I’m a huge (and I mean HUGE) fan of The Sims Medieval. I might actually be borderline obsessed with this game but that doesn’t mean The Sims Medieval is perfect. The game is primarily a fantasy RPG and has a heavy focus on quests rather than a true life simulation like the main Sims series. It has a lot of limitations that The Sims games don’t have, even in sandbox mode. I’ve always longed for a medieval life simulation exactly like The Sims in every way, just in medieval times.
The problem is, The Sims 4 never really had any worlds that made sense in a medieval setting. You could build all the medieval buildings you wanted but the non-editable sidewalks, roads, cars, and big skyscrapers in the background really killed the vibe. Until Cottage Living came along, that is! While Henford-on-Bagley does have touches of the modern world here and there, it’s largely a step backwards in time, making it an ideal setting for a medieval world. My dreams could finally come to life!
I spent weeks rebuilding Henford-on-Bagley from the ground up with CC-free medieval builds! All the builds are functional off-the-grid and are actually livable, usable spaces for your Sims so you can play normally in them. Before you check these builds out yourself and go “Hey Snarky, this isn’t actually 100% authentic to medieval history,” you’re absolutely right. I’m not a historical expert by any means and I also had to work within the game’s limitations but I love this (mostly) medieval world I’ve created, anyway. It does its job bringing my imagination back in time while I’m playing.
I had a few rules for myself when designing my medieval Henford-on-Bagley to make sure I was keeping things as low-tech as possible while still creating fun and functional spaces for my Sims:
- All plumbing and appliances had to be functional Off-the-Grid and look rustic and/or old.
- No electricity or items that generate electricity, so no wind turbines, solar panels, or generators.
-
If an item/activity would have been enjoyed in medieval times but The Sims version is slightly more advanced, I can choose to include it. Such as darts even though the dart board has an electronic scoreboard on it and candle-making even though it requires a recycler and uses an electric heating element for the wax.
-
Anything children need for fun, happiness, and their well-being can be used as long as it’s not blatantly high-tech, like the Voidcritter battle station or the Wabbit Tablet.
With all that in mind, let’s get on with the medieval tour, shall we?
Spirit’s Solitude
This 29-tile microhome is also a starter home and perfect for a single Sim in tune with their spirituality. It comes with a little garden, a séance table, a washtub with clothesline, and a coop for some chickens so your Sim can be self-sufficient off-the-grid.
Fruitful Harvest
This starter cottage is suitable for a young pair of newlyweds expecting a baby soon! It may be a small plot of land but it has everything a budding farmer needs to build a successful life for themselves. The house may need expanding as the little one grows, though.
Ye Old Playground
This (mostly) medieval park is a great spot to enjoy an afternoon with the entire family. It has outdoorsy activities for all ages, including toddlers, so everyone can take a break from toiling in the fields once in a while and have some fun.
Knight’s Stronghold
This small, fortified manor fit for a knight puts safety first. With thick stone walls, narrow windows, guards and cannons on the roof, training yard, animals, and crops secure inside strong courtyard walls, and a moat running along the back of the building with a hungry alligator in it, only the bravest souls would dare try and infiltrate this stronghold.
Neth Tathar Homestead
This mid-priced family farm is the largest plot of land in Henford-on-Bagley and isn’t for anyone who’s afraid of hard work. With six animal sheds, four chicken coops, 50 garden plots, birds, bees, insects, and bunnies to tend to, anyone living here will have their hands full. Good thing there’s three bedrooms that can accommodate up to five Sims.
Village Square
This medieval community space offers plenty for local residents to do. The default space has some generic fun activities for Sims to enjoy, but if you need something more specific, you can vote to turn this lot into a marketplace, a community garden, or a maker space. Community spaces have special instructions for being placed properly so make sure you read the Gallery description for this lot carefully.
Smithy’s Paradise
This is a revamp of an older lot I built many years ago before Off-the-Grid was an official feature in the game. It’s been updated to be fully compatible with the Off-the-Grid lifestyle and include Cottage Living content as well as other newer packs. This lavish medieval manor is attached to a blacksmith’s forge. It’s listed as a retail lot with items already set for sale but if you do have retail mods, you can change the zoning to residential and use your mod’s retail system to live here more easily. Without mods, purchase an empty lot as your “home,” then purchase the business. Travel there and stay there!
Struggle for Survival
This starter farm for a family of eight is nothing more than a peasant hovel. The one room shack with beds and a kitchen crammed inside offers little comfort for the large family struggling to make a living here. They don’t even have an outhouse; only a bath outdoors under a tree and a bush to do their business in. But with animal sheds, a large garden, chicken coops, and a pond large enough for fishing, this run-down hovel has everything this family needs to make a better life for themselves with some dedication and hard work.
Tavern and Inn
What would a medieval village be without a tavern?! Inspired by the tavern from The Sims Medieval, this popular village hangout boasts a bar, stage, and ample seating on the first floor, with a nice selection of inn rooms on the second level to accommodate weary travelers. Or perhaps just some Sims who’ve had too much ale and can’t stumble their way back home.
Nobles on Holiday
This cozy rental in the heart of the village is perfect for housing a family of nobles taking a holiday in the countryside. It can accommodate up to five Sims, including a child and a toddler, and has plenty of activities for the family to enjoy, including cross-stitch, knitting, picnics, horseshoes, and a wishing well. The coop and garden ensures they’ll eat nothing but the freshest eggs and produce on their trip.
Clinic & Apothecary
Sick during medieval times? Getting better isn’t as easy as ordering medicine on the computer. What is a computer??? Not to worry, the local clinic has medicine for sale and healthy treats to keep your livestock in good health, too. The apothecary next door is a great place for farmers and magic users to visit, too. It sells a variety of seasonal seeds, mandrake and valerian root, wraith wax, sacred candles, familiars, potions, and other herbs and trinkets. It’s a retail lot with items already set for sale but has a teeny tiny living space for a single Sim, too.
A Henford Handfasting
I built this quaint little wedding park when Cottage Living first came out but I realised it was the perfect spot for my medieval Sims to tie the knot too, so it went into my medieval world. The version in the Gallery is slightly different from the version pictured here but you won’t have to do much editing to this space at all. I swapped out the public bathroom for a medieval outhouse, replaced some lights with candles, and removed the stereo and microphone on the stage. Otherwise, this park is exactly the same.
I hope you’ll enjoy playing with these medieval builds as much as I enjoyed building them! I’m having a lot of fun living out my medieval fantasy in The Sims 4 without any of the limitations The Sims Medieval has.
Wait, wait, wait, a university expansion pack comes with occult gameplay? Yup! Sure does! Looking for some sci-fi occult gameplay? You’ll want to pick up Discover University for the addition of servos! Servos are humanoid robots that are fully playable Sims. They can be built at the robotics workstation by Sims skilled in the Robotics skill. Once brought to life, Servos become a playable member of the household and can do almost anything a real Sim can do. Except Try for Baby and anything involving water. Water will cause Servos to break down. Servos can receive upgrades that allow them to autonomously perform different tasks. They can become your handyman, maid, nanny, and even your personal bodyguard! They can also learn to become more efficient over time. If you want to play with robots, pick up Discover University.
While Paranormal Stuff doesn’t come with a new occult type, it still adds a lot of spooky goodness to your game! Sims can live in haunted houses where playful and mischievous spectres will either bless your Sims with paranormal goodies or unleash misery upon them. Sims can host seances and build the Medium skill. Sims skilled in matters of the paranormal can get a Paranormal Investigator’s license which will allow them to join the Paranormal Investigator freelance career! Visit other Sims’ homes to rid them of pesky spirits and all things that go bump in the night for handsome rewards. If living in a haunted house or becoming a Paranormal Investigator has always been your dream, this is the pack for you!
Like Paranormal Stuff, Spooky Stuff does not come with an occult type but it does offer some pretty great décor and costumes to elevate your occult gameplay. Dress your Sims up as witches, pirates, superheroes, gladiators, faeries, zombies, and more. Throw Spooky Parties to impress your friends. Carve pumpkins and get the plumbob scared out of you by a candy bowl that comes with a trick along with a treat and deck out your house with glowing spiders, cauldrons with a ghost light show, fog-emitting gravestones and all manner of other spooky goodies. Oh, and speaking of goodies, you can also make zombie cakes and spooky cookies to serve at your next Spooky Party.
We wouldn’t really recommend the Build/Buy catalogue, CAS catalogue, or the world of Evergreen Harbour from Eco Lifestyle for historical play but Eco Lifestyle has a lot of gameplay that makes it perfect for your historical Sims. Sims can raise a variety of insects in insect farms and harvest them for food and fuel. They can craft candles using wax and dyes. Grow soybeans to turn into candle wax or harvest beeswax from beehives if you own the Seasons expansion. Build community spaces where Sims can come together to craft, garden, or sell their homemade wares. And if your Sims are excellent stewards of the land, they can turn their eco footprint green which will offer benefits and positive moodlets to all the Sims living in the neighbourhood. It pairs really nicely with packs like Cottage Living.
Outdoor Retreat is probably one of the best packs for rustic and historical gameplay! Not only does it come with so much furniture in stone and weathered wood textures but it offers plenty of activities for Sims to enjoy off-the-grid, like horseshoes, campfires, stargazing, and cloudgazing. The Herbalism skill can be great for playing a healer from ye olden days, too. Have them gather herbs and berries to brew up tinctures and remedies to treat all kinds of common ailments in Sims. It’s really a great pack that I use a lot in my medieval builds.
Maybe the distant past isn’t really your thing. Maybe you’re more interested in decades. In that case, you might like Paranormal Stuff, which has a Build/Buy catalogue reminiscent of the early 1900s up to the 1920s. The perfect crossover between the Victorian period and the modern age, Paranormal Stuff is full of odd and quirky antiques to clutter up your vintage home. Floral patterned wallpaper, ornate wooden floor designs, and curved edges give this stuff pack a distinctly vintage feel.
Apart from the rocking chair itself that this pack comes with, we can’t really say the Build/Buy catalogue is good for historical saves. However, knitting very much suits an older way of life and provides both a fun and practical activity for Sims in your historical worlds to enjoy. I love to put a rocking chair and knitting basket in my medieval homes so my Sims can earn a living from their craft or provide their family with warm, cozy things to wear.
Couldn’t get enough of the 1920s with Paranormal Stuff? Vintage Glamour Stuff’s got your back! Unlike Paranormal Stuff which focuses on the 1900s up to the 1920s, Vintage Glamour Stuff dives right into the midst of the Roaring Twenties’ art nouveau, avantgarde style. Clean lines, geometric shapes, and lots of glitz and shine are at the core of this pack. It’s a fun, colourful pack that’s perfect for your wealthy Sims living in the Jazz Age.
Care to fast-forward a few decades? Sure, no problem! You can do that with Bowling Night Stuff. Harken back to a mid-century retro style with this stuff pack stuffed with plenty of funky patterns, rounded furniture pieces, and bright, neon colours! Seriously, your eyes will be assaulted with neon everything. Of course, we can’t forget about the actual bowling that this pack comes with as well. Hit the bowling lanes in your finest retro attire and relive the days of swing dancing and drive-in theatres… without the swing dancing or drive-in theatres. But there’s bowling!
