What pack content or gameplay surprised you, good or bad?

Bad was discovering that you couldn't set open/close times for your business or restaurant, so I have to rely on my memory to get my Sim over there early in the morning and close at a reasonable time. I have a brain like a colander. This does not happen.

This sounds like a bad surprise, but it was actually good--I had no idea there were sharks in Island Living. My Sim was swimming merrily along when he stopped in the water and got tense, and I saw the moodlet with a shark fin--and then I saw the actual shark. I have no idea if it can actually attack your Sim or not, but it was an exciting element of unexpected danger.

Island Living - bought it for the mermaid. If a pack contains an occult Sim, I usually must have it. Granted, I wish the mermaid (and normal Sims) could do more interactions in the water, and the boats and jetskis give me some issues when I try to leave them in the water, but...

Sulani is *the* place for my main family. They'll settle on an empty beach, and build their shacks, huts and sometimes a huge vacation house. Then tear it all down again and start over. And I love the style of the houses and the surrounding enviroment. Still fighting to build *the* perfect house for them, and make it last through generations.

Are there actually sharks in the base pack? I've never seen any myself (maybe only on certain lots?) and I've heard claims that people on PC can cheat them into the game, but it apparently will only make your Sims tense, not eat them. I did get me a surprise when I had my mermaid test out her powers and using her husband as volounteer. Don't know if the mermaid actually can make people drown (doubt it) but I'm not gonna risk it unless I get really unwelcome visitors.

Laundry Day and Seasons gets a shout-out. They work perfectly with this pack. My Sims can do their laundry by hand, the mermaid gets weather powers and I actually have to keep watch on my Sims during thunderstorms, because someone in the sky is actively aiming for them (one of my Sims left for work and was struck the moment he was outside the door).

I love witches and supernatural stuff but it took me so long to buy Realm of Magic because i kept reading all the bad feedback it got. When i did buy it i got pleasentelly suprised! I love playing spellcasters. And i love that the spell/potion learning is kind of random because i usually don't learn all the spells or all the potions. I just make my spellcasters learn a few ones and the randomness makes for different spellcasters with different powers everytime...

Knifty knitting also surprised me. I was all for Happy Haunts (and still am) but KN ended up being so well done! It's very relaxing to see my sims knitting by the fireplace while rain/snow hits the window...

For a bad surprise i would say Discover University. I like the pack,i like that it has so many degrees to choose and i like that it's hard to get the degrees because i don't want all of my sims to get a degree... but it's too long! Very unbalanced, at least for a normal lifespan...

Realm of Magic - For a week straight I stayed in the magic realm. It almost felt like a game separate from the Sims but in a good way. First time in a long time I got lost in the gameplay.

I was surprised by University, but in a bad way I'm afraid.

I've never been so bored putting my sims through college. I have mods to cut the credits in half. It feels like a chore - hardly any time to have fun like make friends or play ping pong. And I'm stuck with it. I can't go to another family for a break. I am in it for the long haul.