The Eight Sim Challenge

BUILDING YOUR HOUSE- PART II

Not only do you want to build your house with the cheapest materials, you want to build it with the fewest rooms possible. Why? Because walls are expensive and will eat into the $20, 000 Simolean budget really fast. Besides, you simply won’t have enough money to build a bedroom for everyone. So, like I said, early on in your 8 Sim Challenge, start out with as few walls and rooms as possible when building your house. I know such a drastic measure seems crazy right now, but believe it or not, you’d be amazed at how long 8 Sims can actually live comfortably in a 4 roomed house!

EMMA: Four rooms?! Outrageous! And look at that house; my bathroom back home is bigger than this dump!

*Ahem.* What my Sims MUST understand is that this arrangement is just for now and that we can always upgrade the house as the money comes rolling in. This 4 roomed house seems cruddy now, but provided everyone works and gets promotions, we can add more stuff to it later on and expand it to my subjects’ desires.

BUILDING YOUR HOUSE- PART III

Here’s how I furnished the house. Remember, at this stage of the game, you have to be as cheap and miserly as you can, so cheap doors and windows will do. That goes for furnishings as well.

Note that I have several couches in the house– 8 in total. And why? Since we only have one bedroom and are on such a tight budget, I have bought couches instead. Couches may not be as comfortable as beds, but they’re wayyy cheap and do the job just as well. So, yes– until we can afford bedrooms and beds, our Sims will be sleeping on the couches.

MICHAEL: This sucks!

CASSIE: Why? Because couches are uncomfortable?

MICHAEL: No! Cuz there’s no privacy! How else am I supposed to score with chicks in here?

EMMA: Why worry about a situation you’ll never face?

CASSIE: MUA-HAHAHAHA!

MICHAEL (*Rolls eyes and gives a sarcastic smirk*)

BARE NECESSITIES!

Just because you have to be miserly, it doesn’t mean that there are things you can skip out on. Here is the stuff that you must must MUST have to make the first few days of the move-in bearable.

KITCHEN
Fridge, two sinks, and a food processor- for the obvious reasons. Your Sims must eat. I don’t have a stove yet, because as long as you have a fridge and processor, plus a telephone to call the pizza guy, you’re okay. The two sinks are to avoid gridlock.

TELEVISION
For entertainment and to keep your Sims motivated and happy enough to go to work and earn promotions and bonuses. Promotions are very important this early in the challenge, because they yield bonuses and raises in salary. Remember this formula in the first few days of your challenge: PROMOTIONS+BONUSES= MAJOR MOOLAH!

TRASH CAN
Don’t want to develop roaches!

TABLES
For the mail and newspapers

TELEPHONE
A must-have! Who knows what prizes and other monies you’ll earn when the phone rings?

BOOKCASE
To earn much needed skills and provide entertainment (see television set).

BATHROOMS
At least one, but preferably two. I had two bathrooms in my last Challenge, but decided to go with one this time around.

Notice that I have a mini dinette set. I didn’t really have to add it, but I wanted to add something to make the house a little bit more comfortable for my test subjects.

EMMA (voice dripping with sarcasm): Ooooo… chairs and a cheap table to provide comfort! How generous of you!

I can take them away, if you want! Then you can all stand up, eating! >:-p

JENNY (*shocked and appalled*): Emma!

EMMA: Sorry!

FURNITURE PLACEMENT

Believe it or not, placement is another very important factor to worry about when you’re first setting everything up in an 8 sim challenge, because how you place things in the house will either add to or take away from your ability to manage the house.

Here is a closer shot of the quarters to show you what I mean about placement. You’ll notice that I separated two of the couches from the other ones. I did that in case some Sims need some sleep time while the TV is on in the living room.

About the phone– the telephone would normally be placed in the living room. However, because our subjects will be sleeping in the living room, we don’t want to disturb their sleep time in case the phone rings. Trust me– Maxis *will* have that phone ringing if it’s in the same room as your Sims!

Alright, so that covers all you pretty much need to know! Remember, when starting out with the 8 Sim Challenge: 1) create a family with a few Virgos to help make the house as clean as possible 2) build a cheap, small house (within reason!) 3) buy a few furnishings and expensive stuff, but don’t skip on the essentials. 4) place furniture and objects in a way to make managing the house easier
Got it? Really? Are you sure? Good. Now let’s begin!

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