It’s been 23 years of Sims, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We’ve had Sims in four different versions, five types of spin-offs, and two mobile versions that we know and love, called Sims Freeplay. Launched in December 2011, Sims Freeplay transformed a game that everyone loved on the PC and put onto your smartphone. Like never before, you could now be on the go, whilst checking in with your Sims, taking part in challenges, and leveling up in your life cycle. Though Freeplay has done an amazing job at translating the strategic life simulation game to your fingertips, the game still has many differences from its PC version.
The main difference lies within the different hobbies that you and your sim can do in their life cycle. From pottering about town to winning big in the bingo hall, for every task and hobby your sim does, you must ensure that tasks are completed to reach that certain life cycle. Whilst Freeplay has 6 life stages, the PC version has a total of 8, so there’s already a huge gap in what your sim can do at certain levels. Let’s take a look at the differences for each life cycle in comparison to Sims 4 and Sims Freeplay.
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Elder / Senior
Known as ‘Elder’ in Sims 4, but Seniors in Freeplay, the last stage of the life cycle comes with a plethora of variants. Whilst Seniors on Sims Freeplay can opt between hobbies suited to the elderly, like Bird Feeding, Casino, or Quilting, they can also go to the onsite Bingo on the Simoleon Map. The bingo hall is on a mysterious island, and just like in the competition center, you can’t actually enter the building. You must send your sim there for a whole 24 hours, and away to see if they win the big $15,000 simoleons.
However, Sims 4 gives both adults and the elderly a whole range of activities to do in the world, and you can interact with them, too! You can gamble the night away with various games similar to those found in Bovada casino online on your very own Las Vegas Strip, and head down to the bar when your sim starts to lag. There are plenty of options to choose from in the casinos, and just like in real life, you can alternate between poker, blackjack, and many games to help your Sim win big. If you find yourself winning millions, then you can even purchase the lot, decorate the place, and invite people from all over the map! Who said seniors had to be boring?
Moreover, you can get mods that add realistic casinos to the game to get slot machines modeled after popular slot games online. It also allows you flexibility in terms of gambling gameplay with an array of realistic features. Customizable games within a game and unique mini game in a larger video game environment is no longer exclusive to AAA titles we see these in modern slots as well.
Adults
Unlike Seniors in Sims Freeplay, Adults aren’t allowed to be sent to the bingo hall, and instead, you must send your sim on many challenges to make sure they’re ready to keep leveling up in age. The leveling up is part of the Seniors Quest, where you must head to the swim center to complete a set of challenges. Sims 4 however, lets you evolve whenever you like, you just need to select it for yourself and have lived a certain number of days. Adults on Sims 4 are also allowed to attend casinos, indulge in the entertainment space, and win simoleons, whereas hobbies like fishing and making people laugh are on Sims Freeplay.
Young Adult
Young adults are not available on Sims Freeplay and are just a life cycle on Sims 4. This part of the life cycle is for Sims to kick off their careers, start designing their houses, and start emotional connections with neighbors and potential partners. This is cut out of Freeplay, as the game’s main purpose is to focus on social interaction with less customizable features.
Teens
Teens are just like young adults but require an adult when they choose to drive cars. They have different social interactions and relationships and are not yet allowed to go the full distance in romantic relations. The difference between Sims 4 and Sims Freeplay is that Freeplay solely relies on completing quests and taking up hobbies in a bid to grow older, however, Sims 4 can spend a lot longer exploring the variety of maps. My hobbies in Freeplay include Makeup Artist, Dog Obedience, and Fashion Hunter.
Pre-Teen
Pre-teen was only created on the Sims Freeplay version, so there is nothing comparable on Sims 4. The Pre-teen attends schools, goes to ballet, or takes up karate, but it is an unusually uninteresting stage of the life cycle, which is probably why Sims 4 skipped it.
Child
Only Sims 4 uses Child, which is probably why Freeplay took ‘pre-teen’ in replacement. Children in Sims 4 attend school and learn new tasks in the lead-up to their adulthood. They turn into better Adult Sims if they take up reading and concentrate on their homework; and they only have four skills – creativity, mental, motor, and social.
Toddlers / Infants
Though Freeplay calls them Infants, Sims 4 calls this stage of the cycle Toddlers. This stage can’t do anything besides finger painting, bedtime stories, and singing, so even the quest side of Freeplay can’t be incorporated here.
Newborn
You only have your baby in this stage on both Sims 4 and Freeplay for around a day, so there are only basic requirements that are needed. You need to care for this age and cater to the baby’s needs, but besides that, there are similarities between the two games at this stage of the life cycle.
There are many aging cycles both in Freeplay and Sims 4, however, the most fun to play with would be adulthood. Regardless of whether you’re playing on the PC, or phone, something about sending your Sim to a real-life casino really mimics reality in the game.
