The Ultimate Guide to Mastering The Sims 4 Decades Challenge

The Sims has captivated gamers for more than two decades due to its imaginative universe and limitless creative potential. One way fans tell stories in The Sims is through fan-made challenges that impose specific rules to make gameplay more difficult. Among the various challenges available for The Sims 4, the Legacy Challenge, the 100 Baby Challenge, and the Decades Challenge are the most well-known.

The Decades Challenge is a simple concept where each generation takes place in a different decade, starting from 1890 and ending in the 2010s or 2020s. While not as popular as The Sims' Legacy or 100 Baby Challenges, the Decades Challenge is still considered an iconic Sims challenge. It has a widespread following with numerous mods and fan-made content available online to facilitate gameplay. Unlike other challenges with overarching rules, the Decades Challenge has unique social, technological, and gameplay restrictions for each generation, making it more complex and challenging.

The Rules of the Decade Challenge For The Sims 4

During the Decades Challenge, The Sims world is set in the USA and only the events and social norms of the 20th century that are applicable to the USA are considered. The rules of the challenge include certain restrictions on inheritance, marriage, and work. In the initial decades, female Sims are not allowed to work and Sims cannot marry outside their race. Additionally, Woohoo outside of Try For Baby is not allowed, and daughters must leave the household once they are married. The next heir can only be a son or the husband of a daughter.

As wars were a major part of the 20th century, male Sims are expected to go to war and may not return home. To simulate this, the player must grow the Cowplant before the 1910s decade, when the First World War takes place. All male family members who are Teens, Young Adults, or Adults, including the heir, eat one cake from the Cowplant. The player then rolls a dice for each Sim, with even numbers indicating that the Sim returns from war and odd numbers indicating that they have died.

Changing The Sims 4's Decade Challenge's Rules

Rewritten: The Decade Challenge extends beyond just visual aspects, impacting gameplay in several significant ways. As it is a self-imposed challenge in a video game, players have the freedom to modify the rules according to their preferences, such as those related to inheritance, interracial relationships, marriage, and employment. However, some level of suspension of disbelief is required as other aspects of The Sims world continue to function normally, and certain objects such as computers and cellphones are necessary for gameplay. In order to enhance realism, it is recommended to use Sims 4 lot features such as going off-the-grid and utilizing off-the-grid objects, particularly during the early generations of the Challenge.

The Sims 4 is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.