The YOTO (Youth On Their Own) Challenge

Challenge Thread at the EA Sims Forums

This Sims 4 challenge is a version of a run-away teen challenge crossed with the “Mooch Off Your Neighbor” challenge, with a touch of “Wonder Child” thrown in for good measure.

The Goal: Play a teen to young adulthood on long lifespan without ever once staying on the home lot or moving in with other Sims. Earn an A in school and complete as many aspirations and skill levels as your teen can for points and other benefits.

To Start

1. Create a teen in CAS. Any traits and aspirations allowed
2. Move your teen into any empty lot in any world.

The Home Lot
Your teen is not allowed to stay on the home lot or to do any activities on the home lot except for using the mailbox to publish books (if your teen writes any). Aside from that, ignore the home lot. Since your teen is essentially homeless, you may want to pretend that the home lot simply doesn’t exist.

Do not pay bills. (After all, your teen won’t be staying on the lot, so no utilities are needed.)

Note: Because the game can sometimes have trouble saving when your Sim is not on the home lot, it’s recommended that you return the teen to the lot periodically to save the game.

Purchasing Items
You may only buy items that can go into the teen’s inventory. As long as it’s an inventory item, you can buy it!

Earning Money
Without a home address, your teen is unable to get a job. Any other way of earning money, including freelance work, is allowed.

Where to Sleep/Eat/Bathe
Until your teen earns an A, he or she may only sleep, eat, and bathe at community lots or the homes of other Sims. After your teen has earned an A, he or she may stay at the YOTO shelter (see below).

Your Sim is free to travel freely between worlds.

Granite Falls
Your Sim may camp at Granite Falls for no more than three Sim days at a time, every other Sim week. Your teen can buy any of the items available for purchase at the Granite Falls mercantile, including tents, beds, and coolers, and is free to use these items upon return.

School Attendance
It can be challenging for teens without permanent residences to attend school. Therefore, in this game, until the grade of A is achieved, your teen must use every available vacation day and call in sick the day after the final available vacation day is used. One day of hooky must also be used each week.

Once your teen has earned the A grade in school, you may use vacation, sick, at hooky days at your discretion, provided the A grade is maintained. If the grade drops below A, your teen must again use every available vacation day, take a sick day after the final available vacation day, and play hooky once a week.

(Since one of the game goals is to earn an A, the vacation, sick, and hooky days aren’t rewards: they’re consequences that make it challenging to earn the A.)

The YOTO Shelter
Once your teen has earned an A, you may build a Youth On Their Own shelter as a community lot. The YOTO shelter may contain any skilling objects or living facilities that you desire, including gyms, showers, kitchens, and beds.

Because school attendance is one of the rules of staying at a YOTO shelter, if your teen’s grade drops below an A, your teen may not stay at the YOTO shelter during the required vacation, sick, and hooky days. Your teen can only stay at the YOTO on days when he or she attends school (weekends not included).

Skills and Aspirations
Scoring follows the teen portion of the Wonder Child scoring chart.

You are welcome to switch aspiration a will. (You don’t need to complete one before switching to another.)

Challenge Over
The challenge is over once the teen ages to young adult, playing on long lifespan.

Have fun!

If you have questions, please ask here or at the Forum thread.

Please leave a comment if you try this challenge!