Alternate rule versions are on posts #107 by surprised_by_witches, #160 by Treebrooke, and #175 by Alijah.

EDITED 9/06/09: Removed the penalty for children/teenagers who earn a D or an F. Penalizing people who chose not to download a no-school hack but couldn't get their Simkids to study isn't fair. Be warned, however, that an F usually brings the Social Worker a-knocking, and if they prevent the birth of your heir or take your heir away, you lose. If you started the challenge before this date, adjust your scores to remove the penalty, if you incurred it.

8/13/09: Added a rule about genie lamps with Freetime, a link to a community-skilling hack for those of you who don't already have one (for skilling on community lots after the second generation), and new bonuses for Sims who grow up in Platinum Aspiration.

8/12/09: Added to the food rules, i.e. rule number 2; added a new rule about Lifetime Aspiration Points and new restrictions to what your Sims may have in their houses.

8/11/09: Clarified and added a couple of rules; added a new penalty.

REQUIREMENTS:

The Sims 2
The Sims 2: Seasons EP

INTRO:

The year is 1868, and you are a young Sim living in New York City. One day, after trudging home from work, you overhear your neighbor telling his wife about the Homestead Act, an act passed by Congress in 1862. Apparently, he says, anyone who finds 160 acres of land out west, fixes it up, and lays a claim on it gets to keep it.

Anything, you think bitterly, would be better than working in that stupid shop--and at least if you go west, you can make a name and a living for yourself on your own land, in your own house, through farming. The more you think about it, the better the plan sounds.

The next morning, you count out your savings. You don't have much, but it's enough to buy you the supplies to make your way out west. You give notice at work, buy everything you need, and set off to make your fortune.

But no one told you that the lands of the west are vast and lonely. No one told you that there is little water, little plant life, and little company. No one told you that your nearest neighbor would be miles and miles away. By sheer luck, you find a plot of land with a small pond and enough trees to build yourself a house, but little else. Left with a meager $100 (2,000 simoleons), a few tools, and a packet of seeds, you sigh and dig your spade into the ground.

GOAL:

Raise a family out west through five generations. Once your fourth heir passes away, tally up your points and either continue with that heir's children, or let the family die off. Maybe they finally moved back to the city and made their fortune there...

If your original Sim or any heirs (except the fourth) die by any means (other than old age) before producing an heir themselves, you lose the challenge. Likewise, if the social worker takes any of your Sims' children away before the next heir is born or is a teenager, you lose.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In the Neighborhood view, set your seasons to spring-summer-fall-winter or some variation thereof. All four seasons must occur at some point during a Sim year. Unless you feel like starving your Sim to death, I don't recommend setting winter as the first season.

2. Create a new Adult Sim in CAS with the Fortune Aspiration. Gender, personality, and appearance are up to you. Keep in mind, however, that the gender of your first Sim determines the required gender of your heirs.

3. Move your new Sim into the largest empty lot. Build them a small pond just large enough to hold fish. Then use familyFunds to set their remaining funds to 2,000 simoleons.

4. Use the 2,000 simoleons to build your Sim a house. Make sure to create a garden plot, as your Sim’s crops will be his/her only source of income.

5. Get farming! Along the way, find your Sim a husband or a wife and produce an heir.

RULES:

1. Your Sim lives too far from civilization to find a job, so your income stems directly from the quality and quantity of your crops. Sell your harvest directly from the basket, NOT through a home business. Your only other means of income comes from boots you catch, as your Sim uses these to create leather items that he or she would have had to order, thereby saving him or herself money. Do not, however, sell any fish.

If a neighbor or a prospective husband/wife gives your Sim a gift, you may sell it. You may not sell the computer Mr. Humble delivers; you must delete the present unopened or leave the computer in your Sim's inventory.

2. Because the nearest grocery store is miles away, your Sim cannot order groceries. As such, he or she can only eat what he or she catches out of the pond and any excess crops he or she harvests. When you buy your first fridge, if you do not use a hack to empty it from the start, restrict your Sim's meals to fish dishes. If you want to take the edge off, use the default food supply to make cereal for breakfast, lunch meat sandwiches for lunch, and chef salad for dinner. Your Sim may drink juice for snack. Once the fridge empties, however, leave it empty and fill it with crops and fish. You may not delete the fridge and buy a new one to replenish the food supply. You may, however, upgrade the fridge once you have the money, at which point the same meal rules as above apply.

3. Your Sim can only marry a Townie of the opposite gender. If you have Nightlife, they may only marry if they have at least one attraction bolt. As desperate as your Sim is for company, they won't put up with someone horrifically ugly.

4. When your Sims Woohoo, they may not use birth control--where on earth would they get it? Therefore, when Woohooing, always select "Try for Baby."

5. You may use hacks to allow teenagers to Woohoo and become pregnant, such as the Inteenimater. However, if you have hacks to allow termination of pregnancy (abortion), you may not use those.

6. The heir MUST be the same gender as your original Sim. If the firstborn is the opposite gender, in other words, keep trying until you get the right gender. You may not adopt.

7. Your "breeding pair" of Sims must remain in the house until they die--they have nowhere else to go. This means that your original Sim, their husband or wife, and the various heirs and their husbands or wives must live in the house for their entire lives. Their siblings or extraneous children, however, may move out once they reach adulthood.

8. No NPCs. No one lives close enough to offer to babysit your children or clean your house.

9. Your Sim may not call the police. Out here, no one can protect him or her from burglars. Your Sim may, however, call the fire department and his or her fiance/fiancee. Once the fiance/fiancee moves in, he or she may use the phone only for fire emergencies.

10. Roll dice to determine the Aspirations of your Sims' heirs and their siblings. 1 = Knowledge, 2 = Family, 3 = Romance, 4 = Pleasure (or you choose, if you don't have Nightlife), 5 = Fortune, 6 = Popularity.

11. If you have OFB, no home businesses.

12. You may not travel to any community lots until the second heir reaches adulthood--see rule 21.

13. No Aspiration rewards.

14. No cheats after the initial familyFunds. If your Sim's husband/wife brings more than 3,000 simoleons to the house when they move in, you may use familyFunds to adjust the family's money to its original amount, plus 3,000. If they bring less than 3,000, live with it. Realistically, any other Sims yours happens to meet and fall in love with will only have limited funds available.

15. If you have University, none of your Sims may attend. They live too far away for that.

16. Within the house, you may have:

One fridge
One sink
One shower
One phone
One stove
One trash can
One bookshelf (the cheapest one)
One juicer
One smoke detector
One mirror
Any number of beds, chairs, tables, etc

17. You MAY NOT have:

Any bathtubs (until after the first heir reaches adulthood--see rule 20)
Any dishwashers
Any trash compactors
Any coffee/hot chocolate makers
Any hanging lamps (floor lamps and table lamps only)
Any electronic devices, such as speakers, computers, etc
Any body-building devices or creativity-building items (until after the second heir reaches adulthood--see rule 21)
A telescope
Any pets
A changing table
A car (until after the second heir reaches adulthood--see rule 21)
A burglar alarm
A toy xylophone
A toy stove
The drawing table for children and toddlers

18. Outside, you MAY NOT have:

Any trees (even orchard trees--the environment won't support them)
Any flowers
A greenhouse, compost bin, or sprinklers
A ladybug house (until after the second heir reaches adulthood--see rule 21)

19. If your Sims' children bring home friends from school, say goodbye to them at once. Your Sims' children may not attend private school. (Technically, they shouldn't be attending school at all, so if you have a homeschool/no school hack, feel free to use it.)

20. After the first heir reaches adulthood, you may place a bathtub in your family's house and upgrade the bookshelf.

21. After the second heir reaches adulthood, your family may own a car and the cheapest radio. They may travel only to lots made for skill-building purposes--gyms, art studios, etc. To skill-build on community lots, use Pescado's hack. They may not travel to restaurants, OFB Sim-owned businesses, or grocery stores. You may also place one ladybug house in your garden.

22. After the third heir reaches adulthood, you may place a dishwasher and one creativity-building item in the house.

23. You may not delete a gravestone or an urn, and you may only move it to a new place on the lot once. After that, its place is set.

24. You may exit without saving to undo a bad event TWICE.

25. No special Sims--i.e., aliens, zombies, werewolves, vampires, etc. If your Sim becomes one of these, use the appropriate potion to change them back. If you cannot afford the corresponding potion at the time, use familyFunds to allot yourself the right amount to buy it. There is no penalty for accidental transformations; in fact, your Sim will likely turn into a Plantsim at some point, with all the gardening they'll be doing (my Sims did!). As long as you change them back, don't worry about it.

26. If you have Bon Voyage, no digging for treasure. You're the first one on this land; no one passed by before to bury secret money-making items for you.

27. Your Sim must marry their chosen partner before the couple's first baby is born. Children born out of wedlock result in a penalty. In those days, having babies before marriage was a serious no-no.

28. If you have Freetime, you may use the Lifetime Aspiration Points your Sim earns. Your heir Sims' Secondary Aspirations should always be Fortune, unless Fortune is their Primary Aspiration. If Fortune is the Primary, choose which Secondary you'd like them to have. For your other Sims, the Secondary Aspiration is up to you.

You may sell any genie lamps you receive, although if the matchmaker brings them when you call her instead of bringing potions or the promise of a blind date, you must put them in your inventory. Sell only the lamps you receive spontaneously.

29. After the fifth generation, you're done! All restrictions are lifted, and your Sims may live normal lives.

POINTS:

+20 for every Sim successfully raised to adulthood
+50 for every successful heir raised (so, if you finish, you should have 200 points by default)
+50 for every 1,000 simoleons in your family's funds after five generations have come and gone
+50 for every toddler who grows up in Platinum Aspiration
+50 for every Sim with one maxed-out skill
+75 for every child who grows up in Platinum Aspiration
+100 for every teenager who grows up in Platinum Aspiration
+150 for every adult who grows up in Platinum Aspiration
+200 for every elder Sim who dies with Platinum Aspiration (pictures or it never happened)
+200 for every Sim with all skills maximized
+300 for every Sim who achieved a Lifetime Want (this is high because, since your Sims can't have jobs, your chances of getting both a good Want and achieving it are very slim)
+400 if you have one Platinum gravestone for all six (or, without Nightlife, five) Aspiration types on the lot at the end of the game

-50 for every time a Sim drops into red Aspiration
-50 for every cheat used (other than necessary familyFunds cheats)
-50 for every child born out of wedlock
-100 for every non-heir Sim who dies from anything other than old age
-100 for every burglary
-100 for every visit from the Sim psychologist
-100 for every fire your Sim starts
-200 for every visit from the social worker that doesn't take away your Sim's heir
-300 for every Sim heir that dies from anything other than old age after THEIR heir is born
-400 for every Sim relationship that ends in a breakup

Wow, this sounds really hard.

Sims in NYC?! Reminds me of Diamond Jim Brady!

I'm getting in deep with these challenges. I intend to do this! I will post pictures at a later time. :]

Two questions:

1) Can my sims sell fish and boots?
2) Is digging allowed or forbidden?

That's a good question. I would like to know about the boots especially. Or are they going to have to stay in my inventory until generation five? Because that's a lot of boots...

Well, if the boots can't be sold then put them in the juicer and the sims can drink boot-juice.

Actually, I like to think if I kept the boots from five generations of sim-fishing, I could turn a nice profit by the sixth generation..as long as I pass them along with the give-gift interaction.

Arathea: No digging, because realistically there's no buried treasure in the middle of the western plains. XD (I forgot to mention that because I don't have BV, so I didn't think about it.)

You can't sell the fish, but you can definitely eat them (and frankly I think it's one of the best ways to keep your Sim alive--unless you don't use the no-food fridge hack, it's all they have until the first harvest comes in). I think, to take some of the edge off, you can go ahead and sell the boots--pretend he/she saved him/herself some money by using them to make leather goods she/he would have bought otherwise. Boot-juice is good too!

(If you prefer a greater challenge, though, don't sell the boots.)

I'm glad you and Prosthetics are going to attempt it! (Are you going to, 888mph?) I haven't started my round with it yet, but I ran a preliminary check on the rules with one of my other Sims and I think it's doable for at least one generation, if not all five. After you get a couple more Sims in to help with the gardening, the workload lessens a bit.

ETA: I'll add the fish, boot, and digging restrictions to the rules.

I see, that would have been too easy!

More questions:
1) May we use fertilizer?
2) Can we place a ladybird house?
3) The sim may call the fiance/fiancee, how shall we handle this before the engagement? With fiance/fiancee do you mean the one we choose to be the future partner?
4) What do we do with incoming calls?
5) What kind of hacks/cc is allowed/forbidden?
--> InTeen is allowed, abortion not. Must I disable miscarriage for InTeen?
--> How about ACR?
6) May I buy-->use-->sell furniture in the beginning?

Out of questions... for the moment.

Are we allowed to expand the pond? Because for some reason, the 3x2 one that I've built isn't fishable...?

It's deep enough, trust me.

And I already started using fertilizer...uh..oops?

1) May we use fertilizer?

Yes.

2) Can we place a ladybird house?

Yes, but only after the second heir has grown to adulthood.

3) The sim may call the fiance/fiancee, how shall we handle this before the engagement? With fiance/fiancee do you mean the one we choose to be the future partner?

Yes, that's what I mean--you can have the chosen partner move in and marry your Sim at any time, and to make things easier, your Sim may use the phone to call them before they move in. Once they move in, however, restrict phone use to fire emergencies.

4) What do we do with incoming calls?

Just ignore them or, if you have Apartment Life, set your phone to Silent Mode. It's really only there in case of emergencies and to make courting someone easier.

5) What kind of hacks/cc is allowed/forbidden?

Anything and everything is allowed as long as it falls within the rules. As far as hacks, you can't have anything that prevents the social worker from coming or prevents death from starvation (if the latter exists--I've never seen it) or that makes gardening easier, plants hardier, etc. Basically any and all CC items are fine, provided that they don't behave in any way unusual for their item. For example, a CC stove should function only as a stove and have no extra pie menus. Don't use CC or hacks to simplify the challenge, and you'll be fine.

Of course, if you want to use CC or hacks to make the challenge HARDER, be my guest.

--> InTeen is allowed, abortion not. Must I disable miscarriage for InTeen?

No, miscarriage with InTeen is allowed and, I think, adds to the difficulty level. You just can't purposely end a pregnancy because your Sims can't handle another baby.

--> How about ACR?

ACR is fine although it might be tricky. As long as your Sim and his/her chosen partner marry before the first baby is born (as was typically the custom then, and is often custom now), you're in the clear.

6) May I buy-->use-->sell furniture in the beginning?

No--theoretically, there's no one to sell it to. Your Sim has enough cash to plant crops, harvest them, and ship them to a city for money. Boots serve as leather to make things that they don't have to pay for.

Are we allowed to expand the pond? Because for some reason, the 3x2 one that I've built isn't fishable...?

Sure--expand it until it's fishable. I'll run another test and adjust the size accordingly--3x2 worked in my game, if I remember correctly, but I'll check again.

ETA: I made an adjustment with the pond--make it as small as possible while still being fishable, and you're fine. =)

Yay, questions!

1) It's a bit late to ask for my CAS sim and his wife, but how about those lifetime points you can spend for things like a secondary aspiration? (started with FT) May we use them?
2) How about skill building toys for toddlers/children? How about a potty? May we use these things and other (non skill building) toys? How many of them?

I started this challenge today =D
My sim has a whole $3 to her name
It's really fun to play, and quite challenging

My sim has $99. This is after he sold his crops! Gold badge in fishing and silver in gardening..My bills keep going up for some reason! Ah...I love a challenge. ^_^

1) It's a bit late to ask for my CAS sim and his wife, but how about those lifetime points you can spend for things like a secondary aspiration? (started with FT) May we use them?

You may! I certainly have. XD Although if you don't it'd probably add yet another layer of difficulty, as if this one needs more.

2) How about skill building toys for toddlers/children? How about a potty? May we use these things and other (non skill building) toys? How many of them?

You can use the toddler potty and any toddler/children toys except the xylophone, the toy stove, and the drawing table.

I'm glad you guys are enjoying it! =) I started my "official" one yesterday, and my Sim, Sam, lived with all of $54 and nearly starved to death until he moved his wife, Linda, in; she brought $2000 and 3 cooking points with her, I expanded the house a bit, and the harvest promptly came in and brought a couple hundred dollars. Now they have $1084 and a baby on the way.

Both have already dropped into red Aspiration once, though, and a fire put Sam over the top into critical mode. He needed a visit from the psychologist. That means I'm at -200 points at the moment. x.o

ETA: I added the Lifetime Aspiration Points info to the rules, as well as clarified use of the fridge and the foodstuffs in it in rule 2. If you've been doing things differently with your fridges, just adjust accordingly. =)

So, I decided to bring you a photo update...because taking pictures cures the luls in between waiting for my crops to come in, especially because Kaylynn Spitzig has infested my children's DNA with her playful personality points >_<


First, this is Mark Smith. He's in his PJ's because I couldn't afford a dresser, or a shower, so he's stuck in them for awhile. Anyway. He is my victim.


This is his spouse, Kaylynn Smith (formerly Spitzig) she isn't adjusting to farm life very well...and has already gone through aspiration failure once. Yay therapist.


These are there two daughters (grr..), not twins, of course. But they are a mere 3 days apart. Huggle for you. :]


And this is them doing their homework. As children. Laura is the reason that Kaylynn went through aspiration failure. She missed school one day soon after transition and her grade plummeted >_<


And...FAMILY FISHING!

Mark has his gold fishing badge. Kaylynn has silver. Laura has silver. And Rebecca has none. (She is by far my least favorite child, but Kaylynn is pregnant again. This had better be a boy. >_<)

And Mark finally earned his gold gardening badge, so we're getting better crops...especially in the winter time when their status plummets to sickly :/

So they have a fair bit of money, and 3 1x4 gardeing plots. There was a period of time where they were starving, there was no food in the fridge...and it was 2 days before spring..so everything was covered in frost. Worst thing ever. Especially becuase I was trying to potty train two toddlers who had terrible hygiene (because we can't have a bathtub...gah.)

I was also finally able to afford being able to enclose the house...I had some walls to put stuff on, but I haven't been able to afford walls, really, so there was a lot of coldness going on. Toddler sneezes are soooo adorable!

Currently, I am looking at -400 points >_<

1. We don't get any points for managing to have a toddler, child or teen growing up in platinum?
2. We CAN move sims out, right? Because I need to get these girls out as soon as they hit adulthood.

I love this challenge!
I'm still with the first toddler, second kid on the way. (Memo to myself: Don't Forget Screenshots!!!)

Here two questions for the future:

1)

I really hope this means we can use a hack for community skilling. Otherwise gyms and art studios would be useless.

2) May we use LotFullOfSims or something like that? (Yes, I'm a bit insane about this hack. )

Edit:
3) My sims got a genie lamp. Use, sell, inventory, what to do?

I now have six children. 5 of which are girls. >_<

ARGH MARK. ARGH.

But he finally gave me my male heir...now I just have to wait...forever...geez...

And Mark elderfied, btw. He wasn't platinum...but he managed to be green (usually I just leave them in red so they can't keep stealing points from me.)


*Edit: I had to restart.

You can use a hack for community skilling if you have one, or you can use Pescado's for OFB EPs and higher. Since you're doing this challenge, you already have Seasons, so it's compatible.

Yes, you can use LotFullOSims.

Oooh, forgot about the genie lamps. Um...well, if you managed to keep your Sims working hard enough to earn one, you deserve the money that comes from one. Sell them. =)

Prosthetics: Of course you can move them out. =) My Sims are at two kids already, BOTH of which are girls, so I'm waiting with bated breath for them to grow to adulthood. I have a long wait ahead of me.

I hadn't considered children growing up in Platinum! That's a good point, though, because it's tough to get them in the Platinum range period, much less keeping them there. I'll add points for that.

One more question, what do we do with Mr. Humble's computer? Do we keep it in inventory or sell it? Because, obviously, we can't have it on the lot.

If you delete the present unopened, it will go away without earning you any money. If your Sim has already opened it, leave it in their inventory.

I just started this a few hours ago. First, a question: I'm assuming that Fortune sim bonuses (Financial Consulting, Investing) are off-limits, given the setting? Also, may we use the potter's wheel and sewing table? People on the frontier did have to provide for themselves.

My second generation baby was just born. I'm playing with a bit of a twist and setting this inside a science fiction setting in which a group of Cardassians (from Star Trek have landed in an unpopulated area of a planet. Instead of using a townie, I let my heir woo a Cardassian sim I made, only letting her bring $2500 into the home and with only 3 skills -- 2 cooking and 1 cleaning. I'd make a story thread, but my current in-game shots are smallish and ugly. I think I'll use a screencap program next time.


My sim, Elan, a few days in: he's forced to sleep in his recliner (during rain, no less!) and bath using the sink, but despite all his woes he only went into aspiration failure once. Now he's got a wife, so that's a nonissue -- the two can just date one another to keep their aspiration pretty good.


Enjoying the fruits of his labor sometime during the early summer.


This is his wife Terin's first haul. She got a Bronze fishing badge in one day of fishing. Their house (and they do have one now, with walls and windows and everything!) has been built from selling fish.

Interesting twist! Normally I'd maintain that your Sim can only marry Townies, but for the purpose of your twist, you kind of have to have him marry a pre-made Sim. =P

You can award points to those slots in their Lifetime Aspiration screen, but it won't do you any good because you can't have a computer and you can't use the phone for anything but fires and talking to their loved one. So, they're not technically off-limits per se, but there's no way to access them once they're unlocked.

People on the frontier provided for themselves by farming and typically sewed to make clothes, not to make money; as far as I've heard, they had little time to make pottery, much less sell it. The people in the cities made clothes for money, and they got very little for their effort.

Therefore, no, you may not use the pottery wheel or sewing machine. =) In my opinion, earning money becomes much, much easier when your Sim earns a Silver talent badge in Gardening. Eggplants, properly grown, bring in $300-400 per plant. That's my favorite plant to grow. Good-quality tomato plants also bring in around $100 each, so if you have a lot of them, you can make a good chunk of change.

Also, I'm glad you're enjoying the challenge, but with all due respect, did you read the rules thoroughly? I know there are many, but if you had, you would know that you are not allowed to sell fish. Fish are food. Realistically, living by themselves with no one else around for miles, the frontiersmen could not have transported fish to the nearest railway station for movement into the city without them rotting. You can sell boots, but not fish. It's too late to change it in your game now, but for future generations, to maintain the difficulty level of the challenge, please try to adhere to that rule.

I missed the "Do not, however, sell fish." I may try another family, as Elan turned into a PlantSim and I don't want to change him back -- I've never had a PlantSim before.

Is there anyway we can make an exception to the Plant Sim rule? Because my sim, virtually right after I have him take plantophic to cure his state, turns right back into a Plant Sim. Help?

I only ask because I can't afford to buy any more plantophic potions because I had to buy my kids beds.