I love the Sims!

My love for the Sims began a little over 13 years ago.  My daughter's birthday was in March and a few weeks before that we were at Costco.  As we perused the book and movie aisle she saw a game she was interested in called The Sims.  She asked for it for her birthday.  Little did I know, when I purchased that game, what changes it would bring to our household.

Shortly after she opened that gift, we gathered around our only computer and watched as the teeny world of the Sims appeared before us.  My daughters and myself were instantly captivated.  Within hours we were fighting over the game.  I would set aside 2 hour blocks of time for each of us to play.  Of course, I could play all day long on my days off, while they were at school. Muhahahahahaha!  Before long, those blocks of time weren't enough and we purchased another computer and another Sims game.  Soon that 2nd computer turned into three and yet another Sims game.  And so, an obsession was born!

Since that time the original Sims game had multiple expansions, that I bought in triplicate.  Then there was The Sims 2.  That included multiple expansions and stuff packs.  For a while I could buy only one stuff pack and we could put it on all of our computers, but then Maxis/EA became money obsessed and we had to each play off our own copy of the stuff packs, so three of those were purchased as well.  Then came The Sims 3 with their expansions, stuff packs and so on.  Oh and don't forget all of those items you could buy from the online Sims store to add to your wonderful game!  

Needless to say the Sims has cost me thousands of dollars over those 13 years, but I don't regret a single dollar!  It has provided, my daughters and myself hours of entertainment and a great bonding experience too.  No matter what's going on in our life, we always have the common interest in the Sims.

 Most people that know me have heard about the Sims.  There are those that ignored me. Then there are those that thought "what the hell is Sims?" and then ignored me.  Lastly there are the very few people that I know that know what I'm talking about and like them too. Mainly my daughters and one coworker who plays occasionally.  You know who you are!  So imagine my delight when I found a whole online community of Sims enthusiasts!  And believe me it is a very large, world wide community!  

I had been playing the original Sims game for a short while when I found the online Sims community.  There were a few forums out there that would share their Sims experiences or links to great sites that had Custom Created items that I could download and put into my Sims game.  There are so many creative people in the Sims world!  I became addicted to downloading new items or houses for my game.  I would spend more hours doing that and then organizing those downloads, than I would spend playing.  I had to have that refridgerator or sofa or chair and so on in 40 different colors!  Or I would download beautiful houses that I was never patient or talented enough to dream up and build myself. This was all back when I had dial up.  Those downloads would take forever, but that didn't stop me!

After a few months of lurking at the Sims forum Neighborhood 99 or N99 as we call it, I got up enough nerve to actually comment.  It's a great place, full of wonderful, giving and creative people.  I feel like many of them are my friends.  I also joined another forum called CIS Clubhouse.  I made friends there too.  Over the years there has been lots of drama in the Sims community, especially during the Sims 1 days.  Now it's pretty mellow and we just have a good time sharing Sims stories,  ideas and  the excitement when a new expansion has been announced, counting down the days together and sharing all of the tidbits we can find about said new expansion.

Now a new Sims game has been announced.  Sims 4.  We knew it was coming and I'm actually dreading it.  After all I've invested over the years, I hate starting over, yet again!  But I know that by the time it comes out I'll be anxiously awaiting it and the very day it's released I will be buying it, installing it and starting a whole new adventure!

There's a little something for everyone in the Sims games.  You can play a premade sim or make your own.  You give them the personality traits you want.  If you're a control freak, like me, you can pretty much control every little aspect of their lives.  If you would rather watch  life happen you can just sit back and let their free will take over, sometimes with chaotic results and a visit from the grim reaper!  Here are some screenshots from The Sims 3.

There's plenty of gardening opportunities for those gardening enthusiasts!

Playing in the ocean with your toddler.

If you want to fly you can play as a fairy or ride a broomstick as a witch!

You can fight fires or just stand and scream at them.  In this unfortunate fire 3 sims met the grim reaper.

You can even have a meteorite hit  your neighborhood or your home.  Sometimes your Sim won't make it out alive.