In March 2024, It was announced that Margot Robbie‘s production company, LuckyChap, would be developing a movie based on one of the greatest simulation video games of all time, The Sims. Inspired by his own house fire, Will Wright created The Sims in 2000, where it quickly became a bestseller. The franchise has continued its pattern of success, with a 5th installment being in production 10 years since The Sims 4 came out.
Though the Sims franchise allows players to create their own stories and drama, there are still a number of pre-made families that have their own dilemmas that players can choose to explore. Within these founding families, betrayal, grudges, and personal obstacles run rampant, building up an immense amount of lore that is worth diving into in preparation for a movie adaptation and a 5th game.
9 The Goth Family
A play on the Addams Family, The Goth family is by far the most famous family in the Sims franchise. The Goths have been present in the games since the very first Sims installment. Bella Goth and Mortimer Goth are husband and wife, and they are the parents to Cassandra Goth and Alexander Goth. Mortimer’s parents, who are playable in the prequel game, The Sims 3, are Gunther and Cornelia Goth, where players can help raise the eccentric Mortimer.
For an inexplicable reason, an air of sadness and bad luck follows the Goth lineage, making the members of the family prone to depression in the latest Sims 4 game. But this can be attributed to Bella Goth’s strange disappearances over the course of her life. In Sims 2, Bella is present in all of her family’s memories, but she isn’t actually seen in-game beyond this.
Before the game’s events, Bella was involved with Don Lothario, and after she gazed into a telescope on his roof, it is presumed she was abducted by aliens. She later reappears in The Sims 2: Strangetown, but all of Bella’s memories are wiped as she resumes her life in a town known for alien activity. Mortimer seeks solace in a relationship with Dina Caliente, a young woman after his family fortune.
After Bella’s disappearance, players are responsible for navigating their relationships and attempting to help them move on with their lives.
8 The Landgraab Family
The LanDgraab family is one of the richest families in the I franchise. Their wealth began with Gregory Landgraab, a schoolteacher who suddenly got a large sum of money, but the theory is that Gregory acquired this wealth through his involvement with a magical fortune-teller.
Regardless, the family continues to prosper for generations, and they find and own the town of Sunset Valley, a pivotal location in The Sims 3. With the Goths also being a founding family in the Sims, they consistently fought throughout the games.
As of The Sims 3 and 4, the family consists of Geoffrey, his wife Nancy who is the heir to the fortune, and their son Malcom. In The Sims 4, it is revealed they have another son, Johnny Zest. In this case, he was disowned for wanting to pursue comedy, so he changed his last name and moved out to a trailer to save the family name.
The Landgraab family is notorious for its sleaziness, doing whatever it takes, including cloning their family members, to ensure the legacy of Landgraab family continues.
7 The Crumplebottom Family
The Crumblebottom family is infamous for their prude aptitudes, hence their last name. The youngest of them in Sims 3, are Beatrice, Belinda, and Bianca, who even appear as the three witches in The Sims 3: Supernatural.
However, the most memorable member of the family is Agnes Crumplebottom. She was first introduced in the Hot Date edition of The Sims. Whenever players’ Sims are romantic in public, she will quickly appear and slap the Sim with her purse. Notably, she is also the sister of Cornelia Goth, who became a part of the Goth family when she married Gunther Goth in The Sims 3.
In the Sims guide, it is revealed that Agnes is actually the widow of Robert Crumplebottom, her true love. The Sims 3, which takes place 50 years prior to The Sims 2, explores her tragedy further. Agnes is a newly widowed sim after her first husband’s death, Erik. His ghost haunts any potential men who could enter her life, resulting in a growing bitterness and sadness in Agatha. In her house, players can see a grim, unfinished nursery that is a painful reminder of Agnes’s once optimistic outlook on the future.
In The Sims 4, she continues her prudent crusade with her cousin Agatha, where it is revealed that Roberto, is actually Robert Crumplebottom. Since he was unhappy with his life and marriage to Agnes, Robert faked his death by chandelier and left town.
6 The Pleasant Family
Like the Goth family, the Pleasant family is one of the founding families of the original Sims game. Daniel and Mary-Sue are married and have teenage twins, Angela and Lilith. They uphold the facade of being a perfect family. However, drama unfolds the second players decide to play as the family. The Pleasant/Burb family originates in the first game of the franchise and lasts until The Sims 3.
In Sims 2, the first event programmed the moment players enter the household is Daniel will attempt to cheat on Mary-Sue with their young maid while his wife is at work. Depending on player actions, they will either be caught by Mary-Sue, which spirals their family and their relationship with their children, or the affair continues if they go unnoticed.
Though their sisterhood should be a comfort, Angela and Lilith remain at odds with each other, and with the affair now added to their relationship, the game begs for the player to intervene and save this family. In Sims 3, players can also play as the newly-wed version of Daniel and Mary-Sue, revealing the root causes of their marital issues.
5 The Bachelor Family
The Bachelor family starts off small, with the young bachelor, Michael Bachelor, in The Sims. In The Sims 2, it is revealed that Michael Bachelor is the brother of Bella Goth, who was previously Bella Bachelor. Their parents are also deceased in the game, Simis Bachelor and Jocasta Bachelor. Dina Caliente is also involved with the family, as she is the widow of Michael Bachelor, but she has her sights set on Mortimer Goth and his pockets.
Throughout the games, it is also heavily implied that the family is involved with occultists and the paranormal, giving another possible explanation to Bella’s disappearance in the game. The Sims 3 offers a happier view of the family, and the game allows players to play as the very alive and well-off Bachelor family, with Michael and Bella being children. Players also get to see Mortimer and Bella’s love grow as they become childhood sweethearts.
4 The Caliente Family
Nina and Dina Caliente are first introduced in The Sims 4. In each iteration of the game they are overwhelmingly energetic, flirty, jealous, and aggressive at times.
As mentioned before, Dina is in love with Mortimer Goth, swooping in just as his wife disappeared. Nina is involved with the infamous Don Lothario, and he is a serial womanizer that plagues even the latest game’s Caliente sisters. In Sims 4, Don Lothario lives with the Caliente family and their alternate mother, Katrina. In this edition, he flirts with both Dina and Nina.
3 The Newbie Family
The Newbie family is one of the most normal families in the Sims games. Along with this, their family is pretty consistent over the course of all four games. Bob and Betty Newbie are almost always new to town, and they struggle with over-spending. This is explained by their starting funds depleting in each installment of the game.
In The Sims 3, players can play as Robert Newbie and Mags Newbie who have just moved to town with Bob. Because of their name, they are often used in tutorial segments of the games to reflect the player’s experience.
2 The Broke Family
The Broke family originates in The Sims 2, with Brandi, Beau, and Dustin. Following the death of her husband in a pool-ladder incident (this is a playful jab at the players who find it fun to remove pool ladders) Brandi becomes a single mother raising her youngest, Beau, and her rebellious older son, Dustin. Their financial problems are also something that is obvious in their name.
In The Sims 2, Dustin joins a criminal career while in school, and he is dating Angela Pleasant in the midst of her father’s affair. In The Sims 3, the Broke family household consists of Skip Broke, Brandi’s late husband, and his parents, siblings, and nieces and nephews. The Sims 4 also has a household with just Dustin Broke, who is an aspiring celebrity with a bad reputation in town.
1 The Smith Family
The Smith family is one of the bigger outliers in the game. Originating from Strangetown in The Sims 2, the Smith family is also related to the Curious family, a long line of alien hybrids caused by abductions in Strangetown. Pollination Technician 9 is married to a human, Jenny Smith. Their two children are Johnny, who takes up alien traits, and Jill, who is seemingly human.
Though they don’t reappear in the other games, their legacy is still seen in Strangeville and the Astronaut career path in The Sims 4.
