Learning Life Skills With 'The Sims'

As many of you may already know, The Sims is a life-simulating computer game. If you're looking for a game that's both addicting and beneficial, The Sims might be just what you need.

There's something about watching my sims wake up at 4 A.M. fully rested to then clean their bathtub that made me suddenly want to be more productive..

When you first create a sim, you can literally make any type of person that you desire. You can even make yourself, and with the latest versions of the game, your sim can actually resemble you.There are tons of traits to choose from, whether it be a clumsy animal-lover, or an absent-minded kleptomaniac. You can also choose from many different body types, weights, goals and ambitions. Your sim can work at a fast food restaurant, or be an astronaut. you want your sim to be green with an enormous nose and tiny eyes, go for it. There are few limits on this game.

After you create your sim or sim family, choose a pre-made house from the neighborhood, buy a lot and build your own, or evict a current family and move into their house. You can build multi-level houses in any style you want. You can build two houses on one lot, and then force your children to live in the second house. Building and furnishing your sims' house is one of the most enjoyable parts of the game itself. You get to pretend to be an architect, interior designer, and landscaper all at once!

During gameplay, your sims can have jobs, go to school, build relationships, and build families. In the newest versions of The Sims, you have to watch your snacking because your sims can become obese if you don't eat well and exercise. How realistic is that?

As The Sims has evolved over the past 12 years, it has improved in many ways. In the newest version of the game, The Sims 3, your sims are more like us than ever before. Your sims can grow from infants to toddlers, through your teens and even become elders who die of old age. This means you can have generation after generation all growing up in the same house. If you are tired of a certain sim, you're still able to find unique ways to..."remove" them if you so choose.

The Sims is not only fun, but you can learn a few things from it as well. Your sims have to budget, pay bills, and work just as any person in reality does. The harder you work, the more promotions you will get, and the better your house will be. Don't think you can skip out on paying your bills, or you may have a few pieces of furniture zapped away. It can teach a teenager a thing or two about the importance of saving and cleanliness. If it doesn't teach you to work harder and do better, it will at least leave you wishing you would work harder and do better.

If you've been searching for a game that is not meant just for boys, and is not meant just for ages 10-15, consider The Sims. With multiple versions of The Sims, plus multiple expansion packs for each version, there are endless possibilities that will ensure hour after hour of fun on a rainy day.