyone a list of tasks while doing so, and having a fixed schedule.

I would also rotate and change my focus on a small group of sims for a day, and do their skilling, career, etc, for that day, and then move onto another group.

I try to get a good fixed schedule groove, so that things can go smoothly. Buying more bathroom items or building more bathrooms and buying plenty of amusement objects also helps me as well, lol.

Liberal use of the pause button :D

"gummybear0724;c-15599231" wrote:
My biggest households are my favorites! The pause button is used a lot, but I love my big families. However the ever annoying Sims 4 toddlers have kind of acted as a birth control for my sims. I hate the toddlers! I love them, but they are so needy! Perhaps no children should ever be in my future! :)

@gummybear0724 ...Your own children will be worth the effort. It will be the first time you will ever have no doubt you'd lay down in traffic for someone. My children are hands-down the hardest work I've even done and so absolutely worth every bit of it. No comparison.

Now sims toddlers? I have to admit, the ones in Sims 4 are good birth control for my households also. Their mannerisms, speech, and appearance are super cute and they are endearing and fun. They're pretty needy (as toddlers are) for about 2/3 of the time they're aging, then I can't enjoy them for long in that less-needy stage without aging them up because they suddenly get downright fat, so I have to age them up and build a pool and have the kid swim a lot. ;)

To me the hard part that is almost a glitchy thing (or may be coded in for 'edginess') is when adult sims can go bonkers at times in regards to caring for the toddler and your directions. (Other adults interfere or the adult just stands there while things are really melting down. I run big households, so there's that.) I think what happens is several adults are suddenly on 'watch toddler' mode since they sense things are not good, and they all interfere with each other. Musical grab-the-kid-put-the-kid-down, etc. I need a good stiff drink after dealing with some of those scenes. And don't even get me started on the buggy high chair. It's like a bad 3 stooges episode sometimes where I feel like just screaming at them all. But they wouldn't listen anyway, and I am a grown-up after all. ;) :D Sometimes it seems that they care for the 'crisis mode' for a toddler better if I just don't step in and let them handle it - otherwise directives can conflict. Crisis mode for a toddler seems to trump my directives.

So... I usually only have them have one or two kiddos per couple at a time in my large households. And if the household is small or things get a bit boring, they can always have them have another baby... ;)

Like @happyopi, running your household on a schedule is a must. Also, you'll find you just naturally use the pause button more. I have several 8 sim households, and I love playing them (when I've got the mental acuity to do so). I run my larger households like a military operation (part of why I want the military career back), and I have a lot of success keeping everyone happy and still earning promotions and getting straight A's in school.
Weekends are for quality time with friends and family. That's when you can break the routine a little bit, usually starting Friday evening, but then it's back to the grind on Sunday. Getting familiar with your sims schedules helps you plan the routine. It takes a bit of adjusting at first, but once you figure it out things run smoothly. I find large families fun because they're like a difficult little puzzle I have to figure out how they function, and then figure out when I can break some of the rules I set, but still be able to get back on track.

This is where full-autonomy on and the Pause button are your friends. Use them. I much prefer a full household. It's far more challenging, but I find it fun. Just keep your eye on the toddler to make sure all needs are met. I was horrified in my large household when one of the toddlers wasn't getting enough attention. Pause, queue up the appropriate Sim to take care of toddler's need, and then unpause and resume play. With full autonomy on, most of your Sims should be able to take care of themselves, but you will need to do a check on them, just in case.