I have finally begun to play properly in Edge, rather than just building and testing stuff.

I dug out a challenge/playstyle I wrote up (back in 2010!) called Shantytown. It pulls bits from a number of other challenges.

Four households start in poverty, and they are supposed to work their way towards upper class, over time. Sims either get a career, or can run businesses. There are class restrictions of all sorts, and some sims may never work their way out of poverty, if they are unmotivated or unlucky enough.

My first family consists of Matilda and Florian Olivera. Matilda has a job, while Florian is thinking of getting a poker table and starting a small business.

The second family is Marcie Fredley and her son Milo.

The third family is the largest - Nadeeda and Arif Nader, with their three kids Saleh, Mariam and Taslim.

Last is a single-sim household, Anna Lindberg.

All of them started with just $10 000 to move in and furnish a residence. I do have suitable apartments, but ended up putting them all into separate shacks.

Anna is best off, with only herself to cater for at the moment, while the Naders are struggling to get basic furniture. Nadeeda has not been able to get work, and eventually Arif took out a micro-loan and started a small business in their shed.

The Oliveras are already expecting (on their starting day!), and Marcie Fredley is relieved to have got her first promotion, so she doesn't have to juggle babysitting and work.