Stately Estate for the Prime Minister?

(Year 233, Fall) Up to this day, the Prime Minister of Mazaloom was never offered a stately owned estate suited for the duties coming with the position. Former prime ministers did stay with their family, just like they did before winning the election. The subject has now been debated by People Chamber, and changes are coming!

Prime Minister Rob Wilder (72) is the one who introduced this case. Staying with your family makes the job harder because the security must be considered constantly, and your spouse and children might be dragged into whatever consequencies following your political battles and statements.

Baron Bud of Gloom is Dead

(Year 232, Winter) In a press release the House von Kaching informs that Baron Bud of Glom passed away last night, aged 84. His health was good until last few days, and he died surrounded by his family. He died as a high nobility Peer, only 2 days before losing the Gloom District Order, which according to the Regional Reform will reduce the Gloom barony to regular nobility. Therefor, he will always be remembered as a baron of high nobility.

Family photo Fall Y232: Seated are Baroness Rose and Baron Bud. Standing are their son, the Honorable Edward von Kaching and his wife Lady Merielle from the House de Cavalier, and their 3 daughters, Rosine, Cathrise and Blancheflor.

Bud von Kaching held the Gloom barony for 49 years. His father, Esmond Ching, achieved nothing more than a Mester title (Mester Mugger), but a distant relative and baron died with no male heirs. Bud demonstratively ignored his origin by changing his name from Ching to von Kaching. His ancestors came from the Ching family of Simerinia in the Empire of Snorthia, generations ago. He inherited both the Gloom barony and the less prominent Gibbs barony, and settled at the old Brixerwood House at Upperton, Gloomville.

Adoption at Retirement Home

(Year 232, Winter) What? A child adopted to live at a retirement home? Well, perhaps the story is less weird than you might think. It was not an elderly lodger who adopted the child, but the live-in Manager. And, the adoption is now pushing the Manager to quit her job.

Tammy Oaksdale comes from Gloomville, and will now return to the family nest at Willow Field.

Tammy Oaksdale (44) has been working at the Bon Voyage Retirement Home at Upperton in Gloomville, ever since the retirement home opened its doors a decade ago. She has her own little apartment there, and her job is to cook for the lodgers and to make sure the place is tended to. She used to be in a relation, but they sort of split when her boyfriend moved to run a small farm in Henford-on-Bagley. The idea was that Tammy should follow him, but instead she got the manager job in Gloomville, the district where they both grew up.

New Management at Gallery Ex-Po

(Year 231, Spring) Baroness Rose of Gloom (81) has finally announced her retirement. Her son, The Honorable Edward Bertophelus von Kaching (50) takes over the exclusive art and heirloom business, Gallery Ex-Po.

Edward von Kaching is eager to get started!

Baroness Rose has been dedicated to her little Newcrest business ever since her husband, the Baron of Gloom, gifted it to her shortly after their family moved to Gloomville. Back then Baron Bud had claimed the Gloom barony and the little family moved from SimCity to Gloomville because this peerage can not be held remotely. Their son Edward was not even born back then. His older sister is now married to one of the wealthiest men of the kingdom, Malcolm Landgraab.

Mini Street Market

(Year 229) In my Gloomville, the streetfront of most community lots in the commercial hood look as they originally did. The content has been adjusted though, with a few extra features added on available small spots. With minor adjustments I made a much more useful and busy area.

The Municipal Muses Museum is already quite active, but the museum garden mostly looks like a wasted space. In my game's history this lot used to be the Villa Floretti, the estate of a House that I guess has its roots back in the Tartosa area. Sacariaz Floretti sold their estate for museum purposes, and rented the much bigger main estate from the old and now extinct Brixerwood clan. An estate that the Baron of Gloom is now moving back into, but that is a different story. Perhaps this is why the museum garden was never changed?

Well, today I learned something new!

Y230 Election: The Toughest Battles

(Year 229) With only the Winter until the big Year 230 election is coming up, it's time to highlight a few of the more interesting local battles! Each hood will have its Hood Contact, and normally only in a few hoods there are candidates from all three political parties, RIGHT party, LEFT party and MIDDLE party. Now that the N.A.P. votes are in and the parties have publicized their ranked list of candidates, we finally know who will be running. In 32 hoods there will be minimum one Hood Contact candidate, but only 6 of those hoods will have a full 3 parties battle: Arts Quarter in San Myshuno (Region 12), Sable Square in Brindleton Bay (Region 12), Upperton in Gloomville (Region 12), Oldtown in Windenburg (Region 1), Crafthole Town (Region 4) and Tartosa (Region 3). Let's check out some of them!

In San Myshuno's Arts Quarter LEFT's Anaya Jang is the most merited Politician as she is currently leading the Culture & Entertainment Dept. of The People Chamber.

Abhrin Wusha (58, RIGHT), Anaya Jang (63, LEFT) and Chaos Kessler (35, MIDDLE).

Jang is likely to keep her position as Hood Contact, but also RIGHT party's Abhrin Wusha is a long timer, he might be a serious contender as he was 5 years ago only 4 votes behind Jang.

Nobility: Orders and their Sashes

(Year 229) How about a closer look on those sashes? With the high number of peerages in Mazaloom kingdom, one should expect lots of pictures from gala events with sashes and tiaras all over the place. But this far there were rather few such reports on this blog. That does not mean that there is not a rigid system of sashes, though. So, in this article I'll try to introduce you to the most essential. Keep in mind that although my system is based on real life stuff, some details are not ;)

The Peerage of Mazaloom, also known as the large peerage consists of 4 noble levels: Royals, Dukes, Counts and Barons. Peerages close to the Monarch are granted with a so called District Order (aka friendship orders), which make them high nobility. Peerages with no such order stated in their Letter of Patent, will be considered low nobility (or actually, just plain nobility). While the unique sash color refers to the District Order, the star brooch worn with the sash comes in 4 version referring to 4 different rankes within the large peerage.

1. King/Queen
Top notch of this system is naturally the Monarch. Also the spouse (Queen/Prince Consort) and heir apparent (Crown Prince/Princess) are seen as of same top rank. They all wear the 1st level of the star brooch, regardless of which sash they may use for the occasion.

Because noble men normally wear a sash inside a tuxedo, rather than over their shoulder, we'll let a female model display the sashes for this article. Some male uniforms come with the star brooch already, and when that is the case I can not replace the brooch with the correct version. But for females these details are followed rigidly as they are separate accessories.

Most Monarchs will at some point in their lives lead a military career. Most reach Officer levels, either through hard work or granted them as they are head of the military organization. For gala events they will often wear the uniform with a red sash.

House von Kaching: It's a girl!

(Year 228, Gloomville) House von Kaching announces that yesterday a daughter was born to Lady Merielle and The Hon. Edward. Both child and mother are with good health.

The girl will be named Rosine Beatrice von Kaching, and her proud grandfather, Baron Bud of Gloom, has already been observed strolling in their garden.

Dancing with a Stage on your Head

Oh my, I just could not help myself! Sims Sessions has ended, and I think it was a great feature with a good festival vibe to it! My only negative (in addition to some duchesses now wearing festival t-shirts with their super exclusive jewelry), is that it lasted too short. In my corner of the world it's Summer and in addition we are almost back to normality from the C-19. So, I had no chance to play as much as I'd like to. 

I managed to squeeze in 2 visits to the festival. I would much appreciate such events to go on for longer. I understand there are legal rights involved, but why not replace the top artists with other sims singing songs that are already in the game and less restricted, after the main program expired?

Well, I ended the fest with a bang! Miko Ojo just had to try using the Sims Sessions stage as head. And my oh my was that thing huuuge!!! She felt like she was about to sabotage the entire Sims Sessions festival, so she rather walked over to the Church of Similius to dance in front of the stage she was wearing on her head!

Sims Sessions Music Festival - picture thread

(Year 227 Gloomville - Click pictures for a better view) The festival Sims Sessions featuring Joy Oladokun, Glass Animals and Bebe Rexha, might be the event of the year in Gloomville (aka Willow Creek), so the group of 6 students staying at Mossy Lane Dorm in Britechester took no chances - they had to be there!

There was another reason for me selecting this group though; as visiting sims will have festival gear replacing the top in one of their outfits, why not send a group of students - they will have their outfits adjusted at graduating from University, anyway :)

Wedding - House von Kaching

(Gloomville, Year 227) Finally, Lord Edward Be. von Kaching of Gloom (46) and Lady Merielle de Cavalier (34) could give each other their vows. It's been a long wait including University studies and separation. Merielle got her psychology degree this Spring and already got herself a Professor post.

It's time to merge House von Kaching (barony, Gloomville) and House de Cavalier (dukedom, Brindleton Bay)!

Region 12 Historical Museum

(Year 226) Her motto is «Our past reflects our future, just as much as our future reflects the past».

Nancy (Dougham) Roxenfox (59) lives a good life at Old Crest in Newcrest, not far from the hood Crestville, where she grew up. Her father was Calvin Dougham Lord Crestville, a title inherited by her older sister, Corinne. They were three siblings, and Nancy was the one always interested in our common history. Aged 19 she became a dedicated member of the regional history club, and she surprised nobody when she got the job as the Curator of Region 12's division of the National Historical Museum, twelve years ago.

Nancy Roxenfox tries to provide changes, in order to attract a new audience as well as giving those who already visited a reason to visit again. She won't replace the traditional museum with an all new and modern concept, though.

Paranormal #1 - Cats, kids and Bonehilda

(Year 226) Mega picture post! I grabbed the new Paranormal stuff pack, and although there isn't all that much to do until your sim builds some Medium skill, I had a blast getting started!

This is no pack review, I just want to share some pics and stories from my game. I added #1 to the title as I can imagine there will be more paranormal picture posts later on. I play rotationally, meaning I hardly ever get to dive deep into any pack before there is a new pack, and yet another pack. With the Paranormal stuff pack it will be different, because the most interesting stuff takes place during sleeping hours, meaning I can jump over to the haunted houses between playing other houses. It should at least be possible to build the Medium skill rather fast, and from there it will be is possible to start the brand new career, Paranormal Investigator, which requires 5 skill points (unless you spend tons of aspiration points to get the needed certificate).

So, in this post we'll stop by 2 haunted houses - one poor and one wealthy.

House von Kaching announces Engagement!

(Year 225) The rumor was already spreading, and today House von Kaching finally confirmed that their only son and main heir to the Gloom barony, Lord Edward Be. von Kaching (44) and Lady Merielle de Cavalier (32) are engaged.

The happy couple are currently both staying at Moss Dorm at Gibbs Hill in Rossie/Britechester. This is a dorm especially suited for nobility, and also Lady Merielle's two brothers currently stay there. 

New Dimension Day - Plant Project

 (Year 225) Every year the New Dimension Day (commonly referred to as «Dim Day») is celebrated on 2nd Sunday of Fall. There is normally a community gathering in each district, perhaps including a speech by a Councilor or nobility person. This year was no exception, as a totally new project was introduced!

The Horticultural Society, in cooperation with Region 12's high nobility, this year ran a very symbolic event where each district gets a line up of 5 plant boxes, each representing one district, but in the local district's traditional color.

Gloom District Order Gala

Despite the lack of real royals, my nobility has a well thought out system for annual gala events, although a tad small scale. Each district (=world) has a District Order, also referred to as the Friendship Orders, administrated by the district's high nobility peer. Membership includes a sash and medal in a set color system, the 1st day of Winter ceremony (if there is a new member to be knighted) and of course the annual gala dinner. The dinner event takes place during the season when the district's signature crop and/or flower can be harvested, and these are often included in the menu as well as decor.

Gloom District Order's annual gala dinner taking place at Umbrage Manor in Spring.

These orders are exclusive with maximum 8 members. Often the first 4 are taken by the peerage's high nobility household; peer with spouse, their main heir and perhaps one more member of the family. The remaining members are good for building both network and status, and there's normally only one member per other districts. When there is an event the member is normally invited to bring a spouse or other company, anyway. In theory there can be up to 16 guests for the annual event, but 8-10 is more typical.

Bon Voyage Retirement Home - Part 1 of 5

[Y220] Want to run a Retirement Home in your game? The first of two retirement homes just opened in my Region 12! In this post I'll let the fresh Manager give you a tour, as she also explains how the place is meant to be run and what her job will be. She just moved in to get it all started!

See bottom line if you want this lot!

Bon Voyage Retirement Home is aiming for wealthier elders. With a live-in Manager serving gourmet food, they are probably prepared to pay what it takes. The second retirement home will open in San Myshuno, but will have no such live-in management, and will aim for those with less Simoleons to spend.

As Sims Go By - New episode out now!

2nd episode of my soap series is called "Growing Farm Rights". So, farming is one of the highlighted subjects, but there is also lots of other stuff going on. You'll learn to know the 5 Councilors better, get a few more ideas about those mysterious people, and there is of course some hints for next episode.

In a week or so there will also be a new film in my "How I Play" series, explaining the Farm Rights a bit more in detail.

Enjoy:

As Days Go By - Year 215 Picture Post

Hello! Year 215 was completed long ago, actually the first As Sims Go By episode released Nov 15th took place in my game's year 215. My current routine is to bring you a picture post every year to show what's going on in my game that counts 50 households.

So, in these more or less monthly As Days Go By updates, you get a chance to learn the small stories and destinies taking place outside the film series. Every here and there you might also find some ideas for your own game, but I'll not be very detailed in these posts. They are mostly meant as easy reads for inspiration. If you have any questions, feel free to comment, and I'll explain more thoroughly.

Starting in Gloomville's poor hood, Muggerdale. The richest household is Mugger Farm, being run by the same family for a few generations. They still grow produce, and this farm has 3 Farm Rights (see the As Sims Go By film series episode 2, or How I Play episode 3 for details on Farm Rights).

The household is a bit odd. Alan and Janet are siblings, and although Alan is young adult and ready to establish his own family, he won't take over the farm. Their parents died when they both were teens, and even if not building his life here, Alan ran the family farm while his sister was a student.

As Sims Go By - Year 211 - Picture Post

My new approach for this blog will be the project "As Sims Go By" (movie series) accomplished by "As Days Go By" (blog picture posts). There will be a couple movies every month (I hope), focusing on both how I play the game and what's going on in certain families. But I will also share a few tidbits as picture posts, and here is the first. Actually, there was one previously when cats and dogs were moving in.

So, my families have been frozen in the year 210 for ages, but finally their clocks are ticking again! With seasons comes the calendar, which is a superb addition for pushing both game play and stories forward!

Starting with a funny picture of farmer Agaton Oaksdale. He runs Oaksdale Farm with his wife Sonia and their daughter. Hm, formerly named Willow Farm, I don't recall whether there was a formal name change, actually...