[edit] Life Stages
There are three life stages in The Sims: infant, child, and adult. While babies grow up into children, children and adults never age. This means children and adults remain in their life stage indefinitely. Sims, however, can die from various causes (e.g. burning to death in a fire, drowning in a pool, starving, or dying from diseases). The Sims: Livin' Large, the first expansion pack, introduces the Grim Reaper who appears after the death of a sim. If a relative of the dead sim wins against him in Rock, Paper, Scissors, the dead sim will be revived. If the relative loses, the dead sim will remain dead and his/her tombstone will appear and the option of Rock, Paper, Scissors will not be available. The tombstone will stay in its place, unless the player decides to move it to another place, or just delete it.
[edit] Build and Buy Modes
Each newly created family will begin with §20,000 regardless of its number of members. These funds can be used to purchase a house or vacant lot, build or remodel a house, and/or purchase furniture. All architectural features and furnishings are dictated by a square tile system in which items must be placed on a tile. Walls and fences go on the edge of a tile and can be diagonal, whereas sims and items cannot be diagonal. Items that are attached to walls cannot be placed on diagonal walls in the same way that items cannot be placed up against diagonal walls. The base game contains over 150 items including furniture and architectural elements.
[edit] Sims' Lives
Sims are directed on the basis of instructing them to interact with objects, such as a television set, or other sims.