Building a family and helping them achieve their dreams is a big part of The Sims, but things don’t always go according to plan. If you’re a benevolent watchman, you’ll do everything in your power to make them happy. Otherwise, you may want chaos to reign in your neighborhood. Whichever suits your whims, we’re here to help.
While it’s nice to think every life is perfect in The Sims 2, that simply isn’t true. Sometimes your teen sims have had enough of their little lives and do the unexpected, and if you don’t act fast, they’ll be gone forever. Thankfully, we’ll show you how to bring them back safe and sound.
How To Make A Sim Run Away
Not every sim’s life is a happy one. Teens that struggle to make friends and maintain healthy relationships in the home are a flight risk. They might just run away, fleeing the lot and becoming unselectable.
This won’t affect your sim’s grades. The schools are surprisingly forgiving.
The chances are increased if a sim has negative experiences and poor relationships with their family. When a sim runs away, you’ll get a notification that they’ve taken off. You have a short time to act if you want them back.
How To Get A Runaway Sim Back Home
When a sim runs away, you have 24 hours in-game to report them as missing. Hurry to the nearest phone and select the option to report them. The police will respond quickly, though there’s no guarantee they’ll find the missing teen.
However, the odds are in your favor the sooner you act. After the 24-hour window passes, chances of being found drop significantly. If the police cannot find your sim, the teen will return on their birthday to age up, but you won’t see them at all until then.
Sims that run away are less likely to go to college due to the time constraints.
If the teen is found, the cops will return them to the property and any household members will rush to see them and apologize (if they are on good terms). The teen is then no longer a flight risk for the next day, so be sure to improve conditions.
How To Find A Runaway Pet
Similar to sims that run away, pets can also flee if they are too stressed or witness traumatic events. Pets can also leave if their master dies or if they lose a fight to another pet. When they run off, the procedure is the same: report them as missing as soon as possible.
If your pet has a collar, they may appear on another sim’s lot. These sims can pick up the pet and return them for a reward. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait for the police to find your pet.
If the pet doesn’t have a collar and isn’t reported as missing, it will be marked as a stray by the end of the week and can be adopted by another family.
