Bundle Recommendations for New Players

RememberJoy

Since I know we've probably got some new players joining us now that the base game is free, I thought I'd share some bundle ideas for those of you looking to spice up your game.

Bundles consist of one expansion, game, and stuff pack, and will save you a bit of money over buying each one separately (unless they're already on sale).

I'll also invite other players who have their favorite packs to share their bundle ideas as well.

For myself, I'll be sharing multiple packs for each category to give you more options to choose from. I recommend going to YouTube to see a more detailed overview of the packs to find out which ones you like best.

Let's get started:

For the Traditional Family Player
These packs add gameplay that suit the simple suburban family life.
- Cats & Dogs / Seasons / High School Years
- Parenthood / My Wedding Stories
- Toddler / Kid's Room / Nifty Knitting / Backyard / Laundry

For the Supernatural Player
These packs add life states and gameplay of a more fantastic nature.
- Get to Work (Aliens) / Island Living (Mermaids)
- Vampires / Realm of Magic (Witches) / Werewolves
- Paranormal / Spooky Stuff

For the Active Family Player
These packs add gameplay that may be less traditional for families, but still work well with all life stages.
- Island Living / Snowy Escape / Cottage Living
- Spa Day / Outdoor Retreat
- Bowling / Paranormal

For the Single Sim Player
These packs are best played with one sim at a time.
- Get to Work / Discover University / Get Famous
- Jungle Adventure / StrangerVille / Dream Home Decorator
- Tiny Living / Moschino

For the Off-the-Grid / Rags to Riches Player
These packs work well for challenges that require you to be self-sustainable.
- Island Living / Eco Lifestyle / Cottage Living
- Outdoor Retreat
- Tiny Living / Laundry Day

For the Rich-and-Famous lifestyle Player
These packs will let you pamper your sims and give them things to spend money on.
- Get Famous / Snowy Escape / Island Living / City Living
- Spa Day / Dine Out
- Vintage Glamour / Perfect Patio

For the Anti-Loading Screen Player
These packs/worlds offer a lot to do on your own lot/surrounding area so you may avoid traveling as much as possible.
- Seasons / Island Living / Cottage Living / City Living
- Parenthood / Vampires / Werewolves
- Movie Hangout / Laundry Day / Backyard / Perfect Patio / Cool Kitchen / (really any of the stuff packs work well for this)

cyncie

That’s a good list. I’d put Seasons in the must have list in every category, though. It just has that much impact on the game.

Even though they’re not typical gameplay, I would also suggest Strangerville, and Jungle Adventure for the Supernatural Player. One has aliens, and the other has ancient curses, etc. Maybe Batuu, as well. Which leads to this list… recommended but not necessarily bundled.

For the Quest/Goal Player

Strangerville
Jungle Adventure
Journey to Batuu
Paranormal
Scenarios (base game)

For the Environmental Activist Player

See Off the Grid above.

cyncie

….. error

Simmingal

Simmingals Holiday Bundle!

Enjoy the beautiful gloomy and less gloomy weather, build beautiful mansions and stay indoors or burn outdoors with the whole family, resist the urge to stake your annoying uncle with doing knitting instead, knit sweaters, socks and grimmy plushies for whole family

EP: Seasons
GP: Vampires
SP: Nifty Knitting

JustinB113

Personally I don’t think you can go wrong with a combination of these.

Expansions
Seasons
City Living
Cottage Living
Get to work

Game Pack
Parenthood
Vampires or Werewolves
Realm of Magic
Spa Day

Stuff Pack
Tiny Living
Paranormal
Bowling night or Laundry Day or Nifty Knitting

Not that these are necessarily the best packs, I personally am really starting to love high school years and I use romantic garden stuff allll the time. If a particular pack speaks to you, just get that.

But I would say any combination of the above is gonna be an upgrade for most people if you don’t have them and should give you a decent amount of stuff to do.

mightysprite

I would actually suggest that a new player play basegame for a while, until they've had enough time to get used to how things work, and have started to say to themselves "I wish I had this or that in my game."
And then start to go bundle shopping based on those wishes

I started out in TS4 with I think Eco Lifestyle, Seasons, Realm of Magic, and City Living installed from the get-go and it was very confusing to learn to play.

RedDestiny92

And no matter what appeals check out the sims channel to see trailers and such maybe click around and watch bits and pieces of lets play before you buy things even if more sales start coming you don't want to dive into anything if you think you won't enjoy it even if you want something else in the pack. Though if you don't care like me seasons and parenthood are must haves to me as well as highschool and wedding that is a fairly spread out bit of content for family play but then that's me.

Atreya33

mightysprite wrote: »

I would actually suggest that a new player play basegame for a while, until they've had enough time to get used to how things work, and have started to say to themselves "I wish I had this or that in my game."
And then start to go bundle shopping based on those wishes

I started out in TS4 with I think Eco Lifestyle, Seasons, Realm of Magic, and City Living installed from the get-go and it was very confusing to learn to play.

I totally agree with this advice. I made this mistake with sims 3 where I started with base game, 2 expansions and a stuff pack as well. It was a bit overwhelming. I would focus on only the base game or the base game + 1 pack (EP/GP) to get to know the basics. Experienced simmers often say the base game is empty but I disagree. There is a lot to figure out. Try it out a few times and see if you like it enough to invest money in DLC. Get to know the basics and then add in DLC one by one (or bundle by bundle)

I would start out with
- get to work: retail stores feel like such a basic thing, I think they should have been base game, I also like the careers to follow sims and aliens
- realm of magic: I like supernatural elements in my game but packs like parenthood or spa day can be a good choice if you prefer realism
- paranormal (this stuff pack has actually more gameplay than dream home decorator or my wedding stuff) or nifty knitting with a lot of clothes to make.

If you want individual packs, not bundles, I would recommend waiting for a sale. (I believe there is one happening now) They happen regularly and can save you money, especially for expansion packs.

telemwill

My recommended bundle would be Seasons EP because it is so basic and adds seasons, weather, and holidays; Dine Out GP again because eating out is such a basic activity and gives Sims a good location for dates and family outings; and Paranormal SP because there should be something just for fun. Paranormal is truly the best of the stuff packs.

StuffyMarx

I'd also encourage people to get Seasons. It can't be overstated how much of an effect it has on the various worlds / neighbourhoods. City Living would be my close second pick.
While I really like Dine Out as a game pack, it's still pretty buggy, which is a crying shame. Maybe Vampires or Dream Home Decorator would be a decent alternative.
I only recently bought the Paranormal stuff pack, prior to that I would have suggested the Tiny Living or Bowling Night packs. I like ten pin bowling.

SheriSim57

Did anyone mention Get together? Get together is the Expsnsion pack with the most lots, and a large area for exploration. It comes with one of the best game play features, Clubs….. which is is probably the most integrated into the entire game ( featuring inclusion of many packs features ). It comes with games, like darts, don’t wake the lama, a 4 player video arcade game, and foosball. It has a large variety of stuff for a pool or swimming pond, and I believe the pool lot came with this pack too. It came with the Night club lot, DJ station ( and you can actually DJ at a night club and get paid if you want, tips based on your level.I think ). It has a cafe lot and group dancing, it also has a closet that can be used for woohoo, or children to play in. I think it has some of the best wall papers for houses. I believe it is an essential pack for family and single players, and even a supernatural packs ( there is night life ).

I also think Get to Work is an essential pack for people who love active jobs, Aliens, or want to own a business or set up one for use.

For vacationers:)

Island living Ep
Snowy Escape EP
Outdoor retreat GP
Jungle AdventureGP
Wedding stories GP
Get Famous EP
Spa Day GP ( great for vacations )

For animal lovers:

Cats and dogs
My First Pet stuff
Cottage living
Outdoor retreat ( insects )

I have to say I love almost all of the stuff packs and they add a bit of everything, a special new game play item, and hairs, clothes, and build/buy all built around the special feature.