I cannot believe eight years ago today I created the first two Sims for this hood 😭 And now these lovely Sims are long gone, and so are two of their three kids, but they have six grandkids and five great-grandkids (and counting) living on in the hood, along with the rest of the Brightmaple community.
Joshua and Roxanne, you will always be famous!
I remember so well being very excited about the idea of creating this hood, and even more so after the first Sims were made - it was literally coming alive!
So… I've been asked this, and I finally decided to put everything in one post. All my thoughts, habits, and little tricks that helped me go from someone who quit after Gen 2 to someone who's been playing with the same family for five years and 23 generations.
(Yes, The Miller Day was on October 16, 2025!)
This isn't the ultimate guide, it's just what worked for me. Take what feels right, ignore what doesn't, and hopefully you'll find your rhythm.
Figure out why you play:
Before anything else, ask yourself why you're playing.
Is it to:
explore gameplay features you've never tried,
tell stories,
build and decorate,
or just unwind after a long day
Knowing what keeps you coming back will help you make choices that are actually fun.
Know what motivates you:
Some players need goals. Others just want to vibe.
Do you like structure and challenges? Or do you prefer when your Sims lead the game themselves?
For me, my biggest mistake early on was treating the legacy challenge too literally: have kids, move on, repeat. It got repetitive fast, and my motivation died before Gen 3 even made an appearance.
So think about what makes you come back to things.
Set goals that inspire you:
I started giving myself goals. First simple ones like completing aspirations. That helped for a bit, but it still wasn't enough.
Then I found a challenge that clicked. It was goal-based, do specific things to unlock new ones. That format kept me interested.
Funny enough, I didn't even plan to make that family a legacy. But by the end, I just continued.
And be realistic with goals:
If you're the type who rarely finishes things (hi, I was like that too), don't overload yourself.
Start with fewer goals, 3 or 4, and only add more if you still have time left and want to do more.
For example, my Gen 9 heir, Alder, originally had the goal to max out 10 skills. But he was thriving, so halfway through, I bumped it to 20. (He was an overachiever before the Overachiever trait even existed.)
Goals should challenge you, not exhaust you. If it starts feeling like work, scale back. It's your game, so you make the rules.
Keep yourself accountable:
During the pandemic, I asked a Tumblr mutual to make my sim a partner (aka the first Mrs. Miller), and it weirdly helped me stay on track. It was also just a fun way to keep the game social and a little more diverse.
For me, that's a big part of what Tumblr adds to the experience. I don't post here to get attention. This blog is more like my game archive. If others enjoy it too, that's just a lovely bonus.
When I've asked other active simblrs to make sims for my legacy, I automatically assume they'll want to see them pop up in my post. After all, they took the time to create them. So it would feel kind of rude to just forget about those sims.
Yes, I'm that person who feels guilty if someone helps me and I don't show the results. But that tiny guilt became a surprisingly good motivator.
Change the vibe each generation:
Don't play the same kind of story twice in a row.
If one generation is a wholesome family sim, make the next one chaotic, ambitious, evil. Keep things messy, weird, unpredictable.
Don't fall in love:
This one's hard. You have to LIKE your sim, but you can't love them.
The more you invest, the harder it gets to move on. You start justifying why they "still have a few things left to do" and before you know it, you never move on from G1.
If you adore a particular sim or sims, give them another outlet. A new save, edits, or a spin-off story. Let them live on elsewhere, so you can keep your main legacy moving. I've done that. It works. Or at least worked for me.
Beware of over-attachment through storytelling:
If you're the kind of person who has to give every sim a story, this one's for you.
One of my biggest mistakes was giving my sims full dialogue inside the legacy save. This was already my fourth attempt to reach ten generations, and for some reason, I decided to start writing dialogue for my Gen 8 sims. Don't do that. It makes you fall in love with them.
I almost abandoned another legacy, and this time, I'd made it through seven successful generations.
If you want to keep writing their story, move them out and continue it in a separate save.
Scratch the new challenge itch:
If you're the kind of player who gets excited about every new challenge that crosses your dash, and then abandons your legacy after Gen 1, this one's for you.
Don't feel like you have to stick to one set of rules. Mix and match. Combine different challenge generations to keep things fresh while still playing the same family. For example, your Gen 1 might follow the Not So Berry Gen 6 rules, while Gen 2 switches to Princess Legacy.
That way, you're still doing a legacy, but each generation feels like a completely new experience. It keeps things exciting without forcing you to start over every time you get that new challenge itch.
Plus, this way you don't have to make up your own goals.
Do you even like what you're doing?
If you've tried all the tips, set all the goals, and still can't get past Gen 2, then maybe legacy gameplay isn't your thing. And that's fine.
Maybe you actually love building, and you're forcing yourself to play legacies when what you really want is to design ten different houses for ten different sims.
Or maybe your favorite part is dressing your sims, not living out their daily grind.
Are you pushing yourself to do something that doesn't genuinely excite you? Because it's 100% okay if you'd rather build, style, or create stories without ever reaching Gen 10.
Just because someone else has played 10, 20, or 30 generations doesn't mean you have to.
Let's talk about Tumblr (or other pages) and motivation:
We're on social media, and for a lot of people, the numbers start to matter more than the content itself. That's not a dig or a critique, just a blunt truth about social media.
Are you trying to reach ten generations because that's what your followers expect, and you want to see big numbers under your post? Or are you doing it because it genuinely makes you happy?
Be honest with yourself. Could your Gen 2 burnout be less about the game and more about the drop in notes?
Maybe you're feeling discouraged because the engagement isn't what it used to be?
And finally, there's no right or wrong way to enjoy The Sims.
Do what makes you happy, set your goals and expectations to match that, and you've already won, even if that means making it through just two generations.
@myshunosun — one of the amazing creators whose CC lives in so many of our games — wrote something on Patreon that’s been sitting with me:
“I want to feel like I’m in charge of my own creativity. I have paused many projects due to fear of not meeting (someone’s, algorithm’s?) expectations.”
Wow. How many of us have dreamed up a project, staged it, edited it, loved it… only to abandon it because the post “flopped”? Because the absence of notes or reblogs made it feel like rejection?
And how many who do get traction start feeling trapped by it — shelving ideas, cutting them off entirely, just to keep feeding what people already like? That popularity should feel like vindication but instead it becomes a chore? Obligation? That’s the razor-thin line every creative walks.
I’ve lost a few moots I adored this past year. You can tell when someone starts feeling like they’re not talented enough, or not “in” enough. The posts dwindle. The breaks grow longer. One day there’s an announcement or maybe everything is gone. It’s disheartening.
So if you’re a creator — in any sense — please don’t stop sharing you. I’m not going to feed you platitudes about how “someone out there needs it” or “you’re wonderful” because I don’t know that (yet?).
What I do know: it’s scary as hell to yell into the dark and never hear an echo. But if you’re going to be out here anyway, you might as well fucking roar.
Does anybody know of a mod for the TS2 welcome wagon that enables sims with careers to be included in it?
I’ve recently found out that it only includes unemployed sims (which is why Brandi, Mortimer and Darren often show up for Pleasantview) but I’d love if it was a bit more random. Maybe based on personality, so outgoing or nice sims are more likely to show up. Just a thought!
So, this is my new obsession/passion project. I love my neighbourhood and these sims so much, and I've been having the best time playing them, so I thought I'd share some family pics.
I started with 6 founders (one sim for each aspiration) and the town has grown to include all of these sims here!
Below are mini family bios for them all:
Starting from the top (L-R)
The Appleton Family: Aspen Appleton (Family), her husband Brendan, their daughter Robyn and Aspen's alien son, Ian.
The Baxter Family: Bodhi Baxter (Pleasure), his wife Nelly and their sons, Gabriel and Jasper.
The Carter Family: Chayne Carter (Popularity), his wife Greta holding their newest daughter Talanah. Their 3 teens are Harley, Keon and Chayne's alien daughter, Luna.
The Diaz Family: Dre Diaz (Romance), his fiance Marta and Dre's daughter, Sessanta (not pictured is Sessanta's mother, Kemberly or Dre's pregnant townie ex, Debra!)
The Emerello Family: Ella Emerello (Fortune), her husband Ray and their sons, Parker and Mario.
The Fox Family: Freya Fox (Knowledge), her husband Rian, their twin boys, Noah and Otis and their daughter, Quinn.
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