Decades Challenge Rulesfor The Sims 4

Hello and welcome to a new challenge. This time it is one that has been around for quite a while: the Decades Challenge for The Sims 4. I could not find a Spanish version, so I translated the one I believe is the original. If I am wrong and you know which simmer created this challenge, please leave me a comment in the box below.

I have also been making some changes to the later decades, adding more rules that I test as I go along, and I added the 2020s with the help of my subscribers.

CC for the Sims 4 Decades Challenge (download here)

• All The Sims 4 Cheats
• The Best Sims 4 Mods (the ones I ALWAYS use)
• Sims 4 CC, the custom content I recommend
• Subscribe to my YouTube channel

THE SIMS 4 DECADES CHALLENGE RULES

Important: each decade represents a new generation

All the mods and CC I used are at this link!

You start in the 1890s, and the idea (according to its author) was to show the changing world in real time, which means the challenge begins with some limits on marriage regarding race and gender.

You can choose to ignore those and any other rule to suit your playstyle. Each new decade begins with the children becoming young adults (or teens, if you prefer).

Watch the first episode of the series here:

1890s Rules | The Sims 4

▶ They can only marry within their own ethnicity (this also depends on your playstyle; you can skip this rule if you wish)
▶ They can only marry and have a relationship with the opposite sex (this also depends on your playstyle; you can skip this rule)
▶ Bathrooms have to be outside; whether you want separate bathrooms is up to you
▶ No electricity (lighting is a problem here, use candles or lanterns; you can use the No Utilities lot trait)
▶ You must always “try for a baby”, not just WooHoo for fun (although if it happens without you controlling it, don't worry)
▶ Girls who are born can only have the Creative TRAIT
▶ Women take care of the children and clean the house, but they can help in the garden
▶ Girls can only move out once they are married
▶ The firstborn must be the one who takes the family into the next generation. If there are no boys, the husband of the girl (if she is the firstborn) will be the “man” of the family in the next generation.
▶ Use only wooden furniture (no upholstered beds, only quilts and blankets)
▶ An old-fashioned stove and fridge; you can also use the floor oven that comes with Island Living
▶ No showers, only bathtubs
▶ Your sims cannot work; the money they make must come from gardening, painting or woodworking
▶ Wooden walls and floors
▶ The house may only be decorated with impressionist or classical paintings.
▶ You must have a Cow Plant ready for the 1910s, so start now in case you do not want to or cannot use mods.

1900s Rules | The Sims 4

▶ Your family can now have indoor plumbing (but still no showers)
▶ Electric lighting is allowed
▶ Upholstery is allowed
▶ Wallpaper is allowed
▶ The phonograph music player is allowed

Allowed jobs (men only)

▶ Business career up to level 6
▶ Snowy Escape Salaryperson up to level 6
▶ Culinary up to level 5
▶ Entertainer – musician branch, with the full career open

Women cannot work (go to a workplace) but they can work from home:

▶ They can be writers
▶ Painters
▶ Florists
▶ Sell cakes

And any profession that can be done from home.

Take away her chance of being recognized; it is not yet the time of Agatha Christie, so put up with it!

1910s Rules | The Sims 4

World War I

▶ Young adult and adult male sims “go to war” when they become adults (feed the Cow Plants to see whether they live or survive, or roll the dice: if it is even they live, if it is odd they die in the war) Or you can use the Military Service mod.

When can your sims come back from the war?

That is up to you. You can make them return, if they are alive, after a week or when they have reached adulthood.

You can use a Cow Plant to decide the fate of your sims, or you can use the Enlist in War Mod (Military Service)

▶ Male children must have one of the following traits as adults (assuming they were in the war and suffered trauma):

▶ Gloomy
▶ Hot-Headed
▶ Clumsy
▶ Erratic
▶ Lazy
▶ Insecure
▶ Evil
▶ Commitment Issues

▶ The men of the family cannot work until they go from young adult to adult (you may want to move them to a separate household until then, and then invite them over once a week to simulate war leave)
▶ Rugs are allowed
▶ Painted walls are allowed
▶ Men who marry the women must also “go to war” (one chance to have a baby first is allowed)

Jobs (men only)

▶ Snowy Escape Salaryperson up to level 6
▶ Culinary – Chef branch
▶ Entertainer – Musician branch
▶ Painter – both branches
▶ Writer

Women cannot work (go to a workplace) but they can work from home:

▶ They can be writers
▶ Painters
▶ Florists
▶ Sell cakes

And any profession that can be done from home.

1920s Rules | The Sims 4

Fourth season of the 1920s Decades Challenge

Important point in history: Women's rights

▶ Women can be chosen as the heir if you have never done so before
▶ Women can work as painters or musicians until children arrive
▶ No sim can drink in public, as Prohibition has begun
▶ Sims must take part in every protest possible

Open careers

▶ Criminal (bootleggers) – Mob Boss branch
▶ Culinary (bootleggers) – Mixologist branch
▶ Athlete, as the Olympics begin
▶ Politician
▶ Actress
▶ Detective
▶ Doctor

Women can also work from home:

▶ They can be writers
▶ Painters
▶ Florists
▶ Sell cakes

And any profession that can be done from home.

Now women finally begin to be recognized for our work. Bring out the artist inside your sim!

Watch my Decades Challenge episodes

1930s Rules | The Sims 4

Watch the premiere of season 5

Important point in history: The Great Depression

▶ Any sim who has a career loses their job and has to earn money by scavenging around the neighborhood for 2 weeks of game time.
▶ Lost careers (business)
▶ Bills can only be paid after the electricity has been cut off (water too, if you want a harsher version)
▶ Every sim who reaches adulthood in this era must have one of the following traits:

▶ Gloomy
▶ Hot-Headed
▶ Clumsy
▶ Erratic
▶ Lazy
▶ Insecure
▶ Evil
▶ Commitment Issues

1940s Rules | The Sims 4

Watch the premiere of season 6

Important point in history: World War II

▶ Young adult and adult male sims “go to war” when they become adults (feed the Cow Plants to see whether they live or survive, or roll the dice: if it is even they live, if it is odd they die in the war)
▶ You can also use the Military Service MOD
▶ Women can also go to war, and it is up to you whether they live or die; you can let chance choose
▶ Male children must have one of the following traits as adults (assuming they were in the war and suffered trauma)

▶ Gloomy
▶ Hot-Headed
▶ Clumsy
▶ Erratic
▶ Lazy
▶ Insecure
▶ Evil
▶ Commitment Issues

▶ The men of the family cannot work until they go from the young adult stage to adulthood (you may want to move them to a separate household until then, and then invite them over once a week to simulate war leave)

▶ The role of women in this decade is IMPORTANT, so they must start working outside the home

▶ Painter – Master of the Real (working as a minister of propaganda)
▶ Culinary – Mixologist (working as a pub landlady), Chef (Minister of Food / Agriculture)
▶ Entertainer: any branch (entertaining the troops)
▶ Business
▶ Engineer
▶ Doctor
▶ Salaried worker
▶ Military
▶ Journalist

Note: they cannot climb very high in the branch they choose.

▶ Every house must now have a radio and someone must listen to it for an hour a day.
▶ Every house must have a garden
▶ One hot cooked meal per person per day; the rest of the hunger must be handled with produce from the garden.

The house where your family lives must have a basement, and it must be stocked with food, a bathroom and beds, which you must use until your heir sim reaches adulthood.

Flip a virtual coin to decide when to use it. If it lands on heads, the whole family must spend the night in the basement. If it lands on tails, carry on with your normal life. This lasts until the sims who were sent to war return.

When can your sims come back from the war?

That is up to you. You can make them return, if they are alive, after a week or when they have reached adulthood.

1950s Rules | The Sims 4

Watch the premiere of season 7

Important point in history: The Korean War

The first son is drafted as a soldier, but if it is a girl, she must become a volunteer nurse. Both feed the Cow Plant (feed the Cow Plants to see whether they live or survive, or roll the dice: if it is even they live, if it is odd they die in the war) or you can use The Sims 4 Military Service mod.

If they survive, they must choose the following traits when they reach adulthood:
▶ Gloomy
▶ Hot-Headed
▶ Clumsy
▶ Erratic
▶ Lazy
▶ Insecure
▶ Evil
▶ Commitment Issues

Other rules for the 1950s

▶ The cheapest TV available: it only shows programs from 6 to 10 a.m. and from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m.
▶ The house can be decorated with pop art
▶ You can listen to other styles of music such as pop, rock and folk
▶ All holidays must be celebrated as a family
▶ Women must marry their first love; if they do not, family relationships will not be the same, as they will be seen as the shame of the family
▶ Women take care of the house, while the men fix the broken objects
▶ Young people can go to university if they wish
▶ Mothers must have a good relationship with their daughters

Careers for the 1950s

▶ Secret Agent
▶ Scientist
▶ Police
▶ Actor / Actress
▶ Education
▶ Lawyer

1960s Rules | The Sims 4

Watch the premiere of season 8

Important point in history: the sexual revolution and the civil rights era

▶ Birth control! You no longer need to try for a baby every time you WooHoo
▶ Astronaut career available
▶ Secret Agent career available
▶ Marriage available regardless of ethnicity
▶ Same-sex relationships are allowed
▶ Better TVs are allowed (no wall-mounted flat screens) (time restrictions still apply)
▶ You can take time off for the birth of your baby.

1970s Rules | The Sims 4

Watch the premiere of season 9

Important point in history: The end of the Vietnam War

▶ The first two children (of any gender) are sent to war (use the Cow Plant) as draftees or volunteer nurses, and must adopt a survivor trait:

▶ Gloomy
▶ Hot-Headed
▶ Clumsy
▶ Erratic
▶ Lazy
▶ Insecure
▶ Evil
▶ Commitment Issues

▶ The first microprocessor means the second-tier computer can only be used for games and writing

▶ Environmental movement: every child who is born must have one of the following:

▶ Active
▶ Self-Assured
▶ Outdoorsy
▶ Outgoing

1980s Rules | The Sims 4

Watch the premiere of season 10

▶ All computers are available only for writing and playing games
▶ The yuppie era: every child who is born must have one of the following traits:

▶ Self-Assured
▶ Gourmet
▶ Ambitious
▶ Materialistic
▶ Snob

▶ One person in the family must have a business / investor career
▶ TV time restrictions from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m.
▶ You are allowed to go camping

1990s Rules | The Sims 4

Watch the premiere of season 11

Important point in history: The Internet!

▶ Computers have no restrictions!
▶ You can use your cell phones!
▶ You can have a TV, but not a flat screen, and the cheapest game console.
▶ There are no restrictions on TV use
▶ Alternative, rock and pop are the genres you should listen to most
▶ When the first child goes from child to teen, your family becomes a prepper for the Y2K disaster
▶ You must build a safe house on your lot with the cheapest furniture and stay there for three days before your oldest teen's birthday; children and others are not allowed to go to school.

Boys and girls born in this decade must have some of these traits:

▶ Creative
▶ Gloomy
▶ Romantic
▶ Art Lover
▶ Bookworm
▶ Music Lover
▶ Vegetarian
▶ Outgoing or Loner

The heir of the next decade, who is growing up in the 90s, will care about the environment, so they will start recycling as a teen.

2000s Rules | The Sims 4

Watch the premiere of season 12

Important point in history: Climate Change

▶ All careers open
▶ You must live in Evergreen Harbor and take an active part in making your neighborhood greener
▶ Dad can take leave for the birth of his baby
▶ Flat screens are allowed
▶ You must recycle and start living a green life
▶ One member of the household must be vegan

2010s Rules | The Sims 4

Watch the premiere of season 13

▶ Gay marriage is allowed
▶ You may only have 2 children and both must go to university when the new decade begins
You must have a Roomba vacuum in the house
▶ You must build a robot
▶ You can smoke cannabis creatively without being jailed

2020s Rules | The Sims 4

Watch the premiere of the final season

Important point in history: The Pandemic

A pandemic has forced all the sims to live together at home. Nobody can leave, and the whole family will have to live together for a full year.

▶ You cannot leave the house for 1 year of game time
▶ You cannot have visitors for 1 year of game time
▶ You will have to find a job that lets you work from home
▶ Children must use tablets from infancy
▶ Adults must help the children with all their homework
▶ You must order food by phone
▶ Teen sims must be addicted to technology
▶ One family member must be a vlogger
▶ One family member must have at least 2 pen pals