Interesting thread!
I'm right now playing a challenge in sims 3 that i think fits it perfectly and would be hard to transfer to sims 4 (not sure about 2 cause i haven't played it enough).
It's the Adam and Eve challenge and it consists on building an empty town, generation after generation. Each heir (and spouse) have to master some skills, careers or degrees in order to build a different building in the empty town.
In sims 3, when there isn't a building in town whatever job or activity that such building hosts is unavailable for sims. For example, until your sims work to build a school, kids and teens can't go to school, so we can't choose their traits when aging. But we will be able to choose those traits when we build the school...
The fun is in improving our sims' lives, by buiding places that will open new posibilities, new job offers, new places to hangout... in no specific order.
In sims 4, because school and jobs happen in non-physical rabbitholes, our sims have all options always available. Imo, this challenge wouldn't make sense and wouldn't be as fun...
