Boomtown 7/9/21

 Ok, so a lot went down with the Leonard family.  Firstly, Trish got the restaurant leveled up to rank 3, which meant the family would be eligible to move up to Working class.  They still didn't have quite enough money to purchase a second restaurant, however, until Rhonda died and left them just enough insurance money to put them over the top.  Trish bought One-Twenty-Five Cafe.  (Side note: I finally decided to build a cemetery for Boomtown, so Rhonda's grave was moved there, and I'll also be moving all the graves from the Traver house as well.  No more death trap haunted house.)  Once I knew they'd be moving up, I had to decide who would be moving and who would be left behind.  Since Trish is the business owner, I based the decision primarily on her relationship panel.  She hates Irfan and her younger brother Charlie, is best friends with her brother George, friends with Nicholas, friendly (but not quite friends) with her brother Kenny, and not close, but doesn't dislike her sister Dixie.  George was going to be moving in with his girlfriend Maria anyway, so he wasn't really in the mix, but since Trish is still a teen she needed an adult to move out with her.  I figured Nicholas (and consequently Dixie, since they're a couple) would be the obvious choice.  Since Trish's relationship with Kenny has improved significantly since he became and adult and he hates his father Irfan as much as she does, I figured she'd bring him along too.  So, at the end of the day, George moved in with Maria, Dixie, Nicholas, Kenny, and Trish moved to a Working class house, and Irfan and his son Charlie were left behind in the Poverty house.  Charlie immediately ran away from home, but was returned almost instantly by the police, so that was anti-climactic.  Also I should note that Nick and Dixie are expecting their first child as well, so that'll be exciting when I get back to them.  The new household will be added to the end of the rotation and will not be played again until next round.

Trista Walton got inexplicably promoted despite being miles behind on the skills she needs.  I don't even know.  Neither Gary nor Grayson worked, but Gary has all the skills needed for a promotion and Grayson is just one logic point short.  Jerry grew into a child and will start school next round.  So far I haven't had any luck getting Grayson out of the household; he hasn't even met any playable Boomtown women.  I guess I'm treating them like a "throuple" for now.

Not much to report for Elvin and Camryn Phelps.  Elvin worked and Camryn had the day off.  Since Elvin still needs quite a few skill points, he didn't get promoted.  They still need more things for the house and the baby will be born next round, so they haven't saved up much yet for their first business.

End of round.

Benjamin Traver got promoted at work and he got to move all those graves to the cemetery, so that his girlfriend and daughter could finally get a decent night's sleep.  Kendal has been having a pretty tough pregnancy, so moving the graves probably saved her life.  Butterfly is still not doing great in school, but it got a little better, and she'll only have to go one more day until it's the weekend and she can hopefully catch up on back homework.

Happy Simming!  

Boomtown 7/8/21

 I was worried that Sofia wouldn't make it to Working class this time, because even though she only need three more stars, her customers were being very stingy about throwing them.  Luckily she did pull it off just before closing time, meaning that she, her boyfriend Oliver, her daughter Michele, and her son Nate all moved out at the end of the day.  Before that happened though, I was able to confirm that both Traci and Michele are pregnant when they both had their first pops.  I think it's pretty likely that Michele's boyfriend (and father of her baby) Michael will be moving in with them as well once his current household is played.  Since Sofia and company have already aged this round, they won't be played again, but they'll be added to the end of the rotation and we'll catch up with them again next round.  With her mother gone, Traci will need to start saving up for a business of her own if she ever wants to make Working class.

Robert Hollinger's business, Lucky Shack, reached level 10.  In order to move up to Middle class, he'll need at least 2 level 5 businesses, so he's just saving up at this point to buy a second.  I'm not sure he'll actually live long enough to do that, but we'll see.  His long-time partner Meadow will likely die before him, even though she's younger, so he'll see some life insurance money from that (not as much as he would if they were married, but something for sure).  I'd say he'll probably leave the business to Maria when he dies because he's closest to her of all his kids.  She will likely be the one to take the family into Middle class.  Apart from the business running, Michael was the only one to work and he scored a promotion.  At the end of the day, he moved out to join his girlfriend Michele Neil.  I think Maria's boyfriend George Leonard will move in here next round.  Also the twins will reach adulthood next time and the new twins will be born.  Lots of changes.

Happy Simming!

Boomtown 7/7/21

 Trista Walton gave birth this round to a baby girl named Janice, whose father is Grayson Rauscher, as I suspected.  Everyone had the day off, so I was kept busy trying to keep them all busy to avoid all the boings and slapfests that come with cheating.  Since Grayson has nowhere else to go at the moment, I'd like to avoid the constant fighting that would be going on should I let anyone get caught.  I've got enough of that in other households where adult kids don't get along with their parents/stepparents/siblings.  Nothing else to report.  They're not even close to having enough money to buy the bowling alley I've got earmarked for them, so it remains status quo for now.

It was a quiet day for the Phelps.  Both worked all day, both got promoted.  Elvin's promotion caused him to go back to work in the evening, during which he got a good chance card which netted him another promotion.  Not too shabby for a couple just starting out.

End of round.

Ben Traver got a promotion at work.  Kendal had the day off, which was good because she had to recover from the repeated ghost attacks the previous night.  Butterfly's school average went up to a C luckily, which kept the Social Worker away, but she's still struggling to keep her needs up enough for homework, so she may be in trouble again soon.  Thankfully the ghosts decided to take a night off and everyone was able to get a decent rest going into next round.

Happy Simming!

Boomtown 7/6/21

 Robert Hollinger has nearly reached rank 10 at Lucky Shack, but he's still got a ways to go before he can afford that second business.  Meadow didn't work and neither Maria nor Michael got promoted.  Melody's grades dropped to the point that she was fired from her job, so she has to focus on school now to get her average back up.  Apart from work it was a pretty quiet day.  I noticed that Robert had a minivan in inventory (there's a player owned car lot in Strangetown), so I had him give it to Elvin.  It's my policy not to let sims in Boomtown sell things from their inventory that they bought at the various playable businesses, but I will let them use them if possible.  Since Robert is getting up there in age, there's no need to let a perfectly good car go to waste just because he already has a vehicle.

Rhonda Leonard has one day left it seems.  I was hopeful that Trish would rank up the business this time, so that the family could move up to Working class before Rhonda's death, but she ended up being a couple stars short.  I think she'll do it next time, but it'll be too late for Rhonda.  Almost everyone worked, but no one got promoted.  Charlie got fired due to bad grades.  Nevertheless, the family nearly has enough money for their second business, though if they rank up before they buy it, the family funds will be split and they may have to save up again.

Happy Simming!

Boomtown 7/5/21

 Continuing with Boomtown...

Gary Walton was rolled over from the Bohemian Hobo Challenge.  He apparently had a son that was taken by the Social Worker.  (The son was adopted into the Heroes vs. Villains Challenge, so he's still around town.)  Gary married townie Trista and they have a toddler son together.  Gary works in Slacker and Trista in Law Enforcement.  Also, for some reason, they have another former townie, Grayson Rauscher, living with them.  To be honest, I really can't remember anything about this family, so I'm working completely off relationship status and memories here.  My guess is that Trista is pregnant with Grayson's baby and that's why I moved him in.  I have a standing rule in my game that I don't let playable sims get pregnant by townies unless I'm prepared to move the townie in because I hate having townie dads roaming around, not aging, while their kids are growing old and dying.  Since moving sims into Boomtown is fairly restrictive though, I've not been allowing try for baby with townies, so I'm not sure what happened here.  Maybe it was accidental?  In any event, the Waltons have a roommate, who Trista is having an affair with, and who might be the father of her baby.  We'll see.  Grayson works in Culinary and is pretty high up, so he brings in a good paycheck in any event.  If a house opens up or if he hooks up with another playable sim that I can move him in with, I'll definitely do that, because the current situation is a disaster waiting to happen.

Finally, we have the Phelps residence.  Elvin Phelps and his wife Camryn moved out of Elvin's parents' house earlier this round.  They didn't have a lot of money to get their household started, but it was enough for the basics.  Elvin works in Criminal and Camryn in Law Enforcement, so either he's a really good liar or she's a dirty cop.  Either way it's an interesting dynamic.  Naturally the first thing that happened after they moved in was Camryn discovering she's pregnant.  That'll definitely make things easier for them.  They'll have more of a challenge to move up to Middle class, since they're starting from scratch and will need two level 5 businesses plus the required net worth.

And that's the end of the round.

Looping back around to Ben Traver, he moved his girlfriend in finally and immediately knocked her up.  Kendal already had a job in Criminal so she was allowed to keep it.  One of the ghosts decided to come out at night and he zeroed in on pregnant Kendal and poor Butterfly.  They both survived the night, but were exhausted the next morning.  Ben woke up fresh as a daisy because the ghost was not interested in him for some reason.  Luckily Kendal has the day off and can rest up.  Butterfly does not have that luxury and will have to go to school tired I'm afraid.  At least Kendal brought in $11,000, which puts them about a third of the way towards buying the business they want.  I'm sure they're anxious to get out of here as quickly as possible.

Sofia Neil very nearly got her business up to rank 3; I think she'll definitely do it next time.  In other news, Traci and River tried for another baby and I was sure I heard the jingle, however right after that Michele had Michael Phelps over and they were able to try for baby as well, which shouldn't have been possible if Traci was already pregnant, since baby would make a full house.  Since the option was there, I had them try and got another jingle.  I started thinking maybe I was mistaken about Traci, but then she started having morning sickness.  Michele didn't experience any symptoms, but she was at work until late and then went right to bed.  So I guess we'll find out next time if both are pregnant (against all odds) or if it's just Traci who is pregnant.  In any event, the household should be splitting next round when the business ranks up, so there'll be plenty of room for everyone in the end.

That's it for now.  Happy Simming!

Boomtown 7/4/21

 Continuing with the residents of Boomtown...

Robert Hollinger is one of the founders of Boomtown.  He has been involved with a number of women in town and has fathered quite a few children (nine), though only five of them live with him, along with their mother and the oldest son's wife.  Robert owns Lucky Shack, which is currently rank 9, and is saving for a second business, which he'll need to level up to Middle class.  I guess I should've mentioned that Robert is the only sim so far to reach Working class, though I did move the son and daughter-in-law out right away, so they'll be played at the end of the round and will also be Working class.  The rules do not explicitly state (as far as I can recall) what to do about the class level of kids who move out of a household that is Working class or higher, but it seems reasonable to me that they would remain in the same class so that's what I'm doing.  They really had to go though because Elvin's wife, Camryn, was really not getting along with anyone in the house and it was bursting at the seams with eight sims.  Now some babies can actually be born, which will be sooner, rather than later, because Maria (one of Robert's daughters) had an encounter with George Leonard (who you haven't met yet) that left her pregnant with twins.  How do I know it's twins?  Because Maria's twin, Michael, wanted to move his girlfriend in and got the "household can't have more than 8 sims" message, but there are currently only six sims in the house.  The younger set of twins are still teens for a few more days, so they didn't have any drama going on.  I guess I should note everyone's jobs: Robert works Lucky Shack full-time, Meadow is at the top of the Slacker career, Maria also works in Slacker, Michael is in Law Enforcement, Mary Ann does not have a job, and Melody is working a teen job in Law Enforcement as well.

Rhonda Leonard is also a founding member of Boomtown.   She works as a Criminal and recently passed her restaurant (Oresha Family Dining) on to her daughter since she doesn't have much time left.  She lives with her boyfriend Irfan, who is the father of two of her five children.  All her children still live with her, as well as her oldest daughter's boyfriend.  There is a LOT of fighting in this house.  Rhonda doesn't get along with her two oldest kids - Dixie and George, maybe because they hate Irfan.  In fact, no one in the family likes Irfan, apart from Rhonda, and most of the kids can't stand their mother either.  Among the three teens, the boys (Kenny and Charlie) are friends, but they don't get along with their sister Trish.  Once the business ranks up to level 3, this family will be eligible to move up to Working class, but at this point I'm not really sure who'll be going.  Rhonda will likely die before that happens.  Trish owns the business now, so she'll definitely be going, but because she's still a teen, she'll need an adult to move out with her.  The only one of her siblings she likes overly much is her older brother George, so he's probably in.  She's okay with her sister Dixie and Dixie's boyfriend Nicholas, but she's not super close with them.  Jobs are as follows: Rhonda is a Criminal, as is Dixie, Irfan and Charlie both work in Military, and Nicholas and George are both in Culinary.

Tomorrow we'll hopefully get through the last two families, the Waltons and the new Phelps residence in Working class.  Happy Simming!

Boomtown 7/3/21

 I was planning to move to Belladonna Cove next, which I haven't played in literal years, but I realized the reason I haven't played it in years is because I was unhappy with the rule set I have in place there.  So I decided to revamp the whole thing, keeping the parts I like and overhauling the rest.  While I was working on that I discovered the Trailer Park challenge by fuzzyspork.  Since it was a fairly short challenge, I had a go at it.  I found it to be an enjoyable light challenge.  Now that I'm finished with that, and not yet finished with Belladonna's reboot, I decided to move to Boomtown - a challenge I'm sure most everyone's heard of.  I don't remember who created it, but if you search for it, I'm sure you'll find the official rules somewhere.

The basic premise of Boomtown, for those who are not familiar, is a neighborhood with four social classes: Poverty, Working, Middle, and Upper.  In order to move up a class, there are financial and business requirements.  In addition, each class is limited to certain jobs they're allowed to take.  All the founders (I started with four) began their lives in Poverty class.  So far, only one family has moved up to Working class.  Another family completely died off as well.  The rules state that whenever a Poverty house becomes vacant (for whatever reason) it must be filled with a new family.  I have, of course, added more rules of my own to spice up the gameplay in ways that I find entertaining.  I won't detail all that now.  You'll pick it up.  I should mention though that I basically use Strangetown as a challenge 'hood.  The base 'hood is a Heroes vs. Villains challenge that I play with my daughter, Downtown is Boomtown, and Bluewater is the site of many smaller challenges.  When I finish challenges, I often roll sims over into other challenges because it just makes for more interesting starting conditions than single sims from CAS.  Boomtown is a great place to roll them into, so you'll probably see that happen often.

There are currently five households in Boomtown: Traver (P), Neil (P), Hollinger (W), Leonard (P), and Walton (P).  Each household is played for just one day before moving on.

Benjamin Traver and his daughter Butterfly are new residents.  They were rolled over from the Bohemian Hobo challenge (I think?) and were moved in to fill the household of the former Denham family, who sadly all passed away/were taken by the Social Worker.  Ben inherited all the leftover furnishings, which is a plus, but he also inherited the six graves that are present on the lot, which is not.  Haunted houses are fun, right?  We'll see if he survives.  His first order of business was to quite his job in Politics and take one in Culinary, since that's allowed at the Poverty level.  Next, he started romancing a townie woman that he knew, but though they fell in love and woohooed, she still continued to refuse him when it came to moving in.  He'll have to keep trying I guess.

Sofia Neil is one of the original Boomtown founders.  She's an elder now and the mother of three kids (technically four, but one was taken by the Social Worker), all with different fathers.  She's currently living with the father of her youngest son, her two adult daughters, teen son, her oldest daughter's boyfriend, and her grandson.  Sofia works in the Slacker career, but also owns Comandgo Emporium, which she acquired last time I played, but ran for the first time this round.  She's met the money goal needed to move up to Working class, but still needs to get her business to level 3.  Her boyfriend, Oliver, also works in Slacker.  Her kids Traci, Michele, and Nate work in Criminal, Culinary, and Criminal, respectively.  Ironically, Traci's boyfriend River is Captain Hero.  Traci and River's son Chad became a toddler this round.  Traci does not get along with her mother or Oliver at all, so when the business rank goal is met, I plan to move Sofia, Oliver, Michele, and Nate into a Working class home, leaving Traci, River, and Chad behind in the Poverty house they currently inhabit.  They'll have to make their own way.  Sofia's tired of ungrateful freeloaders.

Hopefully, I'll get through the other three households tomorrow.  Until then, Happy Simming!