While different Challenges look like fun, they don't seem like something I could realistically carry through to their conclusion. Therefore, I'm looking to make my own set of neighbourhood rules. It seems like lots of people play by their own rules (sounds kind of rebellious ) so I'm hoping to get some suggestions.

What in-game rules do you play with? Which are the hardest? Which are the easiest? Which are just for laughs? Let's share!

One of my favorite things to do is to listen to my Sims' wants. You don't want to gain a skill point? Looks like you won't get a promotion and will stick to your crap salary. You want to have a baby? Even though you already have five kids and live in a small two bedroom apartment? Looks like your family might have to take turns sleeping in the beds and won't be able to enjoy family meals together. (that's an exaggeration, I've never had that happen. yet.)

It's not really a rule, but it does make the game much more interesting. I could easily have all of my families be wealthy if I dictated every Sim's decision. Quick promotions, appropriate family size for the house, etc. It's just not fun that way, and this way I feel like my Sims also have minds of their own and more free will. Also, when I'm not nagging on them to clean or skill, they tend to be very social on their own and do lots of stupid/funny things that way.

I also don't cheat to give families more money, except for when I start a hood. I find it really fun to watch my Sims work their way up in the world.

I also play want-based, but I do have a couple of exceptions. If a teen Sim has the want to go to university, they can skill until they get 1 point in each skill (which is the minimum requirement for university.) I also allow engagement, marriage, and babies even if only 1 Sim has the want.

Other rules I have are that certain jobs are limited to certain areas. All jobs are available in Bluewater (which is actually a downtown on the Bluewater template). Almost all jobs are available in Pleasantview, which is within commuting distance of both Bluewater and SSU. The only exception are Music, Show Business, Dance, and Military. Riverblossom Hills gets the worst of it. It's only within commuting distance of SSU, so the only jobs allowed there are Medical, Education, Law Enforcement, Natural Science, Science, Gamer, and the first few levels of Journalism. (I'm assuming the last two can be done from any place with an Internet connection.)

Eventually, I'm going to have 2 universities. I have a point system to determine how teen Sims get into university. Things like skill points, scholarships, and hobby enthusiasm. To get into SSU, Sims only need 2 points, but they'll need a lot more to get into ALT.

Is that a rule for your own game or an actual rule for teens to go to college? If it's a part of the regular game, I never even knew that was a requirement. Either way I think it's a cool alternative to make your sims have certain skill levels to go to Uni instead of having to pay for it. I might implement that but make it more difficult.

Every sim is given a motivation level based on neatness + activity - playfulness.
Those who score 0 and below I play a lot more hands-off. They can choose to skill and I have a few mods which make things autonomous, but I don't direct them to work on any skill. A sim of a higher motivation can ask them to join in chess though.
So as a toddler I will make sure they have all skill-building toys (I have those for each skill) but they choose to play with that, bash the teddy, squeeze the cat or play down the toilet. I also have their skill set limited on the simblender to only 1 point in each skill. If they roll a want for a toddler skill and their parent is at least average I will fill that want but not if the parents are also low motivation. One family the boy didn't roll a potty training want and neither did his parents so he filled his nappy for 8 long days (I use double ageing) That was unusual though. Someone needs to finally be able to test the bedwetting mod after all.
Sims who score 1-7 are average. I mostly play them to wants. They can gain 2 skills as toddlers.
Sims who score 8+ are over achievers. They will be told to skill, they are set on the batbox as smart unlike other sims. These sims will make sure their toddlers have all toddler skills if the kid rolls a want or not, that their kids do their homework, again if they want to or not. They may come over as grandparents and see to these things as well if their own kids 'fall short'. They are high achievers.
I allow 2 more skills in each age group. This is quite a pain to reset on each birthday.

School is based on where sims live and cost. I have public school, prep school and homeschool. I did away with boarding school the sims motives would be horrible on arrival back home. Starting in Spring (kids are on summer holidays now) prep school will coast the families money. Since my sims are not rich I still have to figure this out but maybe $100 a day to attend my playable school. parents who can't afford that will have to use public school or homeschool. Farm kids I tend to homeschool.

Going to uni (uni hood) college (main hood) or no college as Young Adults is decided by how many scholarships or portfolios they achieve. If average sims make it to uni or college they will be played to wants. You need but don't want that mechanical points? Well, you might fail out. I do make them go to class and exams. Low motivated sims are more likly to get a job either at a player-run business or fill one of the NPC type jobs. all my teens become YA for 10 days, going to uni or not.

My ageing system is quite strict as is keeping to the day and seasons.

That is my modern game folder. I also have a medieval folder with some other rules.
Right now I am coming up with an ancient civilization play system of crafting based around Sun&Moon and other items. For example to make a fire a sim needs to dig up 5 stones(to make the hearth) then for each fire they need branches (Sun&Moon giving tree) and have either hay or reeds in inventory. They just got through a miserable winter and are about to be able to bucket water for baths which will help a lot as bathing was done on another lot under a waterfall.

Rules I've implemented off the top of my head....
1. All aspirations (both primary and secondary) are chosen at random by rolling a six sided die.
2. Turn-ons and turn-offs are accepted as generated (except for the flawed alien one which is replaced with a randomly selected one).A Sim rolls unemployed and stinky as turn-ons, then that Sim is stuck with them.
3. Sims can only marry if they have a 3 bolt attraction to one another. Clothing turn-ons/turn-offs can make this especially interesting. For example, a happy couple until they change into formalwear for their wedding party at which time a turn-off for formal wear causes a loss in 3-bolt attraction and the pair are no longer permitted to marry which pretty much makes their wedding party a complete disaster.
4. If a married couple drops their three bolt attraction (by gaining/losing skill points, gaining/losing a job, changing hair color when becoming elder, etc), then they may divorce if one or both finds another three bolt attraction. Children (if any) stay/go along with the parent with whom they have the highest relationship score.
5. No toddler cheats are allowed. They must be fed by a Sim; they must either sleep in a crib, dog bed or the floor, etc. No never-expiring bottles. No comfy CC floor beds they can use on their own. The parents had the kids, so they have to deal with them realistically.
6. When a Sim moves out on their own from their family home, their parents may provide them "startup money" by purchasing one or more statues (if the family can afford to) and having that Sim sell the statues to help furnish their new residence once they have one. And if a family has bought new furniture, the old furniture is kept and can be "gifted" to the Sim moving out as well.

It's a rule for my own game. I also make them pay for it-500 simoleans per semester plus the cost of their residence. (500 per semester to live in the dorms as a freshman, and 500 per semester to live in the Greek Houses. Since I use the "uni in the main 'hood" hack, my Sims don't get a discount on their uni housing. Instead, if they aren't the RA in a dorm or in a Greek House, they have to rent an apartment. I usually have several houses with the bedroom door being an apartment door so that Sims can just rent a bedroom.)

Most of my rules are general and flexible to give me the most diverse play. I play with as many gameplay mods as I can find. There are several goals for me and my sims to accomplish, what they choose and do depends on their ever-changing personality.
1. Lifetime Aspiration (Wants Based)
2. Hobbies (Wants Based)
3. Community Based - Hobby Clubs, Government Buildings, Memorials (Me SimGoddess Want)
4. Work Based - Playable Work Spaces, Government Buildings, Self-Owned Business (Me SimGoddess Want)

Sims can choose to be successful through their aspiration and get the platinum grave. They can be successful through work, and rise to level 10. All employed jobs must have a proper playable location to go to and employed sims aspire to actually own one of these. Community-Based success means to run a successful hobby group for sims who share your interests and build or buy a suitable building for you to meet, train and skill in. Successful Sims will eventually have books, roads, hospitals, and whole museums dedicated to them, with corresponding artistic renditions of their portraits hung all around town. Any sim who can afford it can always own their own business, full time or alongside their normal working hours.

Schools are playable for those with money, taxes are payable by everyone (including NPC's and Townies). A bank manager and Mayor should administer all funds and community business in a proper playable bank. Hospitals are playable but free. You can only travel on foot within a local distance. If you're going downtown or to another sub-neighbourhood you must have a car, have money for a taxi or be able to access bus or subway. Sims skill depending on their wants and personality. Few sims (apart from knowledge) want to sit and read a book and prefer to skill by doing an activity or attending a lecture. (Sophie-David) Playful sims and pleasure sims rarely wish to skill at all and so don't do well in employed jobs.

Aspirations, interests, personality are left as I find them. If a sim chooses to marry a grouchy layabout townie then that's how they stay. If your job is crime lord and your hobby is gardening, then your a criminal with a love for flowers. My own created sims usually are archetypes. The hardworking shy librarian, married to the lazy Casanova. The teacher who married a teacher and ends up with two kids who love studying. The brothers who do nothing but watch football and high five. They get the jobs and hobbies according to their wants, unless I need them for community needs. (To be bank manager, mayor, doctor etc) On rare occasions, sims can change interests by reading magazines, or sharing interests, Maybe later in life if they have a midlife crisis, or maybe if they've started a new job, their marriage is falling apart and they're getting bored. (Me sim goddess will decide, unless ACR gets there first.)

ACR chooses love interests. Personality decides what they are likely to wear and how they live. That fortune sim who lives with cats, is unlikely to buy Ikea furniture and would rather live in genteel poverty in a rundown apartment with a few pieces of expensive furniture. Them sports guys spend little money on furniture and prefer to use old car tires. Get's expensive for those fortune sims who live In the suburbs and are trying to keep up with the Jonesi's. (Cause them blankets are $150 a time)

Time rules:
* One-day rotation, I don't bother to try to sync seasons. College is played at a rate of one semester per day, everyone spends the last period after graduation as a young adult rather than growing up early. Vacations are played all at once, no matter how long they are actually for.
* All teens who go to college leave on the day where they wake up at 9 days until adult. This makes it so that teens who go to college and teens who don't go to college age at the same rate.
* No elixir of life. Cowplant milk is ok.

Various money/business rules:
* All wages are halved. Apartment rent is also halved.
* No home ticket businesses.
* No prices higher than "expensive".
* No household can spend more than 8 hours on any one community lot per day, regardless of how many sims actually go to the lot. It is possible to visit multiple lots for 8 hours each per day.
* College costs $2500 per semester, as handled by the college tuition hack. Interest is 3%.
* No20kHandouts installed.

Other rules:
* No marriage or engagement without the want.
* No use of ACR's "morning after pill" functionality.
* The hood is matriarchal: husbands take their wives names. This means that generally, it doesn't actually matter if your parents were married or not.
* To keep track of earned aspiration points (since I don't usually spend them, and the game can only keep track of 327,670 of them), whenever a sim reaches 200,000 saved points I buy five love tubs, which totals 100,000 exactly, and stick them in that sim's inventory. Every sim who is a young adult or older (I've never had a sim earn any love tubs before college) has an heir, which follows enatic-cognatic primogeniture, more or less, and when they die, their love tubs are transferred to their heir. The number of love tubs in the sim's inventory thus becomes kind of a score. The sim with the highest score in my neighborhood currently has around 200 love tubs in her inventory, which is about four million aspiration points.
* Children attend one day of Maxis public school, in order to get homework so they can learn to do it. After that, they are all switched to Inge's prep school, which causes them to stay in school until 5:00 and come home without homework. Boarding school is also possible, if the parents seem like they would do that. If a teen wants to be an overachiever, they're put into Maxis private school in order to come home earlier in order to get to their job.
* Everyone learns cooking skills up to about 6 points ASAP - other skills are only built if the sim wants them, or if there's another reason to do skill-building activities, or if a teen is close to a scholarship.
* When unlocking Free Time perks, aspiration perks are always unlocked first, starting with the secondary aspiration, which means that no perks can be unlocked until the sim is a teen.
* When sims age up to teen, their primary and secondary aspiration and turn-ons are all rolled randomly. Gender preference and cis/transness are rolled at birth. When townies move in, their secondary aspiration is rolled randomly and given immediately.

Each of my hoods has different rules, so these are the rules for Poverty Point.

Sims begin with $200 per adult or elder, $100 per teen or younger (including Samantha Ottomas's unborn twins), and $50 per pet. This means they start out in a room or suite of two rooms in the boarding house, where they share the kitchen and bathroom with the other tenants. The starting funds are just enough to pay the rent, and they borrow what they need for beds from Cyjon's Loan Jar, with the interest set at the default 3%. The Ottomas and Irving families were too big for the boarding house, so they started out in a hut just big enough to contain a kitchenette, a 2x2 bathroom using the cheap university shower, and the necessary number of beds/cribs. Inge's Mortgage Shrubs cover the cost, and the interest on those is automatically 10%, so I felt it made up for them not paying rent every week.

Sims can look in the newspaper for a job in their preferred career track, but if there isn't one (or they don't have a preferred track), they must take the first job advertised. Female Sims and teens immediately have a Stopinator put in their inventory, so they can get promotions only on a chance card or through a friend who knows their boss; no maternity leave is allowed, so a Sim who becomes pregnant must immediately quit her job until such time as she is not needed at home to care for the children. Adult male Sims are allowed to reach Level 2 before getting the Stopinator. However, a son who follows in his father's footsteps may go one level higher than his father (so usually Level 3) before hitting the glass ceiling. Elders are not permitted to work. Pets may work only in the same field as their owner and can get promoted if they learn the necessary tricks (which rarely happens), but their chance cards are ignored. A Sim who is fired may not look for a new job until the next day, and must take one that pays less than the previous job.

I wasn't originally going to allow university, but the tantrums are ridiculous (shouldn't happen if the hood doesn't have a university, IMO, but Maxis thought otherwise!), so I decided to allow it in certain circumstances. It costs $1000 per semester for tuition, plus cleaning fees (hiring a maid is mandatory) and the fees charged by Cyjon's Bigger Bills (currently $125 per day, but each academic year is just two days). Heirs can go even if the family has to borrow money for it; younger sons and daughters can go only if they have enough scholarships to completely cover the cost. Sims who complete two years of college or graduate with a low GPA can go one career level higher than otherwise permitted; Sims who graduate with honours can go two levels higher.

If a Sim marries a townie or downtownie, the newcomer can only bring 10% of their Maxis-given funds and must quit their job to start over at the bottom of the career track. They may, however, keep whatever goods they had in inventory - and Sandy Bruty did well on that, having a hot tub, a large fish tan and some highly expensive statues stashed away! Townie teens who seem likely partners for playables are sent to university with whatever scholarships they should have had (they all get the Orphaned Sims' Assistance Fund), and thereafter play by the same rules as those who've grown up in the hood.

I have No20kHandouts, so Sims move out with just a share of the household funds (if possible, younger sons get $500 before the money is divided up). I also have NoInheritance, though I do have a system of inheritance that I do manually. It takes a while, but it's more realistic. Friends get $50 per $10,000 of the deceased's net worth; best friends get $100 and BFFs $250. If the deceased had a pension, family members get a fixed life insurance payout per $100 of pension according to how closely they were related, regardless of how good their friendship was. I use the familyfunds cheat to magic up the life insurance if possible; otherwise I use the Loan Jar to borrow the amount, then delete it so it doesn't have to be repaid. Christianlov's Wallet Controller allows me to send the funds to the beneficiaries. Family members who didn't live in the same household as the deceased get both the friendship bequest and the insurance payout.

Sims will become home owners if they can, but most of them have little left over after they've paid the rent and daily bills, and are more likely to upgrade their bed or sofa than set aside savings for a house.

No Rules!! My Sims and I are in agreement that rules only exist to be broken. There are of course conventions of how I usually play but no rules as such. My Sims are free spirits who are never going to be bound by rules.

There is of course Law -- constitutional Law. All my Sims live under the protection of a constitution that guarantees their "inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". With the addition of a codicil which states that "Every child has the right to be loved".

The courts take the constitution very seriously. I dare not infringe my Sims' rights

I have a whole google doc with my rules xD Here are some off the top of my head:

-OTHs are further narrowed down by what activities gain enthusiasm for each. For example, Jill Smith's OTH is film and literature. I roll a dice to determine what activity within that OTH is her preferred hobby. In Jill's case it's watching movies at home on the TV. Another example is General Buzz Grunt. His OTH is sports, but his preferred hobby within that is boxing. It really helps to further define each of the sims and what they enjoy in their free time.

-Sims going to University, and how well they do there, is want based. Popularity sims must go to the Fraternity or Sorority by their sophomore year. Knowledge sims must be in the secret society by their sophomore year.

-Primary and secondary aspirations, and turn ons/offs are randomized. If a female sim randomizes a turn on for make up, they are a lesbian. If a male sim randomizes a turn on for beards, he's gay.

-Werewolves who become furious with a sim will attack them.

My rules are that I can place a community service center and set up an outdoor farmer's market there and place one homesteading lot down before moving my first couple in and must start playing my town with my first couple moved in.I'm not allowed to move any more couples in until after the first one has made it though their first winter.I get to build my public housing boarding house after a few couples move in and that is for new arrivals with low funds.
Sims get household funds based on their backgrounds and schools for children and kids won't be available at first with the population being too small though fexi schooling is an option for families.

I'm working on a spreadsheet with lots of rules - for earth and colony worlds. Been like pulling teeth sometimes to get the formulas to work right. Are there any Excel experts here? 'Cause I still might need a little help.

But anyways, I'm working on a system of gathering mineral and organic resources for building on colony worlds. Part of it would include using biome type and mineral status to determine the values of organic and mineral items. Since I'm also likely going to be using a lot of Sun & Moon items - like the mining and refining CC - I might include rules such as: For Poor/Ultra-poor planets, must rely on luck to get precious metals and other items (unless of course I include other features like 'gem deposits' or 'gold deposits'). I've also got other features to roll, like: Technological Status, Biome Hospitability, Fertility of soil, mineral rich/poor status, attitudes toward creatures, and climate. A lot of these features are based on the Master of Orion series, which is quite addictive.

Randomizing the weather and the general creature attitudes and such can make for a challenge, though I am still working on the spreadsheet - which is based on @bulbizarre's template. It's gotten huge. Still not happy with it though.

I know a bit about Excel - although it depends on what you need help with

Right, my rules:
Children get a "trust fund" set up when they're born - 3k is put into a bank account (on Monique's computer) and the child cannot access the money until they're an adult. They can, however, add to the total if they desire but most don't bother. Poorer parents often have to take out a loan to cover this. Also, Uni costs 40k, and the funds for that are started by the parents as well. However, the amount paid in is dependent on the parents' funds: poor sims are lucky if they can scrape 500 together per child, whereas filthy rich ones can afford to put in a lot more. As interest builds up, a rich child will be able to sail through Uni with little to no debt, but a poor one will still have to pay off a loan once they graduate.

Aspirations and turn-ons/offs are randomly selected (thanks Phae for the generator), and sexuality is also randomly assigned. ACR takes care of when sims have babies, although despite faffing I've not managed to get it playing nicely with the aging mod yet, so I keep InSim around to trigger a pregnancy IF needed - I use ACR's morning after pill if a teen sim gets pregnant when she shouldn't! Marriage varies, but is usual with Family sims, unusual with Romance sims and still needs the want for it to happen.

School, Uni and careers are all want-based: a sim will learn to study if they roll the want (which is usual for children, and varies with teens), but they will make an attempt at homework at 7pm anyway; I have the mod for that. Uni only happens if the sim is Knowledge aspiration OR rolls a Uni-required career LTW OR keeps rolling the want. Using Phae's altered Uni requirements makes the numbers a little different, but it works. However, that's just GETTING to Uni... if they want to get that degree, they need to roll the wants to get that bar high enough - I'll force a skilling session just to give them the chance to avoid academic probation, the rest is up to them. Premade adult sims (and townies who move in) can still access a Uni career, but only once they've got the skills that would allow for an Honours degree - I call it going back to college. Career promotions only happen if the sims either gets the skills needed, or are lucky with the chance cards.

Beyond that I let "nature" (okay, programming) take its course - sims will make mincemeat out of the best-laid plans, so I keep the actual rules short unless I'm actively playing a challenge.

I always add a fear slot to my sims so that they have 4 wants and 4 fears,so that instead of feeling cheated if once in a blue moon they lose aspiration, it feels like they should naturally be able to lose aspiration. I also have an extra lock just for locking in high-value fears like deaths of loved ones so that death will almost certainly hit hard. I find that this doesn't make the game more difficult (since fears are rarely fulfilled as they're things usually caused by player purpose or neglect), but rather gives me an extra dimension to story-telling.

Speaking of story-telling, my loosey-goosey rule is to try to stay true to the sims' story, when it comes to the premades in the megahood. Since the Contrary family had several indicators of neglect to their teenage son, I disallowed him to ask to learn to study from his parents, and waited until the wants of his father implied the minimum scant amount of interest in his son's well-being for me to have an excuse to teach the poor boy. Lilith is absolutely not going to make any overtures of peace with Angela while the two still live under their parents' house, although the Oldies have so little story that I can make them as good as I like.
(I like that the game starts off with several bad situations, because I like fixing bad starts, not setting them up.)

I've used rules when it suits the gameplay such as attempts to reduce population. I've just started a new legacy so have set in place a new rule that there is not to be more than one child and if there is (eg twins), they are not to reproduce. This is to prevent overpopulation which happened so much in my previous legacy that literally everyone was related to everyone else. Mind you, I also have "real sickness" which can be devastating, so rules can be bent.

Well, I'm starting to convert one of my tables to a range because I want to put in digging subtotals for each of the four seasons. The materials that are dug up or grown would then be used for building in a new colony until structures like the Automated Factory and Robo Miner Plant, and Deep Core Mine are built, or until Robotic Controls are improved - those are all technologies from the first two Master of Orion games. Basically, it could start out with Sims setting up a quarry, and whatever is dug up through 'dig for treasure' or mined with Sun & Moon's special mining rocks would be spent on metal or other mineral items, while plants would be spent on organic items - like furniture with wood, and certain clothes. The hard part might be going through all the stuff to see how many organic and mineral points it would cost. On hostile biomes - like radiated and toxic - plants have to be grown inside.

I don't really have strict rules for a lot of things - I'd rather come up with things to happen to my sims during play, like deciding that this particular sim is going to get the Job Stopinator even though he's gone to university, just because it'll make a good story. I do have a system for determining aspirations when a sim becomes a teen: it makes sims more likely to inherit an aspiration from a family member, or even decide to model themselves on a non-family friend or mentor, but still allows some chance to become any aspiration without regard to family tradition - even to become a natural Grilled Cheese sim. Here's the table, in case that's useful to anyone:

Roll a d20:
1 - Mother's (or first parent's) aspiration
2 - Mother's aspiration
3 - Mother's aspiration
4 - Mother's secondary
5 - Father's (or second parent's) aspiration
6 - Father's aspiration
7 - Father's aspiration
8 - Father's secondary
9 - Maternal grandmother
10 - Maternal grandfather
11 - Paternal grandmother
12 - Paternal grandfather
13 - Adult mentor
14 - Peer role model
15 - Roll a d6 to determine aspiration
16 - Roll a d6
17 - Roll a d6
18 - Roll a d6
19 - Roll a d7 (that is, roll a d8 and reroll if it's an 8)
20 - Roll a d7

In the case of sims born to CAS parents or with a townie parent, a roll of "grandparent's aspiration" means I first get to roll to determine that grandparent's aspiration, and then record that data - it may be useful in storytelling to have found out that this sim had a Romance mother, for example. For same-sex couples, it's important to decide which parent is the first and second parent before rolling. And for sim kids who are the eldest in their cohort and don't really have a peer role model to copy, I pick any other sim outside the family that has a good relationship with the kid and is teen or older, and use that aspiration. This also works for university students who haven't seemed to fit their first aspiration well and want to use the opportunity to reroll.

My own rules mostly go by gut and what their wants tell me. I decide aspirations on what I feel like they might be according to their childhood, sometimes on what other people have made them in the case of premades, and if I can't figure anything out I pick at random. I go wants-based, that is, if a sim rolls a want to do something and it's feasible, I do it. No Far East vacation for Brandi when she's barely floating above water. I reroll LTWs if I don't feel like they fit. Mostly, romances are decided by ACR, but sometimes I break up relationships for the hell of it. Kids only do homework if they roll a want to learn to study, do their homework, or get a scholarship.

All teens above a C in school on their birthday go to college. If they roll a want to go to college in the 3 days leading up to it, I send them early and make a note in their bio about it. Otherwise, I put them into the rotation as an adult and put the time they would have had as a college student into their agespan. There are some cases where I might make an executive decision and say that they wouldn't go to college, but I haven't encountered any yet. I have similar views about accessibility to college in real life which is probably why I haven't modified it. It's still heavily wants-based, though. If you don't want to skill, your class meter won't even get unlocked, and you can't WooHoo your way out of that!

I do not really have rules, I think. I just started a new neighborhood + subhood which I'm still building, so my ideas are only ideas so far and may change.

- The Royal family (rulers of the main hood) must either marry a member of another royal family (doesn't exist in that sense yet) or a member of a ducal family. The Sultanas of the Blood (daughters of the Sultan or one of his sons) are NOT suitable since their mothers are common slave concubines.
- Sultanas of the Blood however are suitable for other nobles. Descendants of these marriages may not be considered as marriage candidates for the royal family/ies, so ducal families are advised to look among their own ranks.
- Males take prescedence in the line of succession. A female heir is possible but only a last resort.
- Bastards can marry the lower nobility (Barons and Earls) and upper class members. Royal bastards might be considered for a minor member of a ducal family.
- Divorce is possible. Male infidelity is no reason for divorce.

Rules for the Sultanate
- Any woman can enter the harem of the Sultan but she will lose any rights to her family's inheritance.
- The Harem offers free education for any girl, no matter her social class or wealth.
- A woman can either become a kalfa (servant) or try her luck at becoming a concubine.
- Concubines are presented to the Sultan by his female family members.
- Sultanas of the Blood may take in any female child to train them and give them to the Sultan or one of his sons as possible concubine.
- Every evening a woman is prepared and send to the Sultan. It is up to him whether he receives her and how far things will go.
- If a woman is pregnant, she receives her own room at the palace and no longer has to sleep in the common room. The Sultan may give any concubine rooms at any time.
- If a concubine has a girl, she may continue her sexual relationship with the Sultan. If she has a boy, this relationship will immediately end and she is send to the Princes' Palace to raise her son.
- The Sultan can confer the title of Haseki to his favourite concubine and by that give her the second highest rank in his society after his own mother. She will have her own luxurious apartments and servants. Usually she will not receive this title if she has not given the dynasty a son and possible heir. But since the Sultan is the sole ruler, he can ignore the traditions if he sees it fit.
- Any woman who gives birth to a son of the Sultan receives the last name sultan and his ranked above the other concubines but below the Blood Sultanas, the Haseki and the Valide.
- The Sultan can end sexual relationships at his pleasure. Women who have been dismissed will move to another palace. If they had a son who died, they will spend the rest of their lives there. If they had a daughter or no child, they may be married off.
- Women can earn their own money by selling their crafts and needleworks.
- Concubines will receive a stipend from the dynasty depending on how beloved they are by the Sultan, how many children they bore and whether they had a son.
- The first lady of the empire is the Valide Sultan (mother of the sultan). She also has the second highest rank after her son. She can dismiss concubines and kalfas as she pleases. She is the most likely to make matches for former concubines and daughters of the Sultan and other female dynasty members.
- When a Sultan dies, his entire harem is dismissed and will either retire to one of the designated palaces or be married off.
- When a prince becomes teenager, he will receive his own palace and harem where he will live with his mother.. He may chose ONE favourite among the women presented to him. She can but does not have to become the Haseki if he succeeds to the throne.
- The succession is not decided by order of birth but by the strongest and smartest prince and his mother. The more alliances they made along the way, the more likely they will be the ones to succeed. All other princes will be killed upon the succession of a new Sultan.

Those are some basic game play rules I have for now but I might add to them or change them whenever necessary.

I'm mostly basing my sims' aspirations on their Zodiac signs, but for any sim with three or more playful points, I will flip a coin for the Pleasure aspiration. That way, I won't have too many Pleasure sims, I think. I won't just be flipping the coin for the playful points, but probably also the lazy, sloppy, and outgoing points, and possibly other interests.

Right now I'm mostly playing colony planets but I've got some other choices for different themes in my template that I'm working on.

My rules are pretty simple, but here they are:
Jobs: pixels will get jobs that are available in the daily paper via Monique's computer. How can you qualify for an advanced job without any experience, after all?
Advancement: If the pixel has the want to do so, they can skill up, but it's all dependent on their will power and desires. Not everyone can be a CEO.
If fired, the pixel can apply for welfare until they're tired of being unemployed.

Money: upon moving into a new residence, pixels will open up a bank account with left-over funds. These are not to be used for anything other than true emergencies, providing children with money for their new houses and sometimes a vacation. Before they die, they must pass on all funds to their family.

Personal relationships: Women always use birth control until they marry and desire a child-if after marriage they do not still want a child that remains in effect. If both of the couple wish to have a child, then birth control is removed until they do have one, or two, or three, four children.
Each family is limited to a maximum of four children. Children always go to college-whether or not they graduate is up to them.

Community lots: There are always a few useful lots-a grocery store which one can buy to sell others food; a movie theater, a public park with fishing enabled, a library, a church where every marriage is recorded for posterity in front of friends and family. The church also has a cemetery attached to it. Also there is usually an ownable 'garden stand' that sells flowers for the home.
Ownable lots are held until they reach level 10 and the pixel can sell them if they wish. Most of the time, they're wealthy enough to do so, but the new owner better have the buck to buy it!

This was so neat to read because everyone's ideas are so unique, and their games sound like so much fun. Thanks for the great ideas!

You're always welcome! And I'm likely going to incorporate Sun & Moon's awesome mods and hacks into the heavily-modified template I'm working on. For the most part, I've got the base costs for BV-Dig based resources, and I think on hospitable planets, climate-appropriate plants will be free, resourcewise. Alien planets on any planets that aren't barren or dead will be free as well. Indoor plants might cost a few organics for seed-cloning and fertilizer, as well as minerals for the pots.

Edit: I've also (after write-protecting it) looked through the Objects file and found the prices for witch reagents and beach treasures, as well as some excavated treasures (mostly rocks and bones, though I kinda fudged it with the small and large sculptures and cheap vases to avoid too much bloat) and I'll have to see how much the crafted items cost so I can decide how many resources they will cost.

See, in a colony that has just started up, you won't have much of an economy, and if you are quite far from homeworld and the empire or federation is kinda new, your little simmies can't just go to IKEA and get new stuff - they have to make it. Same for clothing. Of course, there is always giving newly-aged sims some colony-appropriate clothing...