The Sims 4 Decade Challenges Guide

Are you looking for some fun challenges to spice up your Sim’s boring lives? Then the Decades Challenge might just be the right one for you!

The Decades Challenge in the Sims 4 was created by ZombieCleo. This challenge includes a generation of Sims starting from the 1890s that advances through decades, accepting and bringing about the changes each decade presents.

The Decades Challenge gives you a first-hand experience of how society advanced in different eras. This challenge takes you on a time travel and lets you experience gender norms, wars, revolutions, occupational restrictions, ethnic restrictions, and much more.

The Decades Challenge in Sims 4 has a very extensive set of rules, each detailed with much complexity. Some of these rules regarding war, same-gender relationships, gender norms, etc. can be sensitive and you can skip through them. But, if you are looking to have a complete experience of the historical timeline we suggest that you play by the rules and travel back from the 1890s to the 2020s!  

The Sims 4 Decades challenge rules

Each decade in the Decades Challenge has its own set of rules. Your Sim must wear era-appropriate clothing, use the technology of only that era and have residence and status accordingly. This will give you the actual essence of living through the decades.

There is no need to get the custom game pack for this challenge but you can choose to do so to enhance your experience.

Following are some rules that you should abide by while starting the Decades Challenge in Sims 4:

• Starting Sim: Your starting Sim must be a Young Adult or a couple but both of them must be Young Adults.
• Clothing: There aren’t many restrictions on what to dress up your sim in. However, it is advised that your Sim should wear clothes that are considered appropriate according to the starting decade i.e. 1890s.
• Residence: You can live anywhere except Del Soy Valley and Stranger Ville. If you are starting with a single Sim, you can live in an apartment. If it is a married couple of Sims, then they can only live in a house.
• Finances: You cannot use money cheats. The house or apartment you start with must be bought with the money you already have.
• Technology: You should not use appliances that were not present in the decade such as cell phones and computers. You can use them only if you need to do so until it is decade appropriate.
•  Lifespan: Your Sim should have a normal lifespan for the first seven decades (1890 to 1950). Shift your lifespan to ‘Long Lifespan’ after that.
• Wars: You have to go through wartime, so you should find a Cow-plant.

The 1890 Decade

• Marriage: Your spouse should be the same race as you and must be of the opposite gender. You cannot use “Woohoo”.
• Finances: Your occupation should be handicrafts such as painting, woodwork, etc. Women typically don’t work except for housekeeping but they may use gardening as a means to make money.
• Lighting: No electricity is available so you can only use candles for lighting purposes.
• Festivals: Going to any festival is not allowed.
• You cannot use a shower and must go outdoors to relieve yourself.

The 1900 Decade

• Electricity can be used now.
• Careers: Male sims can be doctors, musicians, scientists, writers, painters, etc. Women can earn by gardening, painting, and as florists.
• Still, no showers but a bathtub and indoor plumbing are available.
• You should have a Cow Plant before the 1900s end.

The 1910 Decade

• The war begins in this decade so you must send the men off to war through the Cow Plant. The men can die or survive. The surviving men have trauma from the war so they can only have a few specific traits such as Lazy, Gloomy, Mean, etc.
• You can add wallpapers to your house.
• Women can now also be chefs and musicians but they still cannot be the heirs.

The 1920 Decade

• Women’s Rights: Now, women can have the right to inheritance and have other traits rather than just creativity. They can work until they reproduce. 
• Men can have many careers including criminals.
• Technology: You can use radios now.
• Festivals: The Harvest festival is now allowed.

The 1930 Decade

• The 1930s mark the start of the Great Depression so no one has a job anymore. To earn money and food, you must rummage for 2 weeks.
• Sims who reach adulthood in this decade can only be Gloomy, Noncommital, and Mean.   
• Alcohol is allowed.
• Halloween holiday is also recognized.

The 1940 Decade

• The 1940s mark the Second World War so the men must go through the Cow Plant again and have the same traits if they end up surviving.
• Women can now be athletes, chefs, entertainers, and painters.
• Sims can only have food once per day. Anything grown in your garden can also be used.
• House Rules: It is compulsory to have a radio and a garden now.

The 1950 Decade

• This decade marks the Korean War. The eldest male child must get enlisted for the war and the eldest female child should become a nurse for the war.
• Residence: Apartments are allowed and showers are also available now.
• Technology: The television makes its entrance and you can have a PC to write.

The 1960 Decade

• Birth Control: Your Sim can now have sexual relations without making a baby every time.
• Relationships: Interracial marriages are allowed and people of the same gender can form relationships. Teenagers can also make out.
• Careers: Astronauts and Secret Agents are now an option.
• House: You can have furniture now and also a better television.

The 1970 Decade

• Technology: Computers can now also be used for gaming instead of just writing.
• House: Microwaves, dishwashers, and plastic goods are now allowed.
• Any Sim born in the 1970s must be Active, Vegetarian, and Love the Outdoor due to the environmentalism of this decade.
• Festivals: Going to festivals is also permissible now.

The 1980 Decade

• Due to the Yuppie era, kids born in the 1980s can be Ambitious, Snob, Perfectionists, or Self Assured.
• Technology: Cell phones and video games are now allowed.
• At least one sim of this decade should be in business.

The 1990 Decade

• Technology: Mobile phones are available and you are free to use your computer.
• You need to spend 3 days in a safe house built inside your basement.
• Play Dates are the trend now.

The 2000 Decade

• Career: You can have any career you wish for. Part-time jobs are also allowed.
• Paternity leaves are also permitted for fathers.

The 2010 Decade

• Homosexual marriages are allowed.
• You can also adopt children as it is encouraged.

The 2020 Decade (bonus round)

• No career restrictions.
• The Covid Pandemic is here and you can wear a mask and also observe the lockdown.