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There are very many ways one can play The Sims, but I feel like we could separate players into two distinct groups: Those who play the game as it is, and those who use what we’re given as tools to come up with their own ways to play. And though I tend to be the former, sometimes I want to use my creativity and do something I have never done before, or maybe even use my imagination to do something I didn’t know was possible.

I have been meaning to share one of my experiences with you guys for a while, but this past weekend playing The Sims 4 Jungle Adventure gave me a brand new idea: What if we repurposed both vacation worlds we currently have as places our sims could move away to for college?

I’ll say it again to be clear: This requires a combination of imagination with creative use of the tools we have in game – specifically going on vacations and staying on rental homes, the club system, lot traits and the very many skills The Sims 4 has, specially if you have the whole collection. Do you guys see where I’m going with this?

Here’s what I did: First of all, I built two schools (with library as both their lot types), the Selvadorada Social Studies Academy and the Granite Falls Science Institute. The first one had arts, music, and archaeology as the main skills, while the second one focuses on Logic, Veterinary, Gardening and Rocket Science. Both had their specific lot traits but shared the new Peace & Quiet trait, for faster skill gaining while reading, as well as communal areas, rooms arranged as classrooms and all the requirements for the Library lot.

Then I sent different sets of sims to each one. Please understand I wasn’t really playing for real this time, but rather just testing how this could play out. So I sent these different sets of sims, created new “Study Groups” for them (with the help of the club system) and rented an existing home (I spent over four hours building both schools, I didn’t have time to build a dorm… but that sounds like a cool idea). Once they arrived, I took them to their new “school” and started a day of learning.

It was cool to see my sims having enough time to work on their skills, and also being able to socialize and have fun in between activities. I kept changing the club activities so they’d all read together, then sit at the computer and work on an assignment (by either writing or coding), then also having some time to eat and socialize.

One thing I found we can do is move a few teenagers into a new household, placing them on a cheap empty lot and then making them all go on a vacation together, meaning taking them to college in this scenario. It reminded me of The Sims 2: University Life and how we could take our sims’ friends with them to school.

The only real downside I experienced while playing was computer performance. The lots were too big and there were too many in the loaded area because of my club. I recommend maybe building smaller “schools” (I chose the biggest lots of each world). But other than that, it was a fun thing to do to spice up my game.

If the whole idea of this improvised college is too much for you, maybe you could use the vacation worlds, specially Selvadorada, as a “year abroad” for sims who recently turned into Young Adults. You know, some time for them to go experience life somewhere new before they’re back to a new reality of having jobs and paying bills.

Now if you’re into even more of this idea, one thing I thought of but never got around to trying was making a household with an adult an various kids from the neighborhood to build a mini tiny bitty boarding school. Or even do the same thing but for camps, like an Arts Camp or even Chess Camp.

Other than introducing you to a new idea, the main idea with this article is to encourage you to try and find new ways to use The Sims 4 to your own liking. Feel free to comment with even more ideas to use the vacation worlds as college in the game. If you guys would like it, I’ll share more experiences I have had using my imagination and the game tools to create something unusual. Happy simming!