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The Sims 4 Challenges: Get A Life Challenge

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Kick it old school with Get A Life mode from The Sims on PlayStation 2 and GameCube… in The Sims 4!

Looking for a unique Sims 4 challenge? We’ve got the perfect dose of Sims nostalgia for you! When I was a kid, my favourite game was The Sims on my PlayStation 2. I must have played through the story mode (hilariously called Get A Life mode) a thousand times. Somehow, I never got bored of it. I do still have the game and a PlayStation 2 but there’s no denying that in 2022, the game feels a little bit clunky and dated. I wanted the nostalgia of the original game blended with everything I love about The Sims 4.

So I did exactly that! I wrote this Sims 4 challenge quite some time ago that replicates the original levels and goals of Get A Life mode in The Sims as exactly as I could, right down to the lots you have to play through and characters you need to deal with. Why? Because we need a unique Sims 4 challenge in this community. And now I’m sharing it with you!

So without any further preamble… Welcome to the Get a Life Challenge for The Sims 4! Begin by getting a job and moving out of Mom’s house, then work your way up from trashed party pads to lavish mansions, making friends and raising a family along the way! For nostalgia lovers, this might just become your favourite Sims 4 challenge!

PSST! Does this sound familiar? It should! You’ll be playing Get a Life mode from The Sims on PlayStation 2 and GameCube… in The Sims 4.

Objective

Sims 4 Challenges

Like the original console game, you’ll progress through six levels in this Sims 4 challenge, completing a set of goals in each level before progressing to the next level. A CC-free save with exact replicas of every lot from the original console game has already been set up for you in Newcrest. Your roommates for each lot (Mom, Mimi, and Dudley) are also included in this save and are also CC-free. Everything has been set up for you. All you need to do is hop in and play. Welcome to the most nostalgic Sims 4 challenge!

The Sims 4 Get A Life Challenge

Rules

These rules apply to every level in the game. You must abide by these rules throughout the entire Sims 4 challenge. See goals for each level for any rules for specific levels.

  • No mods! You will have to play the game exactly as it was intended to be played, just like you had to play the original console game exactly as it was intended to be played. This Sims 4 challenge is not going to be easy.
  • No cheats except the ones the rules specifically instruct you to use.
  • CC that does not change the game in any way can be used.
  • Pay your bills on time. Self-explanatory.
  • You may not change or add to the existing lot traits on any house. Each house already has one trait and that is the trait you are stuck with.
  • You must maintain the original value of every home you live in. If you move out of a home that’s worth less than it was when you moved in, deduct the difference from your funds. You can avoid this penalty by making sure anything you sell in the house is replaced with something of greater or equal value before you move out.
  • You must leave every home in good condition. Deduct §100 from your funds for every dirty object, dish, trash pile and puddle left on the lot when you move out. Deduct $500 for every broken object on the lot when you move out. You can avoid this penalty by cleaning up the house and fixing anything that’s broken before you move out.
  • Just like the original console game, you may not leave your home lot except to go to work at an inactive career. You may not go visit other Sims, go to public venues, or go on dates off your home lot. You must invite any Sims you wish to socialise with to your house or chat with them on the phone. Your Sim may walk/jog around the common space in their home neighbourhood but cannot interact with anything off their lot except other Sims.
  • You may only earn money from careers, home activities related to your career (painting, writing books, programming, etc) and selling home objects unless otherwise stated in the individual level rules.
  • Small objects (trash, dirty dishes, toys, seed packets, etc) cannot be clicked and dragged anywhere. Your Sim must clean up these items themselves or hire a maid after they unlock the maid during the challenge.
  • Your Sim must start each new level with the same amount of money they had at the end of the previous level. No magic money from shuffling households! Use the money cheat to reduce your household funds to what they were before if you find yourself with extra money from moving around. The same rule applies to any Sims who move in and bring money with them. Get rid of it immediately with the money cheat.
  • You may not move any Sims into the household except the ones specifically outlined in the challenge (Mom, Mimi/Dudley, your second roommate, and your spouse). You may not move in any of these Sims before the challenge instructs you to.
  • Aging must be OFF for all Sims, including your active household. Make sure Move Into Empty Homes is unchecked. You don’t want townies moving into the lots you’ll need to play through.

Sims 4 Challenge: Get a Life

  • Download the save that’s already been set up for you here. It is recommended that you have most or all add-on packs released up to 2018 for this Sims 4 challenge; this save uses pack content from every expansion and game pack up to Seasons and Jungle Adventure, as well as Perfect Patio, Vintage Glamour, Backyard, Romantic Garden, Cool Kitchen, and Kids Room. If you do not have all pack content listed, you may replace any missing content with similar content you do have in free build mode.
  • Unzip the folder and copy the files inside. Place them into Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 > saves. You may get an error message telling you there are already files with that name in the folder. If this happens, copy your saves folder to your desktop for safekeeping, then delete the contents of the saves folder in your Documents before pasting the files from the download into the folder. For console players: I have uploaded all lots and households you need to my Gallery under the hashtag #getalife so all platforms can do this Sims 4 challenge.
  • Open the game and load the save called Get a Life Challenge, then begin making your Sim in CAS. Your Sim can be either a young adult or an adult. They must be human. They can have any gender customization, traits, aspiration, physical appearance, likes and dislikes, voice, and walk style you want. You may use any CC you like as long as the CC does not alter the game mechanics in any way.
  • You may NOT use the in-game personality quiz. This was not a feature of the original console game and it’s not a feature of this Sims 4 challenge, either. Your Sim will be starting from scratch like the good ol’ days.
  • You may not add other Sims or pets to the household in CAS. Just make one Sim to play through this Sims 4 challenge with.
  • When you are finished making your Sim, move them into the Money From Mom lot in Newcrest. Do not kick Mom out of the house. Your Sim will be living with her. It should not cost anything to move here since you are merging households, not purchasing an empty property.
  • Before you do anything in Mom’s house, bring up the cheat console by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+C and type in “money 100″ without the quotations.

LEVEL 1: Money From Mom

The Sims 4 Get A Life Challenge

Lot Value: §21,130

Story

You’re in a beautiful mansion with a sexy Sim who invites you to come “play” in the hot tub with them. Well, who would say no to that? You get in and start getting busy until… “WAKE UP! WAKE UP! ARE YOU GOING TO SLEEP ALL DAY?!” It was all a dream and you wake up in reality in your mother’s house.

Sims 4 Challenge Goals

  • Borrow 800 Simoleons from Mom: Build your Charisma skill up to level 7 (when you can ask for a small loan) and become best friends with Mom. Once you’ve done these two things, you may use the money cheat to give yourself 800 simoleons.
  • Cook a Meal on the Stove Without Starting a Fire
  • Fix the TV
  • Maintain House Value: If the home is worth less than it was when you moved in upon moving out, deduct the difference from your Sims’ funds.
  • Get a Job (Inactive Careers Only!): Mom doesn’t think you’re ready to get a job until you’ve proven yourself capable of handling grown up things. You must complete all other goals first before you tackle this one.

Sims 4 Challenge Rules

  • You may control Mom, but Mom cannot clean, cook or repair anything. She may grab quick meals and leftovers from the fridge.
  • Mom cannot have a job.
  • You may not hire a maid or repair technician. These will be unlocked in the next level.
  • Since the game does not see Mom as being related to your Sim, there is a chance she may try to initiate Romance socials with your Sim. If this bothers you, you may use the “cas.fulleditmode” cheat to make her your Sim’s mother in CAS. Alternatively, you can just ignore the Romance socials.

Once all goals are completed, you may move on to the next level. Since you can’t sell Mom’s house (because Mom still lives there), you may use the freerealestate cheat to move into the Reality Bites house. You must purchase it furnished.

LEVEL 2: Reality Bites

Sims 4 Challenges

Lot Value: §29,625 

Story

Your mom has some connections with Malcolm Landgraab and manages to secure a small home for you to start your life in. The catch? His kids have trashed the place partying and he wants you to fix it up for him so he can sell it.

Sims 4 Challenge Goals

  • Clean up the Place
  • Fix the Broken Stuff
  • Repair the Damaged Kitchen: Clean up and repair everything in the kitchen, then replace the missing/damaged walls and flooring.
  • Get Promoted to Career Level 3

Sims 4 Challenge Rules

  • Once you’ve cleaned the entire house, you may hire a maid from now on.
  • Once you’ve repaired all the broken objects in the house, you may hire a repair technician from now on.

Once all goals are completed, you may move on to the next level. Do not use the freerealestate cheat. It shouldn’t cost anything to move into the Party Animals house because you’ll be merging with Mimi and Dudley who already live there.

LEVEL 3: Party Animals

The Sims 4 Get A Life Challenge

Lot Value: §42,896

Story

Malcolm’s impressed with how you’ve managed to turn that dump around. He’s made a nice profit off the property thanks to you. He sends his kids over to invite you to move in with them. He’s hoping you might be able to improve this property too and keep his party animal twins in line.

Sims 4 Challenge Goals

  • Throw a Raging Party: Throw a house party and earn a gold medal in it.
  • Upgrade Your Abode: Increase the house value by 3,000 simoleons. Reward objects from careers and throwing good parties may be used to contribute to this goal but you must leave those objects behind when you move out.
  • Get Promoted to Career Level 5
  • Move out with a Roommate after a Party: You must complete all other goals before you tackle this goal. Become friends with a party guest of your choosing, then ask them to move in once the party ends. Deduct any money they bring into the household from your funds using the money cheat.

Sims 4 Challenge Rules

  • When you first move in, kick out one of the Landgraab twins. In the original game, your roommate would be the same gender as your Sim. Since gender is non-binary in The Sims 4, you may choose which Landgraab twin you prefer to live with. They both have the same traits and aspiration so your decision will not impact the challenge in any way.
  • You may control Mimi/Dudley and get them a job (inactive only), but they cannot build any skills for their career, cook, clean, or repair anything. They may grill on the BBQ and grab quick meals and leftovers from the fridge.
  • You cannot marry Mimi/Dudley or have children with them, but you can romance them if you wish.
  • Your roommate for the next level cannot be Mimi or Dudley.

Once all other goals are completed, you may move on to the next level. Move your Sim and their new roommate into the Hot To Trot house. Use the freerealestate cheat.  You must purchase it furnished.

LEVEL 4: Hot To Trot

Sims 4 Challenges

Lot Value: §41,636 

Story

Freedom at last! You’ve managed to find a new roommate at one of your parties and move into their much nicer pad. Things are finally starting to look up. Maybe it’s time to start thinking about settling down?

Sims 4 Challenge Goals

  • Throw a Raging Party: Throw a house party and earn a gold medal in it.
  • Upgrade Your Abode: Increase the house value by 5,000 simoleons.  Reward objects from careers and throwing good parties may be used to contribute to this goal but you must leave those objects behind when you move out.
  • Get Promoted to Career Level 7
  • Propose to a Party Guest at a Party: All other goals must be completed first. The party guest must accept the proposal for this goal to count as completed.

Sims 4 Challenge Rules

  • You may control your roommate. Gone are the days of lazy, useless roommates! Your new roommate can build skills, cook, clean, repair objects, get a job (inactive only) and gain promotions in that job.
  • You cannot marry your roommate or have children with them but you can romance them if you wish. The Sim you marry must be a party guest outside the household.
  • You may propose to a Sim of any gender, regardless of your Sim’s gender.

Once all goals are complete, you may move on to the next level. Move your Sim and their fiance/e to the Who Loves Ya Baby house. Use the freerealestate cheat. You must purchase it furnished.

LEVEL 5: Who Loves Ya Baby

The Sims 4 Get A Life Challenge

Lot Value: §56,837

Story

Your mom’s done one last favour for you as a wedding gift and asked Malcolm to let you and your spouse live in his old family home that he wants renovated. It’s a bit cluttered but with some TLC, it could be a great place to raise a family.

Sims 4 Challenge Goals

  • Get Married: Marry the Sim you got engaged to at the end of the last level. If you and your spouse get divorced, you will need to complete this goal again with a different Sim. You may choose to elope or throw a wedding party, but the party must be on the home lot.
  • Upgrade Your Abode: Increase the value of the home by 7,000 simoleons. Reward objects from careers and throwing good parties may be used to contribute to this goal but you must leave those objects behind when you move out.
  • Get Promoted to Career Level 9
  • Have Two Children: Your Sim’s children do not need to belong to your Sim’s spouse. If any children are born in a different household, use Household Management to move them into your household as soon as they are born. You may also choose to adopt two children but they must be babies.
  • Take Care of Babies: Avoid having your babies taken away by social services. If social services takes them, you must have two more babies to replace the ones that were removed from the home.
  • Keep Children in School: Avoid failing grades. If social services comes to remove your children because they failed school, you must have more children to replace the ones that were removed from the home.

Sims 4 Challenge Rules

  • You may control your spouse and children. Your spouse may build skills, cook, clean, repair objects, get a job (inactive only) and earn promotions in that job. Your children can build skills, clean, do their homework and complete school projects.
  • Age up your babies after 3 full Sim days and no sooner.
  • Age up your infants and toddlers immediately to skip these life stages entirely.
  • Do not age up your children. They will stay that age until the end of the challenge.
  • Do not hire a nanny or send the babies to daycare. They didn’t exist in The Sims on console and they don’t exist in this challenge. Take vacation days, use family leave, whatever you need to do to make sure an adult is home with the babies at all times. Children can be left alone in the home without supervision.

Once all goals have been completed, you may move on to the final level of this Sims 4 challenge. Move your Sim, their spouse, and two children into The Last Simoleon house. Do not use the freerealestate cheat. Sell your current house with all its belongings via the move menu to purchase the final house. This does not break the previous rule about not selling off items.  You must purchase the final house furnished.

LEVEL 6: The Last Simoleon

Sims 4 Challenges

Lot Value: §47,171

Story

Your mother has some shocking news; she and Malcolm are getting married! They want to move into the home you’re currently living in so they’re giving you Malcolm’s mansion. Now’s the time to start saving up for retirement!

Sims 4 Challenge Goals

  • Get Promoted to Career Level 10
  • Send the Kids to Prep School: Once the children have an A grade in school, you can move them out of the house. If Parenthood is installed, the children must also have all five character values in positive trait range. You can either dump them on Mom and just pretend they went to prep school or download my CC-free lot Savant Boarding School from the Gallery (ID: SnarkyWitch). Deduct 3,000 simoleons from your household funds when you move out the children. Prep School tuition costs 1,500 simoleons per child.
  • Save 50,000 Simoleons for an Early Retirement: This does not include the value of your home. You must have 50,000 simoleons on hand.
  • Throw Your Last but Greatest Party: This time, throw any type of party you want. It must reach gold level. No guest can be in a negative emotional state when the party ends.
  • Have a Baby: This only applies if your children die or get taken away by social services. You’ll need to replace the children you lost and complete all the same goals with them.

Once all goals have been completed, congratulations! You’ve completed the Get a Life Challenge! Go tell all your friends about it and share this Sims 4 challenge with them!

I won’t be answering questions about whether this or that is allowed in the Sims 4 challenge or when I’m going to update for this or that pack. The rules are general enough to not need frequent updates for every pack. It’s your game. I’m not the Sims 4 challenge police. Use your best judgement and have fun!


If you liked this Sims 4 challenge, check out some of our others in our Sims 4 Challenges category!

About the author

SnarkyWitch

A cranky old lady who prefers the company of cats and Sims over people. Occasionally peeks out from her lair long enough to chuck Sims articles at innocent bystanders.