If you’ve spent much time on SimsTube, you’ve probably come across the idea of a rags-to-riches challenge. The rules to this challenge are pretty straightforward: start your Sim off with nothing and build their life from there. Expect to spend a lot of time clawing around in Oasis Springs’ sandy dunes and sleeping on park benches until you have more than a few Simoleons to your name.
You can play this challenge without any extra DLC. But, there are a few different packs that add key features that make it more fun. Others can even add to the challenge. With that in mind, we’ve grabbed a few examples of which packs you could use to make the most of your next rags-to-riches.
Enchanted by Nature
Enchanted by Nature is basically built for gameplay challenges. And it’s not because of anything to do with fairies — it’s because of a new skill.
The natural living skill is practically OP if you’re trying to play any kind of challenge in The Sims 4. Savants of this skill can rest their head anywhere they want, while living off the land by foraging for food and bathing in most bodies of natural water.
You’ll need to get good at the skill to unlock all of these options, of course. But the best way of learning is by doing. At least, it is in The Sims 4, where you don’t need to worry too much about accidentally eating poisonous mushrooms.
Outdoor Retreat
So, when your Sim starts out on their quest, they’re not going to own a lot of things. In fact, they’re not really going to own anything at all. But, with time — and money made from selling crystals, repair parts, and harvestables — you’re going to be able to pick up a few things.
The first things you’re going to want to get are something to eat from and somewhere to sleep. Outdoor Retreat covers both of those bases with items you can easily put out in, well, the great outdoors.
In terms of food, the pack adds a cooler to Buy Mode, which holds a handful of quick meals. Since they’re quick meals, you don’t have to pay for them. It’s kind of like an all-you-can-eat buffet meets Mary Poppins’ bag. Unlike fridges, they fare pretty well when they’re left out in the elements, so you don’t have to worry about electrocuting your Sim to death trying to fix it either.
When it comes to finding somewhere to sleep, the Game Pack gives you a few options. You can either grab an inflatable mattress or a camping cot to gaze out at the stars from, or you can get a little more shelter by picking up a tent. As well as sheltering you from the rain, the tent also offers a couple other activities like reading magazines. They can also sleep two to four Sims, depending on which size you grab.
Seasons
Seasons is a great Expansion Pack for rags-to-riches challenges because it makes them easier and harder in fairly equal measures. When you’re first settling into the challenge, you’re going to be in the great outdoors most of the time. Blizzards and thunderstorms are a rags-to-riches worst enemy — but sometimes having an extra problem to worry about can be kind of fun.
On the flipside, the holiday calendar introduced by Seasons is actually a surprisingly good money-making mechanism. Select holidays welcome some quirky guests onto your home lots, including gnomes and the ever-adorable Flower Bunny. These guests bring along gifts, if you’re lucky. You can either sell them outright or plant them and start your own farm.
As you might’ve already figured out, the Flower Bunny brings bunches of flowers when they come around. Plant them, or leave them lying around until they grow roots, and you’ll have started your own lucrative gardening business. Just one lily can sell for at least 100 Simoleons, depending on its quality, so you can expect to see some big returns whenever they’re in season.
The gnomes are a similar story. If you appease them correctly (read: bribe them), they might give you gifts like toys or crystals. Alternatively, you can just sell them in Buy Mode for a quick buck. It’s brutal, but it does make a quick buck.
Island Living
Besides the obvious fact that it’s beautiful, sunny Sulani is the ideal place to start your rags-to-riches challenge. The island is well-equipped with places to nap (hello, abandoned beach towels), money-making opportunities, and you can even clean your Sims off in a volcanic waterfall. There are even some huge lots on the north side of the map in case you want to start a legacy at the same time.
Regardless of which part of the island you choose to make home, you’ll be able to start the challenge strong. Try heading to the aptly-named Sand Simoleon Beach to comb for shells to sell by the seashore before grabbing a boat and sailing to Ohan’Ali Town, where you can get complimentary food during select festivals.
Tiny Living
Managed to get a roof over your head? Great work! Now time to rinse it for what it’s worth by turning it into a proper tiny house.
Tiny Living Stuff really comes in clutch for any kind of gameplay challenge. This is thanks to the bonuses you rack up based on how small your house is. Living in close quarters with another Sim? Your relationship gains will be super-boosted. Surprisingly. Worried about bills or taxes? They’ll be shrunk down almost as small as your home. Trying to use your skills to earn some extra Simoleons? You’ll perfect that skill in no time thanks to tiny home buffs.
Eco Lifestyle
Eco Lifestyle might not be the first Expansion you think of when it comes to rags-to-riches challenges, but it’s packed with budget furniture and items to help keep your bills down. Plus, it gives you a few more kinds of craftables to make.
This Expansion is packed with cheap furniture that you’ll usually build or fish out of dumpsters, including a tiny little portable TV and a bed that… Already looks a little like it’s been to the dump. But, it’s great in a pinch, and it gives you a few necessities to get started with. If you don’t feel like swimming in trash, you can find them in the debug section of Build/Buy Mode. You can access this with a couple of cheats.
Dumpster diving in general is a great addition for rags-to-riches challenges, so even if you don’t want to jump into debug to find some deals to deck your home out in, then you have options. That way it’s free, too, although you have to get pretty lucky to actually find a bed in the bin.
On the note of furniture, this pack also comes with loads of options for keeping your bills down — or living off-grid — including a few different renewable energy options. It takes a bit of an investment, but being able to collect your own water from the rain or generate electricity from the sun goes a long way over time.
Get to Work
This might not seem like the most intuitive choice of Expansion Pack for a rags-to-riches challenge, given Get to Work’s focus on, well, working. You aren’t allowed a typical job while playing a rags-to-riches, meaning that the pack’s active careers are pretty much wasted. Despite that, two features are still super useful: the photography skill and the option to run your own retail business.
The photography skill is really helpful for a rags-to-riches, since every Sim is automatically given a smartphone. So, even if you don’t have anything else to your name, you can start snapping photos which you can then sell for a few Simoleons.
This is especially thankless without Get to Work, as you don’t have the photography skill, and just need to hope you get lucky with your shot. Having the skill lets you sell your photos for more, quicker – and you could start your own photo shop with the retail feature.
Businesses & Hobbies
While we’re talking about being your own boss, Businesses & Hobbies is a great pick. The pack adds a massive amount of dimension to rags-to-riches challenges without compromising on difficulty. The rules of a rags-to-riches just say that you can’t have a formal, employed position, after all; it doesn’t say that you can’t run your own business.
Something great about the Businesses & Hobbies small businesses feature is that while you can use it to monetise your skills or sell collectables at a premium, it doesn’t really make the challenge much easier. Running a business comes with its own challenges, after all, and being able to cover running costs is even harder during a rags-to-riches. Heck, sometimes you won’t even be able to afford to open the business.
Bust the Dust
This is probably the only time you’ll see a Kit on a list like this. Most Kits don’t add much in the way of gameplay. Instead, they usually focus on updating your Sims’ wardrobes by adding new Create-a-Sim items. Alternatively, they might refresh Buy/Build Mode with new decor. Bust the Dust is a little different, though, as it introduces your Sims to the mortifying ordeal of keeping their floors clean.
I know that doesn’t exactly make it sound like the ideal fit for a rags-to-riches, where I’m sure the last thing your Sim wants to worry about is keeping house. They won’t need to worry about that too much, though, since a dusty house can quickly become overrun with the ultimate money maker.
Dust bunnies.
Dust bunnies are helpful little guys who can rummage around your Sim’s home to search for lost items, Simoleons, and other goodies. More often than not, they’ll come back with a little pocket change. If you’re lucky (and have Fitness Stuff installed), your bunny comrades might even find some earbuds, which you can either sell or listen to while your Sim runs around town looking for collectables to flip for a few bucks.
