A commonly asked question of Sims 4 players is which packs should I purchase first? While everyone has their favorites, the most accurate way of discovering what packs are best for you is to take a look at your play style.
Here we explore the best options for legacy or family players. These are simmers who like their gameplay to be realistic. In this list, we take a look at the packs that will add the most to overall gameplay for those playing mainly with families and legacies. While some legacies will require specific packs, this focus is on the best overall value, emphasizing what each pack brings to realistic, generational and family gameplay.
Updated on November 11, 2022, By Helen Ashcroft: As The Sims 4 continues to expand, there are now more packs that add some excellent features to the game for anyone who loves realistic gameplay. Legacy challenges continue to be popular and those playing with families can also find some new and interesting ways to play in these additions.
14 My Wedding Stories
My Wedding Stories is one of the most hit-and-miss packs available. After a rocky launch it has required several patches, but is currently playable for most. It also features the beautiful world of Tartosa, containing many places to purchase wedding-related items. This pack is more niche than most but for anyone who wants a more enhanced wedding experience to expand their family storylines, it's worth the consideration.
You can bake and buy wedding cakes, purchase flowers, browse dresses, and create a more tailored ceremony. There are also a huge number of wedding-related items including arches, decor and clothing, allowing you to theme your perfect day. You can also experience engagement dinners, family gatherings, bach parties and vow renewals. All occasions that truly encompass family.
13 Tiny Living Stuff
Tiny Living Stuff is a stuff pack that offers a number of incredibly useful features and items for family players. Depending on your style, the tiny living home system can be used to save on bills as well as to boost some of your skills. It also adds a unique dimension to gameplay, offering a way to mix things up by having a family try to gain benefits by reducing their space.
Even if you don't use this lot type, the space-saving items make great additions to any household. Combination TV, stereo and bookshelf units save space, the items compliment both other packs and the base game well, and the murphy bed is a great (if slightly unsafe) addition for those who like to roll the dice when they go to bed.
12 Nifty Knitting Stuff
Nifty Knitting makes a fantastic addition to family game play. The focus is on the knitting skill, but it spans generations uniquely as Sims can teach each other to knit. The items you can knit also include clothing, so Sims can create a gift very personal presents.
Has anyone ever not received a knitted jumper for Christmas? The tradition of older generations carefully crafting items for younger ones to usually not appreciate can truly be brought to life here. Those who love hobbies can also create a crafting room with the new furniture items, while grandparents can now sit on their porches and reminisce in rocking chairs. It's a small but perfectly formed addition to enhance the realistic feel of family gameplay.
11 Outdoor Retreat
Often overlooked, Outdoor Retreat is actually a great pack for family gameplay. It adds the ability to vacation, either in a lodge or by camping. This offers a great way to enjoy some time as a family. Sims will take time away from work and enjoy getting back to nature in Granite Falls.
While on vacation there you can enjoy a hiking trip, do some fishing, play some games or collect some bugs. There's also the option to have a cookout with the new weenie roast party. The pack even adds star and cloud gazing which helps build relationships quickly.
10 City Living
City Living may not seem like an obvious choice for family gameplay, but the apartment system can add a new dynamic to your story. By paying rent, dealing with neighbors and exploring the city you can add a whole new dimension to your game.This works especially well for players who want to start a family from humble origins and build up a legacy over time. The broken, dingy apartment gives a level of realism to these stories.
The pack also offers some enjoyable and useful extras including work from home careers, festivals, karaoke, new recipes, basketball courts, food stalls, and gaming consoles. All these help give you more options when it comes to family activities.
9 High School Years
High School Years allows you to experience an interactive school day. Sims can attend (or skip) classes, join the cheer, chess, computer, or football clubs, and experience other aspects of school life including attending prom. Drama is rife and four new aspirations can help your teens feel more realistic, especially if combined with the new overachiever, party animal and socially awkward traits.
Teens can also sneak out and hang out at Copperdales Pier, or relax in the bubble tea and thrift store. Other new experiences include needing to shave, being able to use social media app Social Bunny, working out your style with the Trendi app, and pursuing a streamer or Simfluencer career.
8 Discover University
While Discover University is not a pack everyone will want, hence it's lower ranking, those who wish to add in this experience will likely rank this even higher on their personal lists, due to the in-depth nature of the pack.
It focuses on the university experience as a whole, adding classes to attend, tasks to juggle, social activities to participate in and much more. You can also experience a full campus life or study from home at any age. This allows for more gameplay flexibility than ever before. Combined with the benefits of receiving your degree, and the ability to choose your workload, the pack makes an ideal extra challenge for family or legacy gameplay.
7 Laundry Day Stuff
Nothing says family gameplay like having to do laundry. It's a chore that everyone can relate to and trying to keep on top of it in-game can prove to be just as challenging as in real life.
Adding a washer, dryer and washing line to your home adds a nice touch of realism and the clothes that quickly pile up and overspill from the basket definitely feel all too real. The extra items in the pack are also versatile and usable, while the clothing options are very wearable. Just don't forget to empty the lint tray!
6 Cats & Dogs
This is another pack that will likely split opinion. For those who enjoy playing with pets and feel that having Cats and/or Dogs will complete your family, then this pack is a must. It will allow you to create or adopt furry friends to love, care for and train.
However, unlike Discover University, which is quite a self-contained pack, Cats & Dogs also offers the beautiful world of Brindleton Bay as well as a wide range of family home feeling build buy items and casual everyday clothing. This bumps it up the rankings for anyone playing a chilled family legacy.
5 Kids Room Stuff
Kids are often overlooked when it comes to receiving items in new packs, but this stuff pack helps tip the balance. It offers a wide range of versatile outfits, some new hairstyles, and some child-friendly furniture.
The pack also adds puppetry, as well as the void critter gaming system, giving children new ways to have fun and interact with each other. If you have kids then you'll want this pack.
4 Toddler Stuff
If you have toddlers then you need Toddler Stuff. The base game has some options for them, but they are very limited. This pack has everything you need to make your toddlers feel more like the personality-filled lovable tiny people they are.
While the ball pit leaves much to be desired, the other playground equipment is fun, especially the compact slide. However, without a shadow of a doubt, the standouts in this pack are the cute clothes and furniture. Both will leave your toddlers and their bedrooms looking adorable.
3 Cottage Living
Cottage Living is perfect for the self-sufficient family. It adds the ability to grow more crops, keep chickens, cows, and llamas, and to run a small-scale farm. The new world of Henford-On-Bagley is a rustic town brought to life and even adds the ability to cook only what you have the ingredients for. If you haven't had time or don't want to grow them yourself, you can always order from the local grocers.
Those who love hobbies, which can add realism and variety to your experience, will enjoy the expansion of gardening and the addition of cross-stitch and canning, as well as crafting with wool. You can also take picnics with the new picnic basket item, a great family activity.
2 Seasons
Seasons is an expansion that keeps on giving as so many of its features affect every aspect of your game. The seasons themselves offer a dash of realism that many players will enjoy, yet the pack is far more than just that.
Both create a sim and build and buy items are versatile and usable, but it's the calendar and holiday system that really shines. Adding the ability to celebrate events, make traditions and schedule parties all add some great gameplay, giving you scope to really develop your sim's social lives.
1 Parenthood
The number one pack for anyone playing with families has to be Parenthood. It adds character traits to young sims, giving them more personality as they react to events in their lives. It also includes several little things that bring realism to your sims parenting experience.
Teenagers can experience mood swings, while children will go through phases. You can also set curfews, make sack lunches and give advice to your sim children. The entire journey of raising kids is fleshed out in so many ways that it's hard to believe this is just a game pack.