The Sims is a social simulation video game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts in 2000.

The game allows players to create and control virtual people, called "Sims", and manage their daily lives in a suburban setting.

The game features an open-ended gameplay, where players can choose their own goals and objectives, and customize their Sims' appearance, personality, skills, relationships, and environment.

A series of expansion packs were also released that add new content and features to the game, such as new careers, items, locations, and scenarios.

Upon release, The Sims garnered widespread critical acclaim and was described by Wright as being successful in attracting casual male and female gamers.

The Sims technically has unlimited replay value, in that there is no way to truly win the game, and the player can play indefinitely.

Unlike the simulated environments in games such as SimCity, SimEarth, or SimLife, Sims are not fully autonomous.

[11] They are unable to take certain actions without specific commands, such as paying bills, finding a job, exercising, and conceiving children.

[12] The player can make decisions about time spent in skill development, such as exercise, reading, creativity, and logic by adding activities to Sims' daily agenda.

Sims may earn promotions by fulfilling skills and maintaining friendships with others for each level, which lead to new job titles, increased wages, and different work hours.

All architectural and customizable features and furnishings in Build and Buy modes follow a square-tile system in which items must be placed on a tile.

Objects fall into one of eight broad categories: seating, surfaces, decorations, electronics, appliances, plumbing, lighting, and miscellaneous.

[14] The original inspiration for The Sims was Christopher Alexander's 1977 book on architecture and urban design, A Pattern Language.

After the event, the relationship mechanics were further modified so the character's sexual orientation was set depending on the player's actions.

[25][26] The Sims is credited with opening up modding to a new demographic, making it easy enough for "casual modders" to modify the game.

The Sims received "universal acclaim" according to review aggregator Metacritic, which assigned the game a score of 92%.

[40] The game received praise for its open-ended gameplay allowing players to choose their own goals and objectives, as well as its sound design, "crisp" graphics, and humor.

[61] In 2016, The Strong National Museum of Play inducted The Sims to its World Video Game Hall of Fame.

[68] In 2002, The Sims became the top-selling PC game in history at the time, displacing Myst by selling more than 6.3 million copies worldwide.

[71] Next Generation ranked The Sims as the 45th highest-selling game launched for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, or GameCube between January 2000 and July 2006 in the United States.

These versions incorporate some features of later PC expansion packs, and Bustin' Out adds a multiplayer mode supporting two simultaneous players.