Runaway Teen Challenge Rules [Updated 10/22/20]

Updated through Nifty Knitting.  I’m open to suggestions for the Star Wars pack as I never intend to get it.

Rules adapted from StardustX’s original rules:

1. Start out with §0.  You cannot build any kind of shelter for yourself until you have earned the simoleans to do so.
2. You cannot have any electronics or appliances or cell phone access (put it on silent) until you have a home.   (At least 1 kitchen, 1 bath, and 1 bedroom)
3. You can’t have a part-time job.  You can’t have a full-time job when you are a young adult until you have a home.   (At least 1 kitchen, 1 bath, and 1 bedroom)
4. You cannot cook/shower/etc on other people’s lots or interact with adults until you are a young adult.  You’re a runaway they’ll report you as such.  If your social meter gets low, you can interact with children or other teens.
5. You can shower and use the bathroom at any public place like the gym.
6. You can fish, garden and dig all you want and sell them.
7. You can’t go to school.  You have to cancel go to school each day.  This will not affect traits.
8.  Each time you travel you subtract $10 simoleans from your funds using the money cheat.

The goal is to survive. There are no “points”.  You are simply trying to survive, start a new life for yourself.  You should aim for having a high paying job, children and a big house.  The main thing you are doing is getting money the old way by fishing, gardening, and collecting.

Additional notes: 

• Updated: The game now allows you to have a teen-only household starting in the 3/23/17 patch.
• In the years since I’ve adapted this challenge, I’ve only seen a few people actually make the 10×10 area on their lot.  I can’t blame them.  I was just trying to find a way to stick to the Sims 3 rules as much as possible and in that game, you could create a 10×10 lot.  So forget lot sizes!  Putting in a bunch of landscaping to box in an area makes the bills high.
• If you opt to make the teen look grungy and unkempt then you should “buy” them nicer clothes in CAS as soon as they’ve made a little money.  Looking like a bum will attract too much attention.

• If you don’t want to use the money cheat each time you’ve traveled to subtract $10, which frankly gets annoying really quick, purchase the directional arrows that came with the base game.  You may place one free wall on the lot for the arrows.  Cheat yourself $60.  The new shrinking option using the [ bracket would be helpful here and it might be fun to make designs on your traveling wall.  If for whatever reason you are opposed to the new traveling wall you may elect to purchase a mega houseplant pot for every time you travel and the return trip.
• Not going to school is much easier if you queue up some actions before 8am.  Then you can just cancel out the “go to school” action.  If they go to school you need to make them go home.  Some players have sent their teens to school stating that it would attract more attention not going.  It’s up to you but I’m keeping the rules as per the originals as much as possible.
• There still aren’t sleeping bags so if you don’t want to sleep on the bench, which I suggest, you can buy an Outdoor Retreat tent or a Get Together party bush before dropping your funds to $0.  In my opinion, a runaway having the money for a bed seems unrealistic.  To drop your funds do cntrl+shift+C type testingcheats on and then money 0.
• Your teen may move from lot to lot or apartment to apartment if you wish.  Perhaps they’re trying to keep under the radar by moving around.
• Putting your phone on silent is pretty pointless in this game.  It doesn’t work without mods so just try to ignore all of the texts and invitations that pop up every day.  No accepting invites unless it is from another teen or a child.
• At the very start of the challenge if you’re not keeping all of the pre-made sims in the game I would suggest either creating or downloading from the gallery a household or more with teens and children so that your teen will have someone to socialize with.  See also the rule regarding clubs to make this easier.
• Outdoor Retreat: Your runaway may take a vacation to Granite Falls but may only camp at the campsite, not the cabins.  Socializing should be treated as if they were at home.  Teens and children only.
• Spa Day: You may add a spa to your game and use this as an additional place to shower and up your needs.
• Dining Out: You may add a restaurant to your game and your runaway can eat there if they have the funds and use it to up other needs.  This may draw attention so it would be preferable if they invite another teen or child to dine with them.
• Vampires: Your teen can be a vampire since this doesn’t affect aging in the teen stage but I have no idea how it would be possible to make money without burning to a crisp.  Perhaps if they lived in an apartment and only collected things to sell in the dark?
• Get to Work: Your teen can be an alien.
• Get to Work: Your teen may visit retail lots and planet Sixam.  It would draw less attention if they visited retail lots with other teens or children.  I’ve had players mention making or downloading retail lots from the gallery and using them to shop for all of their household items to make it more realistic as well.
• Get Together: Your teen can be in a club but only if this club is other teens and children.  This would be an easy way to meet them for social as well.  No starting meetings on the home lot, you must travel for meetings.
• City Living: Your teen may start in an apartment.  For more difficulty pick one with the “Needs TLC” trait. I would highly suggest against the Gremlins trait until your teen has enough handiness to repair electronics.
• City Living: Substitute the rule for a tent or party bush with a blow-up mattress or cheap bed if you opt to start in an apartment.
• City Living: Your teen can visit any of the festivals.  It’s best if they bring another teen or child along to blend in.
• City Living: Your teen can collect globes and posters to sell but cannot have a street table to sell things until they are a young adult.  It would draw too much attention.  *Personally, I love using the street table as a way of selling without buy mode so I’m removing this part of the rule.*
• City Living: You can freely order from vendors.  Any teen would do this.  If adults talk while you’re eating it’s fine to respond but you must leave after finishing.  It would look very suspicious if the teen suddenly got up and moved when someone made a conversation.  In my and others’ experience, it’s almost impossible to eat in a park or in the city without some darned adult striking up a conversation.  Canceling it out gets very annoying.
• City Living: You can only visit a karaoke bar with other teens and children.  This would be a great place for a club hangout.
• Parenthood:  Skipping school will give your teen the irresponsible trait.  Thanks to TigerLover for letting me know that you can combat this through the use of school projects bought from buy mode, taking out the trash, brushing teeth, feeding pets, cleaning litter boxes, and training dogs.  She was able to get the responsible trait when a few days before her teen aged up she had a full red bar.  It is doable with some work.  I’d highly recommend preventing them from getting the irresponsible trait if you plan to get them a job when they age up.
• Cats and Dogs: Just as in Sims 3 you can adopt a pet or befriend a stray.  Be sure you can afford all of the items that the pet will need first!  You can also use them to search for collectibles to sell.  Laundry Stuff: You may purchase the washbasin and clothesline for your home lot for realism.  You may not purchase the washer and dryer until you have an enclosed space.  You may add a washer and dryer to one community lot.  If you’d like to you can remove some funds for their use but that is entirely up to you.
• Seasons: You may add to the map a lot for a shelter with no amenities beyond a pee bush to put up your tent or a cheap cot/air mattress.  Examples would be an abandoned warehouse, an old barn, ruins of some sort.  It might be a good idea to also add a campfire or bonfire for heating in the winter although they can survive freezing temps while in a tent or even a mattress on the ground.
• Seasons: I can’t see a reason why your teen shouldn’t enter the scouts.  Despite it being dubbed a part-time job it isn’t.  They make no money and are surrounded by other children and teens and thus should blend.  The bonus to this is that a lot of the badge tasks are also ones that raise responsibility if you have Parenthood.
• Get Famous: Let’s pretend Drama Club is separate from the school like scouting so it’s allowed.  Perhaps it’s a club sponsored at the local theatre.
• Get Famous: I feel that since the goal of this challenge is to stay anonymous and out of the limelight that going out of your way to gain fame goes contrary to the challenge itself and thus is not allowed.  See below for an alternate ruleset.
• Get Famous: You can use the music producer setup for income but may not use the video production one until they age to a young adult unless following the alternate ruleset.  Both require a home first as they are electronics.
• StrangerVille:  You may live in StrangerVille and complete the mystery and its aspiration.  This would be really fun to have your teen living in a bunker!  You are only allowed to speak with and befriend 1 scientist, 1 military personnel, and 1 conspiracy theorist.  Perhaps your teen can lie about their age.
• StrangerVille: Bugs and their use are considered electronic devices thus requiring a home first.
• Island Living: Can be a mermaid *new*
• Realm of Magic: Can use all content including being a spellcaster and potions although I personally feel some of the spells/potions are huge cheats… use your own discretion. *new*
• Discover University: Can’t go to university as a young adult until you have a home. *new*
• Discover University: The robotics station is considered an electric device and thus restricted until you have a home. *new*
• Discover University: The Electromagnetic Research Archive Machine is also considered electronics. *new*
• Discover University: You may hang out at the campus commons without worry regarding socialization.  For all they know, you’re trying to decide on a university or visiting someone. *new*
• Tiny Living Stuff: Can use the new tiny house residential lot type. *new*
• Eco Lifestyle: The fabricator is considered electronic but can be used on the shared community lot. *new*
• Nifty Knitting Stuff: You may sell items via Plopsy from a library computer.  (If this is possible?) *new*

Jungle Adventure Alternate Rules…

At first, I’d planned to have the rules for JA the same as Granite Falls.  But, MyInnerSim had the idea to have her teen live primarily in Selvadorada.  So, we brainstormed and came up with this alternate version of the rules:

There is no camping area like there is in Outdoor Retreat.  And, assuming your teen will be spending the bulk of their time in the jungle and cannot return home except on the weekends there will be a little world editing needed before leaving for their trip!

1. Bulldoze the smallest cabin lot to rent for your time there.  There is access to all of the amenities you will need all over the place so if you’d like you can leave this lot with nothing on it.  If you’re set on having a home-base of sorts you may add some items to the camp.  Before you leave for your trip you will need to make some money and subtract the cost of these items:  An outhouse or fenced-in area with the cheapest toilet and shower, a grill, and a picnic table.  If, and only if, you don’t own Outdoor Retreat and thus don’t have access to tents you may build a small shelter for a cheap bed or hide it behind some foliage or a fenced-in area.
2. You may add to the cantina lot a computer to purchase a poison antidote (§1,000!!!) or skill books and a single GT bar game such as darts.
3. You may add a woodworking table to the museum.
4. Everything else should be portable items.  (Your teen has a bunch of large rucksacks that they carry the things in and/or hides away.)  The following are some suggestions: yoga mat or meditation stool, guitar or violin, camera, journal (mood swings in jungle eek!), any camping gear such as a tent, cooler, and portable shower,  books, and if you elect to have a pet a portable bowl, ball, bed, and litter box if it’s a cat.
5. Personally, I’ve always considered Granite Falls to be close to the regular neighborhoods.  Perhaps a bus or train ride away and there are usually the same sims from the ‘hoods camping there.  In this, Selvadorada is different.  I’d think they would need to take a small plane or helicopter to visit there.  And the locals are used to seeing tourists and don’t take much notice of them other than to sell their wares and tell their tales.  So, for trips there only- you may converse with local sims older than a teen.  If you are unsure if they are a local introduce yourself and if they are there will be options to ask about the jungle, etc.  If not say goodbye and walk away.
6. Your teen can visit only occasionally if you want but if they will spend the bulk of their time there the following applies… Your teen may return home to their lot to stash their treasures and work on their house on weekends when the other teens are out of school and they won’t draw notice since the sims in the area won’t be accustomed to seeing them around.  If you’d rather wait until the end to build the house and pretty much live in Selvadorada and just build all at once you can.

Get Famous Alternate Rules…

1. Your teen ran away to seek fame and fortune.
2. In this case, perhaps they are just estranged from the family and not hiding from them.
3. You may use music and video production and drones to earn income and fame.
4. You may “fangirl” over the stars since that’s a very teen thing to do.
5. As you are still trying to keep a low profile since you’re not attending school, you shouldn’t go out of your way in public to draw attention to yourself such as playing instruments in clubs.

There are no points.  There is no endgame or goal other than building a nice home/apartment for your teen. Most people continue playing their teens once they are young adults.  Some have used them as the founder of legacies or other challenges.  This would be a fun way to create a background story for your founder since you get to play it out.