One of the best aspects of The Sims 4 is the ability to create and play with households of all kinds. With popular challenges like the Legacy Challenges and the Black Widow Challenge, manipulating the various family styles is an engaging way of enjoying the game. Even for players who enjoy building and nurturing traditional nuclear families, The Sims 4 has many options when it comes to CAS features that alter appearance and personality, as well as the various worlds where different experiences of growing up are possible.
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In recent years, Expansion Packs have significantly added to the possibilities for designing families, and indeed watching them grow, in The Sims 4. Game Packs and Stuff Packs have also added tons of content to make family life even more realistic, or outlandish, depending on what players are looking for. This article breaks down the best packs for creating families in The Sims 4 and enriching the gameplay experience.
1
Tiny Living Stuff Pack
A Stuff Pack For Building Small Houses
Although not strictly a pack aimed at family gameplay, Tiny Living encourages Simmers to build houses that encourage Sims to live in close quarters. This has led some Simmers to create challenges like the Tiny Living Legacy Challenge, encouraging players to grow a family within a house that is arguably too small.
The items that come with this pack are modern, if quaint. While they aren’t great for building sprawling family homes, they can be helpful for designing rooms on a budget, which is especially helpful for family challenges where money is tight. The smaller items can also come in handy when creating rooms for teens in houses with little space.
2
Laundry Day Stuff Pack
A Stuff Pack That Adds Realism To Family Life
Laundry Day is a perfect pack for any player wishing to inject a bit of realism into their gameplay. This pack adds mechanics for washing clothes, as well as a bunch of items that fit perfectly into any functioning family home.
Besides bringing unique gameplay opportunities, Laundry Day has a bunch of cute Create-a-Sim items that are simplistic, adding further to the realistic family aspect that The Sims 4 has sometimes missed in the past.
3
Nifty Knitting Stuff Pack
A Stuff Pack That Adds Hobbies For Everyone
Another pack that isn’t specifically designed for families, the Nifty Knitting Stuff Pack offers a surprising amount for every generation. Knitting is a traditional craft, often passed down from generation to generation, so it makes sense that with this pack, any Sim can learn to knit, and do so anywhere. The introduction of Plopsy, a craft sales platform, also makes it easier for various family members to bring in some income through knitting, as well as other artisan activities.
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Ultimately, most fans love the Nifty Knitting pack for the storytelling opportunities it brings with it. Sims can create new items and objects, and it’s a relatively cheap skill to invest in. The CAS items that come with this pack fit well into any multi-generational home.
4
Toddler Stuff Pack
A Stuff Pack That Helps Bring Toddlers To Life
While Toddler Stuff is by no means the most useful stuff pack for the average player, it adds significant detail to an important phase of a Sim’s childhood. The CAS items in particular enhance the base game toddler items a lot, with various clothing options for different occasions.
The Build Mode items are great for decorating the family home. Indoor and outdoor toys in a variety of colorful swatches can make a house feel far more real, with the opportunity to create messy areas, play rooms, and cozy garden nooks for children to play in.
5
Kids Room Stuff Pack
A Stuff Pack Full of Accessories For Young Sims
Much like Toddler Stuff, the Kids Room Stuff Pack enhanced childhood gameplay with a host of colorful and creative details that fit into any family home. In CAS, the Kids Room Stuff Pack offers a wide range of clothing, primarily for casual occasions, that can fit into any kid’s closet.
Many of the Build Mode items in this pack fit quite a traditional family home style, but items like mirrors and lights have a touch of whimsy charm from colorful detailing and stickers. The stand-out items from Kids Room Stuff are the wall art items, from canvas artwork, and posters, to decals that suit kids with different interests.
6
Seasons Expansion Pack
An Expansion Pack For Creating Family Memories
A fan favorite, Seasons added a variety of weather events and holidays to the Sims calendar. On top of the various festivals and holidays that came with this pack, there are two new careers: Gardener and Scout. The Scout career is particularly interesting, creating an extra activity for children and teens that adds to the real-world feel of the game.
The build mode items that come with Seasons are great for developing Community Lots, as well as for celebrating holidays and creating a convivial atmosphere in the family home. There is a whole host of Create-a-Sim items that enhance character creation, meaning Sims can express their festive feelings, or ignore holidays altogether.
7
Parenthood Game Pack
A Game Pack For Confronting New Family Challenges
The release of Parenthood brought with it a bunch of game-changing elements for family gameplay in The Sims 4. This included the Character Value system, which meant children and teens were shaped more by their childhoods, allowing parents to discipline or encourage certain traits in their children. Parents could also start to develop the Parenting Skill, with a new aspiration, Super Parent, alongside that.
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The CAS options for this pack included a lot of new options for Sims of all ages, including outfits, accessories, and hairstyles. Building items in the pack are fairly basic, but will fit well into any classic family home.
8
Growing Together Expansion Pack
An Expansion Pack That Makes Family Life More Meaningful
For a while, it seemed that Parenthood provided everything that was needed for family gameplay in The Sims 4, but Growing Together allowed players to immerse themselves in even more detailed aspects of family life. At the center of the pack is the family-friendly world of San Sequoia, which has space for intergenerational activities in its library and recreation center.
Growing Together introduced the concept of family dynamics, which adds so much detail to storytelling within families. This affects how different Sims see each other, changing family life through growing relationships. Alongside family dynamics, there are a host of social events and life moments added to this pack that enhance the realism hugely. As could be expected, the pack also added tons of CAS items for every generation, as well as some truly cozy Build Mode items to make a house a home.
- Released
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September 2, 2014
- Publisher(s)
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Electronic Arts
- OpenCritic Rating
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Fair