The 1st week with this family is here.
This is the first time I am playing in Strangetown since I have acquired the Legacy version of the game, and I am really looking forward to another crash-free session with a busy household: The Curious Family!
Let's start with the youngest family member: Kitty Curious, named so after her late grandmother. She is the daughter of...
...Vidcund, the middle one of the three Curious brothers. On top of being father of a toddler, he is also working at his lifetime want of becoming Celebrity Chef.
The oldest of the three brothers is Lazlo. He wants to become Strangetown's next City Planner (and the town can indeed do with some improvements), but that's not all he does; he also has a daughter...
...Zo, who is fast asleep when I enter the lot on this Saturday morning. She is named after her great-grandmother.
Last but not least, there is Lazlo, the youngest brother. He wishes to be a Media Magnate.
Breakfast is a lively affair on this Saturday morning; two of the three brothers have to go to work, but nobody has to leave the house early, so they can eat their pancakes while comfortably chatting away.
The Nanny arrives in spite of Pascal being home, but he's grateful for her services and studies skills for his career. He also loves to spend time with his daughter and rolls many wishes to play with her, talk to her and tell her jokes.
It is already dark by the time Lazlo returns from work; he has just been promoted to Fact Checker.
Vidcund follows a little later, also with a promotion: He is now Host at the restaurant where he's been working for a while.
The brothers have over 9,000 Simoleons in the bank now and can afford to do something about their impractical house; last round, I added a bedroom/nursery and bathroom for Vidcund and Kitty, but the only downstairs bathroom makes it hard to manage three adults who work full time plus a girl that needs to be ready for the school bus at a set time, too.
Zo and her Dad have breakfast together on Sunday morning, and Zo expresses her disappointment that it's the second day when the schoolbus won't come to get her. "Who needs weekends?" she complains in typical half-Alien-future-Knowledge-Sim-manner.
Upstairs, Vidcund is teaching his little daughter to talk. How delighted he is when Kitty says "Da-dee" for the first time!
The day passes by with everyone doing their share of household taks but also spending time together talking or playing. In the evening, Zo joins her Uncle Vidcund when he is having a late dinner after work, and they talk about college (already!!). "You know, neither me nor your Dad or your Uncle Lazlo could go... there was no college yet near Strangetown when we were young," he explains, "but it will be different for you and Kitty when you're old enough."
In spite of her wish to go to school even on the weekend, Zo can't help feeling happy when she wakes up on Monday and learns that it's Snow Day - the school bus won't come, and she can stay home and play with cousin Kitty.
Her Dad and her Uncle Lazlo return from work in the afternoon. Pascal has been promoted to Draftsman and now has the drafting table set up in his bedroom.
In the evening, Kitty happily grows up into a child - no more potty for her!
The largest bedroom upstairs now is all hers, and decorated and furnished in her favourite colour. Her Dad's bed has been moved to the much smaller bedroom next to hers.
On Tuesday, everyone except Vidcund is out of the house for work or school by 8:00 am. He has all the skills he needs for his next promotion and instead gives the upstairs bathroom a good scrubbing before he rings a few friends to catch up.
He discovers that the fridge is completely empty (I don't think I have ever really seen the food level go down to zero!) and walks to No. 88 Road to Nowhere to stock up on groceries. He also hopes to meet a few neighbours, but only a handful of uninteresting townies appear, and so he heads straight back home.
The girls are dropped off by the school bus at 3:00 pm, both wearing the same hairstyles (as I knew since Kitty's birthday, of course) and the same outdoor wear. That needs changing - it is too confusing, and before I send the girls to do their homework, I have Kitty change her hair to look more like Vidcund, her human father.
Lazlo is promoted to Obituary Writer.
In spite of it being spring already, and the road looking perfectly good for driving to me, another Snow Day is announced for the girls on Wednesday. Kitty spends some time skipping rope on the sunny upstairs terrace.
Zo is happy to have a late leisurely breakfast of leftover hamburgers with her Dad, who is the only one of the three brothers who has the day off.
I then discover that I can send the girls to "walk to school" in spite of the Snow Day, and off they go - they both want to get A+ grades and won't achieve that hanging out at home, will they.
Zo's efforts pay off when she does indeed return home a couple of hours later with her first A+ report!
Vidcund is promoted to Waiter...
...and Lazlo to Horoscope Writer.
On Thursday, Vidcund's shift at the restaurant starts only in the afternoon, and so he is home when Stella Terrano happens to walk by and is invited to join him for an omelette.
The school bus and Lazlo's car pool both pull up in front of the house at 3:00 pm, and when Kitty proudly waves her first A+ report, her Uncle Laz is happy to cheer for her.
Kitty's Dad returns a couple of hours later with a promotion to Prep Cook...
...followed by Pascal who has been made Architectural Partner.
Very strangely, I find Zo being enemies with her uncle Lazlo - but why, I have no idea! Her memories don't yield a clue, and at the same time she has a wish to be best friends forever with him.
Friday is the last day of the week with the Curious family. The most remarkable things to happen are Lazlo's promotion to Columnist...
...and Pascal's to Master Architect. He can't be far off from reaching his lifetime want now.
It was fun to play the three brothers and their daughters, but I will never be a fan of the house. I wanted to spend what time I had on playing rather than altering the house, but I guess at some stage I'll do that - it is just too impractical with all those corners and angles, and just one bathroom on the ground floor is just not enough, even though it is easier now with the upstairs one that I have added.
The girls are growing up fast; next time (which is a long time off) I'll play this household, Zo will already turn into a teenager, and her younger cousin isn't that far behind.
The "boys" are focusing on their career and the girls and have little time for friendships outside the family, let alone romance.
