Hobby Coverage Adjustments

As the game enters the next logical phase of play it has reached a point at which the number of hobbies has now reached and surpassed parity with the number of Sims that make up the Population of Simville. And that is a problem we have to deal with as logically and carefully as we can due at least in part to the side-Quest scheme that has been put into place for the social and Life Points side of the game.

We will address the SP/LP issues in a moment, first we need to clarify the situation when it comes to hobbies and Sim distribution amongst the same.

Minimum Sim Requirements

In an ideal world there would be a set number of hobbies, and each Hobby could be covered by a single Sim, thus making the math about as simple as it can get. We would be able to say that there are X hobbies and therefore we need only X Sims to cover them.

In reality each Hobby has different requirements as to the number of Sims that it takes to cover that hobby, and what is worse, due to the highly desirable LP farming element that is associated with the Hobby Collections, we may actually DESIRE to attach a higher number of Sims to a given Hobby to take advantage of that LP farming capacity, and therein lies the trouble.

Minimum Sim Commitments for Hobbies

To simplify this we present to you the list of all hobbies and their requirements in terms of Sims:

The table below presents the complete list of hobbies (at the time this was printed) along with the Minimum Number of Sims required under the Sims Column, the Age Requirements, whether or not the Life dreams & Legacies Expansion is required to participate in that Hobby, and finally the number of Sims that is considered ideal to use this hobby for farming LP...

The minimum number of Sims requirement exists due to two basic schemes in the game - the LP/SP Quests and the Competition Center. Both of these schemes can require you to have a Sim that has mastered one of the hobbies - ANY of the hobbies. The same holds true for Careers as well which again is why there is so much emphasis upon getting as many of these mastered as you can mange BEFORE you pull the trigger on the Life dreams & Legacies Expansion and thus invite Death into the game.

* Only One (1) Teen can participate in the Teen Idol Hobby at any given time. After that Teen transitions from Teen to Adult another Teen can try to master the hobby.

** This Hobby is so time-consuming that it is highly recommended that once you have your Sim master it you AVOID doing the hobby unless you otherwise have no choice in the matter. Meaning that you do NOT do this hobby UNLESS an LP/SP Quest OR Competition REQUIRES it. This hobby takes a disproportionate amount of time off of the life timer for your Sim whenever you use it.

Note: This list WILL change as new hobbies are added to the game.

Conclusions

By simply applying a wee bit of common sense and avoiding Activities that require large amounts of time but offer very little return you can easily manage your Sim lifespans without costing them large chunks for no good reason.

Remember that any shortcut you can take that saves time is often the right choice. 16s of Espresso beats 4m of sleep in a bed. Just saying...