EA has carved a true legacy over its 25 years with The Sims. From humble beginnings to the behemoth experience that is The Sims 4, it's almost too easy to forget all the smaller offerings we've enjoyed along the way.
I'm here to remind you of the best Sims spin-offs in franchise history, dating back to the Game Boy Advance, DS, and one particular PC game that still holds up brilliantly in 2025. Alas, most of the games below can only be played on the original hardware, but there are one or two that you can still pick up and play today on more modern tech. Ready for a nostalgia trip that only EA could provide? Here are the best ever Sims spin-offs for the ultimate trip down memory lane.
8. MySims
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, mobile
The latest old-school Sims spin-off to land on modern tech, MySims has actually been around for years on classic Nintendo handhelds and consoles. The cozy base builder is different in every way from the mainline Sims games, not only in its more chibi-like cartoonish art design but in its mechanics as well. Rather than create a family, you help a small town rebuild itself to former glory. It's not my favorite Sims spin-off of the bunch, purely down to personal taste. But if you're looking for a game like The Sims that's still markedly different from it – and one you can play on your Switch to boot – then look no further than MySims.
7. The Sims 2: Apartment Pets
Platform(s): Nintendo DS
Playing off two of the mainline game's most popular expansion packs of the generation, The Sims 2: Apartment Pets is a sweet albeit simple Nintendo DS game. It's pretty much exactly what it sounds like: you own an apartment, and you live in it with a furry friend. The thing that makes Apartment Pets one of the best Sims spin-offs is less the content of the game itself, but the way it makes use of the DS's model specifics to make the experience somehow incredibly engaging. It's one of those games that immediately makes me pine for the days when two screens were king, and if you have your old DS knocking about, it's well worth a try.
6. The Sims 2: Pets (Console)
Platform(s): Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, PS2, Game Cube, PSP, Nintendo Wii
Riffing off the last suggestion but with a little more to it, The Sims 2: Pets saw myriad console and handheld translations. My personal suggestion is the Nintendo DS version, where your Sim works as a vet and must examine, diagnose, and treat a range of animal maladies. It's a fun change-up from the life sim norm, playing more like a management sim with base building elements as your vet builds their reputation, works to inpatient treatment deadlines, and cuddles a lot of cats and dogs along the way. Each iteration of The Sims 2: Pets is slightly different, so whichever one you go for, know that it'll be a wholly unique experience.
5. The Sims 2: Castaway
Platform(s): Nintendo Wii, PSP, PS2, Nintendo DS, mobile
What if The Sims 2 had a baby with 2004 TV show Lost? That seems to be the premise of one of my favorite Sims spin-offs, Castaway. Your Sims can thrive in the safe cushy comfort of Pleasantview, but how will they fare on a desert island? The form of a survival game is an oddly perfect fit, using the key Needs management components of The Sims to hone in on the basics of food, water, and shelter maintenance. This is another spin-off where the content varies depending on your platform of choice, but the broad strokes are much the same – which means I recommend you try them all.
4. The Sims 2 (Console)
Platform(s): Nintendo DS, PSP, Game Boy Advance, PS2
We're getting down to the nitty gritty, but it wouldn't be a best Sims spin-off list without pretty much every console iteration of The Sims 2. Unlike how The Sims 4's PS5 edition is identical to the original PC format, The Sims 2 offered unique experiences to all Nintendo and Sony console owners. There's the hotel manager-meets-mystery solver machinations of The Sims 2 for DS, the PSP and PS2's bizarre alien antics, the chance to go undercover in Strangetown on a secret reality show in one of the best GBA games… The Sims 2 really was the king of bonkers spin-offs. It's a testament to EA's boundless creativity when it comes to drawing upon the series' wackiest themes, and I still hold each of them in the highest regard in 2025.
3. The Sims Bustin' Out
Platform(s): Game Boy Advance, PS2, Xbox, Game Cube
I can only speak for one of these editions, but The Sims Bustin' Out – for Game Boy Advance specifically – is a silly-good time. This narrative-focused adventure game sees us exploring new towns never before seen in the world of The Sims, though some faces might be familiar to anyone who's played the other Sims spin-offs on this list. In Bustin' Out, it's all about the grind – which means plenty of Simoleon-boosting minigames on top of winding stories to unravel. There's the requisite Needs management to factor into things as well – this is a Sims game after all – but Bustin' Out put a fresh and streetwise spin on the franchise that walked so our next entry could really run.
2. The Urbz: Sims in the City
Platform(s): Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, PS2, Xbox, GameCube
Ah, The Urbz. You'd be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't think The Urbz is one of the top two Sims spin-offs of all time, and that's all down to its striking maturity. All grown up and in the big city, our Urb is out to be the king or queen of Urbania. From getting a job as a piercer in the game's opening missions to choosing your rep group and fighting for their street cred, The Urbz opened up Sims players to a whole new realm of opportunities. The Game Boy and PS2 versions are very dear to my heart, a moment of bravery as EA decided to take a leap forward into more sophisticated territory by challenging its players to make it big outside suburbia for a change.
1. The Sims: Medieval
Platform(s): PC, Mac
Come on, are you really surprised? The Sims Medieval is the pinnacle of Sims spin-offs, reigning supreme over them all. Chaptered instalments allow you to play as everything from a monarch, an apothecary, or a religious figure as you take on quests to explore, control, and grow your kingdom's territory. It's the perfect blend of quasi-RPG mechanics, the life sim genre, and elements of base building to create a unique experience that sits more than comfortably as top dog of EA's off-shoot entries. It's really been no contest in the 14 years since its launch – and with a surprise new patch that dropped just weeks ago, The Sims Medieval's crown shows no sign of tarnishing.
Check out all the best games like The Sims if you're looking to branch out from EA's offerings.
