Best Mobile Games Like The Sims

The Sims has become a ubiquitous franchise in the niche of simulation gaming it occupies, leaving little room for direct competition. Developer Maxis has been resting on its laurels for the past decade, pumping out additional content and DLC packs for The Sims 4.

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Obviously, if there’s easy money to be made, developers will take it. However, fans of the franchise can look to mobile gaming for similar experiences. That’s not to say there’s no enjoyable gameplay to be found, from games that toe a pretty close line to those that innovate and expand. Consider these best mobile games like The Sims.

1

The Sims Mobile & The Sims FreePlay

Licensed Mobile Alternatives

Systems

Released

December 15, 2011

It would be remiss not to mention there are, in fact, two licensed Sims games currently available on mobile. These are most likely the best alternatives for fans looking for a 1-to-1 Sims experience but it feels like a bit of a low-hanging fruit, so consider this a sort of honorable mention.

The Sims Mobile is more focused on the micro experience of running the lives of one family of Sims, while The Sims FreePlay is a larger town management experience. Both provide the classic experience and use cooldowns for progress. It’s also worth mentioning that updates for The Sims Mobile were scaled back in 2024, so the game may have a limited shelf life for new players.

2

Single City: Social Life Sim

Flirting With Fame

• Platforms: Android, IOS
• Developer: A Thinking Ape Entertainment Ltd.
• Released: 2022

Single City: Social Life Sim aims to sell the power fantasy of living a high-power, glamorous lifestyle. As the name might suggest, it puts a particular focus on romance options and chasing the dream of becoming famous.

The format is more typical of mobile games, with a static character explaining an issue followed by player prompts to clear and redesign certain rooms. The livable elements are more bare bones. It’s probably better suited to fans of those match-three puzzle games where players are renovating grandma’s house.

3

Design Home: House Makeover

Interior Design

• Platforms: Android, IOS
• Developer: CrowdStar
• Released: 2016

Design Home: House Makeover offers a laser focus on the home design aspect of The Sims. Players won’t be designing their own characters and living out their lives; this is specifically for the subset of fans who are drawn into the series by the open-ended construction tools.

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With those additional elements stripped out, Design Home: House Makeover offers a lot more variety in customization options and even some recognized furnishing brands for players to design their ideal homes.

4

Glow Fashion Idol

Fashion Styling

• Platforms: Android, IOS
• Developer: Crazy Labs Limited
• Released: 2025

The newest entry on the list and the exact inverse of Design Home: House Makeover. For fans more attuned to designing and dressing their avatar, Glow Fashion Idol is one of the best fashion games on the mobile market.

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It doesn’t stray too much from the addictive format of mobile fashion games that came before it, but it is reasonably generous with its currency, minimizing the monetization impact and, unlike so many others, it offers more diverse body inclusivity options.

5

Home Street – Dream House Sim

Impress The Neighbors

• Platforms: Android, IOS
• Developer: Supersolid
• Released: 2017

This may not be the most creative SEO-grabbing title on an app store. However, Home Street – Dream House Sim does provide a decent blend of all the elements that make up The Sims.

It offers some good character customization options and some pared-back but component home design features. In terms of the lifestyle elements, it mainly consists of townsfolk giving players odd jobs to do in the form of missions, more akin to Animal Crossing. Completing said missions allows players to level up and earn more customization options.

6

Life Makeover

The Mystery Of Fashion

• Platforms: Android, IOS
• Developer: Archosaur
• Released: 2022

This is a strange recommendation because, like so many mobile games, Life Makeover is a game that doesn’t really deliver what the thumbnails promise, but after scratching beneath that surface, does offer a very interesting gameplay alternative. It does technically feature a lifestyle sim that players are free to maximize, but it is a small part of a much larger whole.

There’s a lot to unpack, but the elevator pitch is there’s a full-story campaign revolving around solving mysteries to track down a killer. The player-designed protagonist can enter NPCs’ minds to uncover secrets and she also gains power from designing fashion items. Progression is halted by the grind of crafting certain items to complete an outfit and move on to the next chapter.

7

Virtual Families 3: Our Country Home

Mobile Home

• Platforms: Android, IOS, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch
• Developers: Last Day of Work, Gogii Games
• Released: 2020

Virtual Families 3: Our Country Home is the culmination of a series that basically began with the question, what if The Sims was a mobile game? Those mobile adaptations include the loop of expanding ever outwards, similar to mobile farming games, and a real-time element similar to Tamagotchi, where a family is always active even when players aren’t.

Failure to leave them with enough food or check in on them regularly for ailments and issues will result in them dying in between plays. It’s also worth springing for the premium version without microtransactions as needy families will constantly require more items to be purchased by design.

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