Sims 4 Decades Challenge: It’s About Time

Are you ready to change up your gameplay?

With the sims 4 decades challenges, your sims can journey through time and experience everything each decade offers.

sims 4 decades challenge collage

So what exactly is the sims 4 decades challenge?

The original decades challenge was created by a simmer named ZombieCleo back in 2015.

Regarding the sims 4 decades challenge, your new game will start in the year 1890.

Each decade has its own rules or goals that you need to reach by the end of the decade.

So what is the point of this particular challenge?

You’ll want to play the game as historically accurately as possible and make your sims’ lineage reach the 2010s.

Have fun researching each decade to find the perfect clothes, hairstyles, furniture, houses, and more.

Are your sims ready to live through the challenges that await?

And if you want a glimpse of these sims 4 decades challenge, check out ZombieCleo’s first video afterward.

Disclaimer: The following mods are neither endorsed nor affiliated with The Sims, Maxis, or Electronic Arts. Any use of mods (custom content or game mods) should be done with caution and with the knowledge that there may be risks.

Sims 4 Decades Challenge Rules

I have listed the challenge rules overview by decade.

Each set of rules is based on the original idea from ZombieCleo.

You can also find the original instructions here.

And if you want to try the alternative versions of the sims 4 decades challenge, those are listed towards the end of this article.

1890s Challenge Rules

Home-related:

  • No electricity
  • Bathtubs only
  • You can only use candles for lighting
  • Only wooden furniture
  • Plain beds with blankets or quilts, no upholstered headboard
  • Wooden floors and walls
  • Old-fashioned fridge & stove
  • You can only take baths, no showers
  • You can use impressionist or classic-style paintings as wall decoration
  • Outdoor toilets

Sim-related:

  • You can only marry a sim with the same ethnicity
  • Opposite-sex marriage and relationships only
  • No woohoo-ing, only try for a baby
  • Only males can inherit
  • Female babies are limited to the creativity traits
  • Women sims take care of the children, clean the house, and garden
  • Female children can move out only when married

Job-related:

  • No jobs
  • You can make money through woodworking, painting, or gardening

1890s goal:


1900s Challenge Rules

Home-related:

  • Indoor plumbing (minus showers)
  • You can use electrical lighting
  • You can use upholstery items
  • You can use a phonograph
  • You can use wallpaper

Job-related:

  • Male sims can now work jobs
  • You can work as an entertainer (musician)

1900s goals:

  • Reach level 5 culinary skill
  • Reach level 6 business career


1910s Challenge Rules

The 1910s; The decade of the war.

War-related:

  • Male children are sent to war when they reach adulthood
    • To simulate the action, feed each drafted sim to the cowplant by eating the cake
    • Fate is randomly determined by a roll of an actual die
    • Rolling an odd number results in the sim dying by initiating another cowplant feeding
    • Rolling an even number, the sim would survive the war
  • Husbands are also sent to war, using the same process as before, but first given a chance to make a baby.

Home-related:

  • You can use carpets
  • You can paint interior walls

Sim-related:

  • Male sims that went to war must have one of these traits resulting from post-traumatic stress:
    • Clumsy
    • Gloomy
    • Hot Headed
    • Insane
    • Lazy
    • Mean
    • Noncommital
    • Squeamish

Job-related:

  • Male sims cannot work until they are full-grown adults
  • Only male sims can work
  • New career opportunities:
    • Business (Management Branch)
    • Culinary (Chef Branch)
    • Entertainer (Musician Branch)
    • Painter (All branches)


1920s Challenge Rules

The 1920s marks the start of women’s rights.

Sim-related:

  • Women can now inherit

Job-related:

  • Women can work as musicians or painters until their firstborn arrives
  • Male sims can have two new career choices:
    • Criminal (Boss Branch)
    • Culinary (Mixologist Branch)


collage of sims men and kids wearing tweed

If you’re interested in these 1920s tweed outfits by historicalsimslife, you can grab them here:


1930s Challenge Rules

The Great Depression of the 1930s.

Home-related:

  • Bills get paid only when electricity is cut off
    • For added difficulty, you can wait until the water is cut as well

Sim-related:

  • Every sim reaching adulthood gets one of these traits:
    • Gloomy
    • Mean
    • Non-Commital

Job-related:

  • All sims with a career lose their job
  • You can only make money by scavenging around for two weeks


1940s Challenge Rules

The World War II era.

War-related:

  • Male children are sent to war when they reach adulthood
    • Feed the draftees to the cowplant
    • Roll the dice. If it’s odds, the sim dies but survives for evens

Home-related:

  • Own a radio and listen to it for a least one hour per day
  • Must have a garden
  • Allowed one hot-cooked meal a day
  • All other meals are to be made with produce from the garden

Sim-related:

  • Male sims that went to war must have one of these traits:
    • Clumsy
    • Gloomy
    • Hot Headed
    • Insane
    • Lazy
    • Mean
    • Noncommital
    • Squeamish

Job-related:

  • Male sims cannot work until they have grown past young adulthood
  • Female sims must have a career among the following:
    • Athletic (Bodybuilding Branch)
    • Painter (Master of the Real Branch)
    • Chef & Culinary (Branches)
    • Entertainer (Any Branches)


1950s Challenge Rules

The Korean war of the 1950s.

War-related:

  • The first male and female child is sent to war, by means of the cowplant, upon reaching adulthood
  • The male sim gets recruited
  • The female sim volunteers as a nurse

Home-related:

  • Your sims can finally take showers
  • You can get the cheapest TV models, but viewing time is restricted to 6 to 10 AM and 6 PM to midnight
  • You can get the most affordable PC, but used only for writing
  • You can use Pop Art as decorations

Sim-related:

  • When reaching adulthood, the sims that went to war are assigned one of the traits you’d get from the World Wars

Job-related:

  • Two new careers ops:
    • Athlete (Professional Branch)
    • Writer


sims women in 1950 style dress

You can find Jolibean’s stylish 1950s dress here.


1960s Challenge Rules

The era of civil rights and the sexual revolution

Home-related:

  • You can have better TVs, but no flat screens (time restrictions still present)

Sim-related:

  • You can Woohoo without Trying for a Baby by using birth control
  • You can marry regardless of ethnicity
  • You can have same-sex relationships
  • You can take time off for childbirth

Job-related:

  • Two new careers unlocked:
    • Astronaut
    • Secret Agent


1970s Challenge Rules

The 1970s marks the end of the Vietnam war.

War-related:

  • The household’s first two children are sent to war through the cowplant
  • Drafted sims must have a Survivor trait
  • Drafted sims must become either a Conscript or Volunteer Nurse

Home-related:

  • Bulky computers can be used only for writing or gaming

Sim-related:

  • Every child born must have one of these traits:
    • Active
    • Loves Outdoors
    • Outgoing
    • Self-Assured


1980s Challenge Rules

Home-related:

  • TV can be watched between 6 AM to 2 AM only
  • You can use all computers for gaming or writing purposes only

Sim-related:

  • Every child born must have one of these traits:
    • Ambitious
    • Foodie
    • Materialistic
    • Self-Assured
    • Snob
  • You can go camping

Job-related:

  • One sim must have a business or investor career


Sims in leotards, tights and leg warmers

If you’re interested in this 1980s outfit, you can grab it on Joliebean‘s page.


1990s Challenge Rules

The 1990s; The decade of the internet.

Home-related:

  • No restrictions on computer usage
  • You can use cellphones

Sim-related:

  • When your household’ first born turns into a teen, the family goes into Y2K prepping-mode

1990s goal:

Prepping for Y2K.

  • Build a safe house with cheap furniture
  • Live in that safe house until 3 days before your eldest teen’s birthday
  • No school for children or teens


2000s Challenge Rules

Home-related:

  • You can use flat-screen TVs

Sim-related:

  • Male sims can take a leave from work after welcoming a child

Job-related:

  • All careers are allowed


2010s Challenge Rules

Sim-related:

  • Same-sex marriage is allowed

2010s goal:

  • Complete the challenge

Other Sims 4 Decades Challenge Rules

As mentioned, since the original challenge came out, other sets of rules were created by other players.

These rules and other features will affect the challenge’s length or add to its difficulty.

They’re pretty much the same rules as listed previously, but with some changes or more restrictions.

If you are okay with following multiple rules or a longer challenge, why not try them?

These sims 4 decades challenges can be loads of fun.


1. The Sims 4 Decades Challenge Rules by CuteCoffeeGal

This decades challenge version is the most current and played interpretation.

It mixes the original rules from the original creator and the updated rules from kakeru_naruse.

On top of that, CuteCoffeeGal has included various elements from various sims 4 expansion packs.

If you own most of the packs, try this version out.


2. The Black History Challenge by faerie-tempest

sims 4 african american couple embracing

Diversity is always important, and this version of the sims 4 decades challenge honors Black history.

Your sims story will begin in the year 1870 and through to the present day.

This version adapts the decades challenge (CuteCoffeeCup version) and the Upgrowth Challenge by HollieBB.


3. Great British Sim Challenge by EmersedCrown

Play the sims 4 decades challenge from the British’s point of view by living through Great Britain’s history.

Your sims 4 household will begin its journey from the Iron Ages and end its game at the start of the 2000s.

If this challenge is too intimidating, you can do parts of it instead of playing the entire challenge.

These parts include:

  • Dark Age: Starts in the Iron age and ends in the Medieval era
  • Golden Age: Starts with the Tudors and ends with the Victorians
  • Modern Age: Starts in the early 20th century and ends in the 2000s

If you’re up for that challenge, check out the link for more info.


4. The Ultimate Decades Challenge by Morbid Gamer

collage of different eras in time in sims 4

If you want a challenge that’ll last you a while, you may want to check out the Ultimate edition.

In this version, instead of starting your game in the year 1890, you’ll begin in 1300.

It’s similar to the Great British Sim Challenge, but this sims 4 decades challenge ends in modern-day America.

You’ll still need to remain historically accurate, which adds difficulty and duration to the challenge.

For more information, check out Morbid Gamer’s guide linked on the page below.


Sims 4 Decades Challenge Mods

Using mods for cheating in this challenge is not recommended, as it would beat the whole purpose of it being a challenge.

Although, there’s is one must-have mod that would help in setting up the game.

The MC Command Center by Deaderpool is a time saver.

This mod saves you the trouble of manually managing certain aspects of the sims 4 decades challenge, such as:

  • Setting up the lifespan of each stage of a sim’s life
  • Changing pregnancy settings
  • Relationships options for those era-forbidden loves
  • Limiting occults in the game
  • Etc.

You can find the mod using the following link, and how to set it up based on the set of rules you’re following:

Special thanks to illusorythrall for the instructions on how to set up the MCCC mod.

Sims 4 Decades Challenge: Final Thoughts

Taking on the sims 4 decades challenge is a great and original way to play the game.

Following the rules might feel tedious, but that’s what makes it a challenge.

The hardest part is learning the ways of the old days and finding appropriate custom content for each era.

Once you’ve completed this challenge, you may want to try one of its variants, like the Great Britain sims 4 decades challenge.

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave us a comment below or tag us on Tumblr.

Don’t forget to pin this post for later!

sims 4 decades challenge pinterest pin

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Sims 4 Decades Challenge: It’s About Time

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