Sims 4 challenges are rule sets players follow to make the game harder or more fun. The best known are the Legacy Challenge (10 generations of one family, starting broke), Not So Berry (10 color-themed generations with set traits and careers) and the Apocalypse Challenge (strict rules you lift by maxing careers). Below you get the most popular challenges, who made them, what you need and the core rules in short, with links to the full rules on the creators’ own sites.
Sims 4 challenges at a glance
| Challenge | Made by | Goal | Packs needed | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legacy Challenge | Pinstar | 10 generations of one family on one lot | Base game (packs optional) | Hard |
| Legacy Challenge Lite | Pinstar | Same, without scoring | Base game | Medium |
| Not So Berry | lilsimsie and alwaysimming | 10 generations, one color each | Several (swap what you lack) | Medium |
| Very Veggie Legacy | lilsimsie | Vegetable-themed generations, start from §0 | Several (swap what you lack) | Medium |
| Apocalypse Challenge | Pinstar | Lift every career’s restrictions in as few Sim days as possible | Base game (more careers with packs) | Very hard |
| Immigrant Challenge | Pinstar | Build a retail business, never take a job | Get to Work | Hard |
| Movin’ On Up | Pinstar | Start in the cheapest apartment, end in the top penthouse | City Living | Medium |
| Lot challenges | EA (in the game) | Play with a built-in handicap such as Off-the-Grid | Base game (more with packs) | Easy to hard |
The Legacy Challenge
The Legacy Challenge by Pinstar is the classic. You create one young adult founder, alone in the household, move them to an empty lot and play the same family for 10 generations. The official home of the rules is simslegacychallenge.com.
Core rules in short
- Start poor: after moving in, use the money cheat to set funds to §1,800 (regular start) or §0 (extreme start). Any lot size is allowed now, but small lots leave little room for 10 generations.
- No cheats or mods that give you an advantage. Money cheats like
motherlodeare out. CC that only looks nice is fine. Pinstar allows MC Command Center to raise the household size limit. - No restarting after bad events. Fires, firings and surprise twins stay. Restarting after a crash or bug is allowed.
- One lot for the whole challenge. You can build onto the house, but you cannot move. Vacations are fine.
- Only spouses move in. Sims who leave cannot come back.
- Lifespan on Normal. Each Sim may use one anti-aging item once in their life.
- No resurrection once the Grim Reaper has taken a Sim. Pleading with him is allowed.
- Aspirations stay until completed.
- The heir cannot move out. Who becomes heir is decided by the succession laws you pick at the start.
- Children’s traits and aspirations come from Pinstar’s random trait generator.
The full challenge also has a scoring system and succession laws. If that sounds like too much, start with the Lite version.
Legacy Challenge Lite
The Lite version keeps the same idea (10 generations, no cheats, same lot, no restarts) but drops the scorekeeping and the extra pack rules. You can use all your packs freely. It is the best way to try a legacy for the first time.
The Not So Berry Challenge
Not So Berry was written in 2017 by lilsimsie and her friend alwaysimming. It is a 10 generation legacy where every heir has a color, plus set traits, an aspiration, a career and a short list of goals. The rules are on lilsimsie.com.
| Generation | Color |
|---|---|
| 1 | Mint |
| 2 | Rose |
| 3 | Yellow |
| 4 | Grey |
| 5 | Plum |
| 6 | Orange |
| 7 | Pink |
| 8 | Peach |
| 9 | Green |
| 10 | Blue |
- Example, generation 1 (Mint): traits Vegetarian, Jealous and Materialistic, the Chief of Mischief aspiration, the Scientist career (Get to Work), master the Mischief and Logic skills, and complete the elements collection.
- Theme: dressing each heir and their home in the generation’s color is optional, but it is half the fun.
- Money cheats: allowed, but the creators suggest using them sparingly, for example freerealestate for the first home only.
- Missing a pack? Swap that trait or goal for something from the base game or a pack you own. The creators say you can drop any rule you do not enjoy.
- Keep the lifespan on Normal, and complete each heir’s career and aspiration unless the generation says otherwise.
Very Veggie Legacy Challenge
lilsimsie’s follow-up, the Very Veggie Legacy, uses the same format, but each generation is themed after a vegetable instead of a color. It is a rags to riches legacy: you start on an empty lot and cheat your money down to §0.
The Apocalypse Challenge
Pinstar’s Apocalypse Challenge is built to be very hard at the start. Every career branch comes with its own restrictions, and they all apply from day one. When a Sim reaches the top of a career branch, that branch’s restrictions are lifted for good. Each Sim can only lift one set, teen careers included. The challenge ends when every set is lifted, and your score is the number of Sim days it took. Fewer is better, like golf.
The Immigrant Challenge
In the Immigrant Challenge, a lone young adult arrives in a new country and must make a living from a retail business, which needs Get to Work. Your Sim may never take a career, and any Charisma skill they had is set back to level 1 with a cheat at the start to show the language barrier. The full rules list more restrictions that come with being a “temporary citizen”.
Movin’ On Up
For Movin’ On Up you need City Living. Your Sim starts with §0 in the cheapest apartment in San Myshuno, 1313 21 Chic Street, bought unfurnished. You then work through Pinstar’s apartment list from cheapest to most expensive, until you can live in the penthouse in Torendi Tower. Each apartment must be fully furnished and you must pay at least the first week’s rent before you move on. The only cheat allowed is the one that lowers your money.
Other well-known challenges
- 100 Baby Challenge: one Sim tries to have 100 babies, usually with a different partner for each child. There is no single official rule set, so many versions exist.
- Rags to riches: start on an empty lot with §0 and build everything from scratch. Many legacy challenges, Very Veggie among them, use this start.
- More from Pinstar: the Wonder Child Challenge, the Alien Adoption Challenge, the Block Party Challenge and Sim of the Month are all on simslegacychallenge.com.
Built-in lot challenges
The game has its own small challenges. Lot challenges came with patch 115 in 2021 and are set in Build mode, next to lot traits. Unlike lot traits, a lot can have as many challenges as you like.
| Lot challenge | Pack | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Off-the-Grid | Base game | No utility grid, so most electric and plumbing objects do not work |
| Heist Havoc | Base game | Burglars visit more often, and the burglar alarm can act up |
| Quake Zone | City Living | Random earthquakes that scare your Sims |
| Cursed | City Living | More fires and more ways for things to go wrong |
| Grody | City Living | Sims can get nauseous when eating, drinking or using the toilet |
| Gremlins | City Living | Objects break at midnight |
| Filthy | City Living | Objects get dirty twice as fast |
| Spooky | City Living | A ghost shows up on the lot at night |
| Creepy Crawlies | Jungle Adventure | Spiders, bees and bats can drop on your Sims |
Island Living, Eco Lifestyle and Cottage Living add more. Lot challenges are an easy way to make any save harder, and they stack well with a legacy.
Tips before you start a challenge
- Start a new save. Most challenges assume a fresh game, and many say you may only play the challenge family in that save.
- Check your packs first. Look at what each generation or rule needs, and decide your swaps before you start. Our list of all Sims 4 packs shows what is in each one.
- Plan careers. Many challenges require topping a career. See all Sims 4 careers for every branch and the pack it needs.
- Check your mods after each patch. A broken mod mid-legacy hurts. Our mod status page shows what works with the current game version.
- Bend the rules if you need to. Even the creators say the point is to have fun.
FAQ
What is the easiest Sims 4 challenge for beginners?
The Legacy Challenge Lite or Not So Berry. Both give you clear goals without scorekeeping, and both allow you to change rules that do not fit your packs.
What is the hardest Sims 4 challenge?
Of the classic challenges, the Apocalypse Challenge is the hardest at the start, because every career restriction applies at once. A full Legacy Challenge with an extreme start (§0) is also tough.
Can I use mods in a challenge?
Usually yes, as long as they do not give you an advantage. CC and visual mods are fine in Pinstar’s challenges. Money mods and cheats are not.
Can I play Sims 4 challenges on console?
Yes. The challenges are just rules, so they work on PlayStation and Xbox too. Only the parts that use mods or CC are PC and Mac only.
Do I need all the packs for Not So Berry?
No. lilsimsie and alwaysimming say to replace anything from a pack you do not own with something from the base game or a pack you have.
