Spares in the City

Burning Question for all you legacy players: What do you do with your spares?

For those who don’t know, a spare is any child from a generation who doesn’t become the heir(ess). For example, if Mary Sue and Marty have three kids, Elizabeth, Benjamin, and Victoria, and if Victoria is chosen to be heiress, Elizabeth and Benjamin are spares.

I’m one of those people who either spoils Sims, giving them all the good traits and and boy/girlfriends, or I neglect Sims. Their childhoods are spent reading “The Adventures of Raymundo,” and I give them part-time jobs*, and by young adulthood, they only have a few skill points and they stay single.

But what happens to those Sims who look pretty good, but are kinda boring? Or to those who are more than average in the looks department, but their siblings have better looking spouses? What should be done with them?

I usually take the easy way out by just doing double heirs/heiresses, but then the house becomes too crowded, and then I face the same problem with their kids.

I try to be nice to Sims I sorta like, but not enough to make them heir(ess). I try to give them a romantic interest, and if there’s enough room in the house, I move the romantic interest in and have them married, then I give them a kid and move them out. Other times, I try to skill them up so they’ll be ready in the workforce and bring in more money (Hey, they used to live in a house filled with luxuries! It’s wouldn’t be fair to leave them dirt poor), which sometimes works.

But almost always, the inevitable story progression butchers their lives. For example, if a spare has a career related LTW, and I want them to achieve it, I usually send them out of the house while they’re like at level 3, and I hope they continue to get promotions. But thanks to the wonderful story progression, they change jobs! Sometimes, they pick the wrong branch (As in, the music career and law enforcement career), and sometimes, they go unemployed for a while, and then they get a part-time job!

So, what do you do in this situation? I generally do what I mentioned above, but I save a copy of the Sim, so I could get them in another game.

* I despise giving my teen Sims part-time jobs because they’re so limited in choice (“The umpteenth girl, could work in the spa! The nerd could work in the bookstore! Ooh, that’s so genius!"), and they take away LOTS of time for my teens. Seriously, they barely do their homework, and I’d rather have my Sims be able to paint portraits then work in a grocery store. Yeah sure, if the family is near broke, the teen could bring in some extra cash, but then again, playing for tips or sculpting is lucrative, too. Besides, part-time job + homework + fulfilling needs + curfew= no time for spouse hunting. And I’d rather have my teens in self-employed skill careers then boring part-time jobs.