“Do I need a new challenge? No. Should I start a new challenge? No. But I want to get back to blogging in the worst way, and I'm afraid to jump back into existing stories until I get the hang of writing again... At least, that's what I keep telling myself. I've started this particular challenge before, and didn't get very far... so it deserves another look. Then I have this young family from yet another challenge that didn't get very far (because I mis-read the rules and missed something rather massive)... and I am absolutely in love with them. So I figured, why not restart the Simerican Settlers Challenge... and bend the rules just far enough to allow me to start with an existing family instead of just the one founder.”

So, that's the plan. I can't promise that I will be updating this regularly, nor can I guesstimate how long I'll play it before feeling confident enough to pick up my old stories where I left off... so don't ask. I just don't know.

Now, on to the challenge. The challenge I picked for the young McPherson family is the "Simerican Settlers" Challenge. It's not one I wrote, nor have I done any updating to it.... so some changes may have to be made along the line, as I am approaching this mostly from a story standpoint.

Story Chapters:

Generation One:

• Chapter One (1850 - Spring Part 1)
• Chapter Two (1850 - Spring Part 2)

Game Information and Links:

Family and House, and Save Info:

• Initial Family Meet and Greet
• Town & Neighbors Information

Challenge Rules:

• Sims 4 Simerican Settlers Challenge

Family Records:

• Family Records (Google Sheet)

Mods in use:

• MC Command Center (for aging and death control)

Challenge Modifications/Exceptions and my reasoning:

First modification: I'm starting with an existing family. I'll introduce them as we go.

Second change: I will be modifying the aging of my sims with MCCC as follows: (to allow for one full season in game each year - this is the same aging scheme I use for my Decades Challenges.)

I will be tracking each sim day as approx. 1.71 months, not the 6 that the challenge calls for. So every 7 days the year changes, and every 70 days the decade changes.

So based on a Normal Lifespan, Sims will be aged according to this approximate schedule for those born 1850-1869:

• Baby: 11 days, ages up at 1.5 years old
• Toddler: 24 days, ages up at 5 years old
• Child: 49 days, ages up at 12 years old
• Teen: 28 days, ages up at 16 years old
• Young Adult: 63 days, ages up at 25 years old
• Adult: 70 days, ages up at 35 years old
• Elder: 70 days, dies after 45 years old

For those born 1870-1939:

• Baby: 11 days, ages up at 1.5 years old
• Toddler: 24 days, ages up at 5 years old
• Child: 49 days, ages up at 12 years old
• Teen: 42 days, ages up at 18 years old
• Young Adult: 84 days, ages up at 30 years old
• Adult: 105 days, ages up at 45 years old
• Elder: 70 days, dies after 55 years old

For those born 1940-1959:

• Baby: 11 days, ages up at 1.5 years old
• Toddler: 24 days, ages up at 5 years old
• Child: 49 days, ages up at 12 years old
• Teen: 42 days, ages up at 18 years old
• Young Adult: 84 days, ages up at 30 years old
• Adult: 175 days, ages up at 55 years old
• Elder: 70 days, dies after 65 years old

For those born 1960-2020:

• Baby: 11 days, ages up at 1.5 years old
• Toddler: 24 days, ages up at 5 years old
• Child: 49 days, ages up at 12 years old
• Teen: 42 days, ages up at 18 years old
• Young Adult: 84 days, ages up at 35 years old
• Adult: 210 days, ages up at 65 years old
• Elder: 70 days, dies after 65 years old