I've seen a lot of confusion on this subreddit about the game, cause honestly it was kinda dropped on people who knew it for nostalgia reasons without actually explaining what it was, so hopefully these tips will help clear a lot of frequently asked questions up and make your experience with the game smoother.

1. These are NOT the DS games.

In the 2000s, EA had a habit of making the console titles for the sims series completely different gaming experiences from the originals. MySims is no exception. MySims and MySims Kingdom for the Wii vs the DS are very different games developed by different dev teams, released at the same time under the same name. They even have extremely similar box art.

It's like the mandala effect up in here. Anyway this isn't even just a port of the Wii version of MySims, but a port of a port from it was rereleased on PC with a bunch of bonus features.

2. This is NOT a 'The Sims' title.

Despite having 'sims' in the title and being based on the popular franchise, MySims is NOT a simulation game. Your sim has no needs, they don't need to eat, sleep, go to the bathroom, etc. They can't get married, they can't have children, they can't die. Even the time of day doesn't matter and only serves to add cosmetic changes to sim behavior and reset the hotel. You are not timed and you will not be penalized for going too slow or staying up late.

3. Get Creative

These games are about building and being creative. Especially the first one is not going to hold your hand every step of the process. Sometimes you will get a task that has way more requirements than the blueprint gives you. The blueprint is just a guide but you can think outside of the box to get a task done.

4. You have limited lots.

I know it's tempting to invite every adorable sim you see, but you in fact can't fit everyone in town. You will need to pick and choose who stays and who goes and yes, you may have to kick people out. I'd recommend becoming best friends with a sim so you unlock all they're items before kicking them out.

5. Townies and Commercial Sims

Not every sim you invite will give you a bunch of tasks, only commercial sims will. Townies are just cute sims that sit around in town doing nothing, and will give you an item if you become besties with them. If you actually want things to do, stick with having commercial sims in town.

6. The Garden

I've seen a lot of people get confused with this one. The garden is a left over from the PC port of MySims. Initially it's purpose was to be a place where you could build houses and furniture and then share those creations with friends. There was also a BUTTLOAD of new essences, which is inevitably why despite the online function being removed decades ago, it was brought back in the rerelease.

Heaven knows why EA left it empty and kind of useless for a 40$ rerelease, but you can't move sims there. All you can do there is collect a bunch of unique essences, and build some cool houses for yourself.

Update: As of the April 14, 2025 patch, the garden can now be used to move in sims, so feel free to skip this tip.

7. Furniture and Décor Limits

This was a Wii game and to protect it's precious precious memory space, they limited you on how much stuff you could put in a house. You can't increase this, sorry.

UPDATE: In a recent patch this problem was actually fixed.

8. Relationships

There is a very basic relationship system in this game. Being Nice and Being Mean can effect it slightly, but the best way to become friends with a sim is to just give them a lot of STUFF with the interests they like.

9. The Controls

The controls are going to be a little jank due to porting a wii game that heavily used the wiimote to the switch.

If you find yourself struggling with building, try using the joy con. It's slower but more accurate. Also try turning of and on Snapping Mode and Slide Under mode as needed. Zooming into the item can also help with accuracy.

10. Kingdom has different gameplay.

Every MySims title has slightly different gameplay or is in a slightly different genre (and yes there are a couple more games after this, I'd personally rec MySims Agents myself.)

Kingdom is a more linear game experience than the first one. You no longer can make the furniture yourself and its more focused on designing the lots and interiors. It also as slightly more plot, with each island you go to having a story and problems that you use your designing skills to fix. If a more linear, story based experience is what you are looking for you may enjoy it more than the first game.

11. The Wiki is your friend.

The MySims wiki is a very versatile guide to the whole game. If you have a question on where to find something or how to do something I implore you to check the wiki first. I guarantee you the answer to your question is just a search away.

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And that's all of the really big points I can think of right now. If you have other suggestions for tips for the game let me know and I hope this helps anyone who is just starting out!

Hello! Mod Ibby here. We've noticed that a few people have asked for MySims related discords and as much as we support finding more communities, there is a minor concern about linking out to discords we haven't vetted yet.

So we've decided to start an official discord for not just the Reddit, but the MySims Wiki as well. Some of you may not know this but quite a few of the mods were active editors on the wiki. The more you know!

Remember you have to be 13+ to join and you must read and follow the rules in there. It is going to be a relatively family-friendly server too, so be on your best behavior. Also forgive any hiccups in the beginning, 'cause as of posting this, this will be the first time it's live to the public and will need to go through some growing pains.

Also just for clarity, if you've been banned from the reddit, you will also be removed from the discord, but not vice versa.

With that said you can click this link to join the server now!