Games Like The Sims
Quick Answer
The closest games to The Sims are Tomodachi Life, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, House Flipper, Unpacking and Two Point Hospital. Below are 10 picks with the reason for each — what carries over from The Sims, and what does not.
What Made The Sims Work
The Sims is really three games sharing one box: a dollhouse for building and decorating, a generator of little life stories, and a management game about keeping people happy. Most players have a favourite of the three and quietly ignore the others. The picks below are grouped the same way — building, running lives, or making a space look right — so you can follow the part you actually play for.
The Sims was designed by Will Wright at Maxis and released by EA on PC in February 2000. The Sims 4 (2014) is the current main game and has been free to play since 2022, with its expansion packs sold separately.
Also written as Sims — same game, same list.
10 Games Like The Sims
1.Tomodachi Life(2013)
The life-story chaos of The Sims, starring Miis of you and your friends.
Why it fits: Nintendo, 2013 on 3DS: islanders fall in love, fall out and have strange dreams without much input from you.
Where to play it: Nintendo 3DS
More about this game →2.Animal Crossing: New Horizons(2020)
Decorate a home and a whole island at your own pace, with no needs bars to manage.
Why it fits: Nintendo, 2020 on Switch: furniture, terraforming and neighbours who move in and out.
Where to play it: Switch
More about this game →3.House Flipper(2018)
Build and Buy mode as a whole game: renovate, furnish and sell.
Why it fits: Empyrean, 2018 on PC: first-person renovation of run-down houses.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
More about this game →4.Unpacking(2021)
A short story told entirely through where someone puts their things.
Why it fits: Witch Beam, 2021 on PC, Switch and Xbox One: eight moves across one person's life, with no dialogue.
Where to play it: PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One
More about this game →5.Two Point Hospital(2018)
Management with The Sims' sense of humour and plenty of room design.
Why it fits: Two Point Studios, 2018 on PC: build hospitals that treat ridiculous illnesses.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
More about this game →6.RimWorld(2016)
Colonists with moods, relationships and grudges write stories, like a harsher Sims.
Why it fits: Ludeon Studios, early access on PC in 2016: a colony sim driven by an AI storyteller.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, Xbox One
More about this game →7.My Time At Portia(2018)
Your own home and workshop, and friendships in a town that remembers you.
Why it fits: Pathea Games, early access on PC in 2018: building, crafting and relationships.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
More about this game →8.Townscaper(2020)
A pure building toy: click and a little town grows, with no goals at all.
Why it fits: Oskar Stålberg, early access on PC in 2020: houses, bridges and arches assemble themselves.
Where to play it: PC, Switch, iOS, Android
More about this game →9.Stardew Valley(2016)
A life sim with a farm: relationships, a home to upgrade and a town that knows you.
Why it fits: ConcernedApe, 2016 on PC: marriage, children and community events alongside farming.
Where to play it: PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox One, iOS, Android
Games like this →10.Spore(2008)
From The Sims' creator: design a creature and grow it into a civilisation.
Why it fits: Maxis and Will Wright, 2008 on PC: creature, tribe, city and space stages with a creator for each.
Where to play it: PC
More about this game →
Where to Start
If you mostly use Build Mode, start with House Flipper or Townscaper. If you play for the stories your Sims get into, try Tomodachi Life or RimWorld. If you want a whole life with a home, friends and a job, Stardew Valley or My Time At Portia.
How We Picked These Games
Every pick lets you shape either a home, a community or the people in it, with no single 'correct' way to play. Pure city builders and games where characters are only stats were left out.
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Games Like The Sims Compared
Year is each game's first release anywhere, on the platform in the next column. "Play it now" is where it can be bought or played today.
| Game | Year | First released on | Play it now | Closest to The Sims in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tomodachi Life | 2013 | 3DS | Nintendo 3DS | Life stories that run themselves |
| Animal Crossing: New Horizons | 2020 | Switch | Switch | Decorating without needs bars |
| House Flipper | 2018 | PC | PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch | Build and Buy mode as a game |
| Unpacking | 2021 | PC, Switch, Xbox One | PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One | A life told through a home |
| Two Point Hospital | 2018 | PC | PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch | Management with jokes and room design |
| RimWorld | 2016 | PC | PC, PS4, Xbox One | Characters whose moods drive stories |
| My Time At Portia | 2018 | PC | PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch | A home, a job and friendships |
| Townscaper | 2020 | PC | PC, Switch, iOS, Android | Building for its own sake |
| Stardew Valley | 2016 | PC | PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox One, iOS, Android | Relationships and a home to grow |
| Spore | 2008 | PC | PC | Will Wright's other sandbox |
Which One to Play, by What You Liked
If you liked The Sims for Build Mode, try House Flipper, Townscaper and Two Point Hospital. Three games where laying out rooms and furniture is the point rather than a side menu.
If you liked The Sims for the stories your Sims got into, try Tomodachi Life and RimWorld. Characters who make their own decisions and get into trouble without you scripting it.
If you liked The Sims for living a whole life, try Stardew Valley, My Time At Portia and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. A home, neighbours, a job and a routine, with relationships that grow over the seasons.
If you liked The Sims for making a space feel personal, try Unpacking and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Quiet games about where things go and what that says about the person who owns them.
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