The Anti-Legacy Challenge

Do you love Pinstar’s Legacy Challenge? Have you grown weary of your perfect families with their perfect lives? Are you itching to shake things up and play a different way? Well, my friend, you’ve come to the right place!

I present to you, the Anti-Legacy Challenge! A challenge that takes Pinstar’s iconic challenge and turns it completely upside down on its head! Tired of being good all the time? Why not be… bad?

Latest Update

March 23, 2023: Updated for the Growing Together expansion and infants base game update.

Objective

The Anti-Legacy Challenge is a 10 generation challenge that is exactly like the traditional Legacy Challenge, except instead of trying to make your legacy family wealthy and successful over 10 generations, you are trying to do the exact opposite. Your goal for this challenge is to cultivate a miserable family of failures that make all the wrong choices in life. You’ll have to try your best to get your incompetent family through 10 generations without killing off their whole family line, first.

The challenge ends as soon as the 10th generation is born. You fail the challenge if your family wipes themselves out before making it to 10 generations.

Getting Started

Start a new game and create your founder in CAS. Your founder must be a young adult human. They may have any appearance, aspiration, and gender customizations you wish, but you must assign them all negative traits. This is largely subjective; whatever traits you consider negative are fine. You may use CC and custom traits when creating your founder.

Alternatively, you may use the in-game personality quiz to determine your founder’s traits, aspiration, starting funds, career, and skills; however, you must pick the worst options for every question and skip all occult-related questions. Whatever options you consider the worst are fine.

You may create one pet for your founder if you like, but this is optional. The pet can be a cat or dog of any breed and appearance. You may choose the fox or raccoon variants. You may also create or download cats or dogs off the Gallery that have been painted to look like other animals. You must assign the pet all negative traits; whatever traits you consider negative are fine.

Once you have created your one young adult Sim (and one pet if desired), move them into any lot in any residential world that they can afford with their starting funds. The lot can be any size you like. This can be an empty lot that you build on or download a Gallery house for, or a pre-built Maxis starter home. You may also choose to live in an apartment. The only requirement is that your Sim must be able to afford it without cheating. Take care with this decision! Like the traditional legacy challenge, your family cannot ever move from the original lot you pick. You must remain there for the full 10 generations.

The lot cannot have any lot traits assigned to it. You may only assign lot challenges to the lot. Once assigned, lot challenges can never be removed, so pick carefully.

Aging must be on and lifespans set to normal for all Sims. Free Will must be enabled at all times.

Succession Laws

Succession laws have been simplified in the anti-legacy challenge. This isn’t the kind of challenge where your family would be putting much thought into the future, after all.

There is only one succession law rule; each heir must be able to trace their lineage directly back to the founder, either through blood or adoption.

You may play with Pinstar’s more detailed succession laws instead if you wish, but this is optional.

Like the traditional Legacy Challenge, the new heir takes over when they become a young adult or if the previous heir dies. Any siblings of the heir (spares) can be moved out of the house when they become young adults. Only your heirs must stay in the legacy house.

Gameplay Rules (Base Game)

The following rules apply to the base game. If you only own the base game, you can just use these rules and completely ignore the DLC section.

• No cheats! This is the most strict rule of the challenge; however, there are a couple exceptions to this rule:
  • If you lose game progress due to glitches or crashes, you may use as many cheats as you need to in order to restore the lost progress.
  • You may use bb.moveobjects on, bb.showhiddenobjects, and bb.showliveeditobjects for creative building purposes, only. You may not use these cheats to give your Sims family anything that would benefit them in gameplay (collectibles, potions, locked/hidden catalogue objects, etc).
  • You may use headlineeffects off/on to toggle the plumbob and other tooltips on and off for storytelling purposes.
• You may use any mods that would enhance this style of gameplay, such as Basemental Drugs, Wicked Whims, Extreme Violence, Life Tragedies, etc. I am not too strict about the use of mods, but they are optional. You can play the challenge without any mods at all.
• No reloading the game when something bad happens. You must roll with the punches and deal with any deaths, job losses, children or pets taken away, repo man visits, or anything else that happens in the game to throw a monkey wrench in your plans. Children taken away by social services cannot be recovered via mods.
• Whenever a disaster occurs, such as a fire, a death, a child/pet being taken away, or a Sim entering a dangerous emotional state (enraged, hysterical, mortified), you cannot do anything to help or intervene. You must allow the game to continue unpaused. You cannot issue any commands to any Sims in the household or cancel any actions on any Sim in the household until the disaster has played itself out and passed.
• All urns and gravestones of dead Sims must be placed on the lot (not in the inventory) immediately after death and stay on the lot until the ghost has faded away on its own.
• All traits and aspirations in the challenge must be randomized with no re-rolls. You get what you get on the first try. You may use the in-game randomizer or Pinstar’s trait randomizer. Pinstar’s trait randomizer is a bit more realistic as there is a chance of inheriting traits from parents.
• Sims may not purchase any reward traits or potions with their Satisfaction Points. Honestly, in a challenge like this, they probably won’t have many to spend, anyway.
• Sims may not actively work on aspirations. This just means that you cannot have them focus on completing aspirations and must basically act like they are not there. It is fine if they happen to complete aspiration milestones while just going about their lives.
• Sims may not actively build skills unless it is necessary for survival (ex: cooking for themselves or a toddler when they are hungry). They may build skills autonomously. Mindless “time wasting” skills like dancing, video gaming, and mischief are exempt from this rule.
• Sims may have jobs and go to school, but they must always choose Take It Easy or Slack Off every time they go. If you forget to have them Take It Easy or Slack Off within the first hour of their shift, they must either quit their job as soon as they get home or skip the next day of school.
• You may not direct Sims to do homework. They may do homework autonomously. You cannot direct Sims to help children or toddlers build skills or do homework, but they may do so autonomously. You may only direct Sims to care for their basic needs.
• Sims cannot be controlled until they become teens. Children, toddlers, and infants must be left to act autonomously at all times. They cannot be issued any commands at all and cannot have any of their actions cancelled; however, you may click on them to view their info and needs. The only exception to this is skipping school if you forgot to have them Slack Off. You may also dress them up in CAS however you like.
• You may not hire maids, gardeners, nannies, repair technicians, or caterers. You may order pizza.
• You may not direct Sims to clean anything. You may not tidy up things yourself via clicking and dragging things to the fridge, sink, dishwasher, or trash. Sims may only clean and put things away autonomously. You may not replace anything that’s broken in the house. Your Sims must repair everything themselves. You may issue repair commands to Sims.
• If playing the game without mods, Sims must always choose Try for Baby when WooHooing. If playing with mods that add Risky WooHoo to the game, Sims must always choose to have Risky WooHoo. The Risky WooHoo percentage must replicate real-world odds of pregnancy when having unprotected intercourse. This of course varies depending on many factors, but the general average is around 20%. Yes, I Googled it. This rule does not apply to same-sex couples and couples that are too old to have children.
• Whenever your Sims have free time on their hands, they cannot pursue any activities that would enrich their lives. They may only do mindless, time wasting activities like watching TV, drinking, dancing, playing video games, and mean/mischievous interactions. They may use friendly, funny and romantic socials without penalty. Any action a Sim chooses to do autonomously is fine and does not count against you.
• Whenever your Sims receive any kind of opportunity or invite through the phone, you must answer it. You can’t just click X to ignore it. You must also always choose the worst available option, or the option you feel has the most potential to cause controversy or drama in the family.
• Your Sims may go on vacation, either in one of the residential worlds or in a vacation world from an add-on pack if you have any vacation add-on packs.

Gameplay Rules (DLC)

If you play with any DLC packs, there are additional rules. You can ignore any rules for packs you don’t own. If a pack you own is not listed, you may do as you wish with any of its content as long as you’re still following the base game rules. Assume anything not mentioned in this section is left up to your own judgment.

Get To Work

• You may not take medicine to cure your Sims’ illnesses; you may only treat illness with orange juice, tea, and rest.
• Sims may own a retail business, but they cannot purchase any perks for the business. They cannot advertise the business, either. They cannot set their prices above 5% markup. They cannot hire staff with more than 1 bar of experience. They must fire any staff that gains more than 3 bars of experience.

Get Together

• You may create clubs but you may not purchase any club perks except the Angry Club Vibe and the Sad Club Vibe perks.
• Your club may not have any helpful activities. You may only select mindless, time wasting activities or mean/mischief activities for your club.

Cats & Dogs

• Your Sims may not discipline their pets for bad behaviour. You must learn to live with their unpleasant antics. You may not use any mods that allow you to control your pets.
• You may take your pets to the vet when they are sick, but you must always choose the cheap treatment option. You may not spay/neuter your pets either at the vet or in CAS.
• You may not purchase wellness treats for your pets.

Seasons

• You may not have a money tree.
• Your Sims may not play the lottery.
• Children and Teens cannot join the Scouts after school activity.

Get Famous

• Your Sims can become famous; however, they must have a bad reputation equal to their fame. For example, a Notable Newcomer must have a Bad Reputation. A Global Superstar must have an Atrocious Reputation.
• Whenever your Sims get fame opportunities at work, you must always choose the option that will get your Sim demoted or fired if it is available.
• Children and Teens cannot join the Drama Club after school activity.

Discover University

• Sims may go to college either on campus or go from home. If you choose to go to college on campus, one of the Sims going must be the heir.
• Sims cannot apply for scholarships. They must pay upfront or rely on student loans.
• Sims may only select standard degrees; they may not enroll in any distinguished degrees.
• Sims may not be directed to do homework or work on final projects. They may only do these things autonomously.
• Sims may not join organisations or after school activities.

Eco Lifestyle

• Sims may vote on NAPs but they may not vote for any NAPs that would actually improve their neighbourhood. They may only vote for silly NAPs that make the neighbourhood more chaotic. For example, Sims may not vote for the environmental or “life enriching” NAPs like Green Gardening, Eco-Friendly Appliances, or Support the Performing Arts. They can vote for NAPs like Free Love, Juiced Community, and We Wear Bags.
• Sims cannot repeal NAPs. Got stuck with the dreaded Sharing is Caring NAP? Oh well. Better lock your doors.

Snowy Escape

• If Sims do happen to become Emotionally Mindful, they may only use the ability to put themselves into a negative emotional state. Sad, Angry, Embarrassed, Tense, Uncomfortable, Dazed, and Scared are all negative emotions.

Dine Out

• Sims may own restaurants but they cannot purchase any perks for the restaurant. They cannot train their staff. They cannot hire any staff with more than 1 bar of experience. They must fire any staff who gain more than 3 bars of experience.

Parenthood

• Sims cannot discipline their toddlers, children, or teens for bad behaviour.
• Sims cannot be directed to help toddlers, children, or teens build character values. It is fine if they do so autonomously. Sims cannot help children or teens work through phases or mood swings.
• Teens cannot be directed to do school projects or help other children/teens with school projects. It is fine if they do so autonomously. Children can’t be directed to do this, anyway, since you aren’t allowed to control them at all.
• Teens cannot actively work on building character values. You may only direct them to do activities that lower their character values. It is fine if they happen to build character values by doing necessary, everyday activities, or if they do so autonomously. Children cannot be directed to build/destroy character values either way, since you aren’t allowed to control them at all.
• When asked for advice or when receiving a call from school about a child or teen’s behaviour, the Sim receiving the call must choose the worst option. Again, this is up to your discretion. Whatever choice sounds the most like what a bad parent would say is the one you should choose.
• Sims cannot pack school lunches for children or teens. Teens may only pack their own school lunch.

Jungle Adventure

• When traversing the temple, you must deliberately have your Sim choose the wrong trigger on every trap at least once before choosing the correct one, even if you know what the correct one is.
• If your Sim becomes poisoned, you cannot do anything to cure them. You must simply wait and hope the Sim recovers on their own.

StrangerVille

• Sims may live in StrangerVille and pursue the StrangerVille Mystery story; however, they can only progress the story to Act 3 when the weirdness in StrangerVille is at its highest level. They cannot defeat The Mother and restore the town back to normal once they’ve reached this point in the story, so make sure you really want StrangerVille to be permanently chaotic before you do this.

Realm of Magic

• Sims may not brew or drink Potions of Plentiful Needs.
• Sims may not lift any curses they become afflicted with. Once they are cursed, they are cursed forever! You’ve been warned!

Romantic Garden Stuff

• Sims may use the wishing well as often as they want, but only when the wishing well’s face indicates a warped/negative outcome.
• Sims may not donate to the wishing well to try and get a better wish outcome.

Vintage Glamour Stuff

• Sims may not hire a butler

Laundry Day Stuff

• Sims may not be directed to upgrade the washer or dryer or clean the lint tray. Better air dry those clothes if you don’t want any… accidents.
• Sims must put away and wear dried clothes in whatever condition they are in after the first wash/dry cycle, even if the washer and dryer malfunction.
• Sims may not put flowers in the wash to make their clothes smell nice. They can only put food in the wash to make them smell bad.

My First Pet Stuff

• Sims must play with their pet rodents at least once before cleaning the habitat when it gets dirty. Mwahahahaha…

Tiny Living

• Sims may not upgrade the Murphy Bed. Use at your own risk…

Paranormal Stuff

• Your Sims may live in haunted houses, but they cannot get rid of the specters. They must learn to get along with them and coexist. If they do choose to live in a haunted house and City Living is installed, they must also assign the Spooky Lot trait to the home for maximum hauntedness.

Cottage Living

• Your Sims may own and care for animals
• Your Sims must always attempt to bribe the mayor during the Finchwick Fair if they choose to enter

High School Years

• Your Sims cannot join any after-school activities
• Whenever you are given the opportunity to pull a prank or misbehave at school, you must take it
• Always pick the option you feel will have the worst results in classes and exams
• Do not study for your exams unless the Sim does so autonomously
• Do not do homework unless the Sim does so autonomously
• All teens must plant a stink bomb and summon an urban legend at least once; you may have them build the Mischief skill to do this.
• If your teen has a school rival, they must become enemies with them.

Growing Together

• Sims cannot help infants, toddlers, or children reach milestones. Whatever milestones they reach on their own is fine.
• If a Sim is experiencing a layoff period, you must do everything you can to ensure they do get laid off. It is fine if they don’t get laid off despite your best efforts.
• If a Sim has a workplace rival, they must antagonize them every day at work and become enemies with them.
• If a Sim has the option to swap a negative trait for a positive one, you must decline. Likewise, if they get the option to swap one of their traits for a worse one, you must always accept. This applies to added traits as well. Only add negative traits, not positive ones.
• If a Sim goes through a midlife crisis, you must complete all the midlife crisis goals. You may break rules regarding aspirations, skills, and careers if it is necessary to complete a midlife crisis goal.

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Please don’t ask me questions about whether you’re allowed to do this or that in the challenge! I don’t do challenge support anymore and my answer will most likely be the same for everything; use your own judgment. It’s your game and you should be having fun.

This challenge should remain playable no matter what packs come out in the future. We have all the series staples by now. Anything else would most likely be niche stuff where you can pretty much use your own judgment as to whether or not you want to use it. I will only be updating this challenge if I strongly feel a rule adjustment/addition is necessary. But it probably won’t be.

Click to the next page for an optional scoring section inspired by the legendary Pinstar!

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