How to Have More Than Eight Family Members in Sims 2

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Last Updated: January 30, 2024

By default, The Sims 2 limits players to eight Sims per household; however, this limit can be overridden. This wikiHow will show you how to have more than eight Sims living on a lot in The Sims 2.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Using Mods

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1
Download a mod that allows more than eight Sims per lot. There are two popular mods that allow this, so pick the one you prefer.
- 5th LMNt's and Numenor's Larger Households
- CJ's Bigger Families
2
Place the mod into your Sims 2 Downloads folder. On Windows, this is under Documents > EA Games > The Sims 2 > Downloads.
- If you're playing the Super Collection on a Mac, the filepath is Library > Containers > com.aspyr.sims2.appstore > Data > Library > Application Support > Aspyr > The Sims 2 > Downloads.
- It's a good idea to create a subfolder in your Downloads folder and name it "Mods" or "Hacks", since it keeps it separate from any other custom content you may have.
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3
Edit your userstartup file, if you plan to merge preexisting households. If you want to combine existing households, you'll need to take another step before you start your game.
- Open Documents > EA Games > The Sims 2 > Config. (For the Super Collection, go to Library > Containers > com.aspyr.sims2.appstore > Data > Library > Application Support > Aspyr > The Sims 2 > Config.
- Look for a file called userstartup.cheat and open it in Notepad or TextEdit. If you don't have one, create a new file in Notepad or TextEdit.
- Add the line uintprop maxTotalSims 50.
- Add the line uintprop maxTotalHumans 35.
- Add the line uintprop maxTotalPets 15.
- Save your userstartup.cheat file. (Make sure there's no file extension tacked on at the end.)
Tip: You can change the maxTotal numbers, but maxTotalSims must be equal to the sum of maxTotalHumans and maxTotalPets.
4
Start the game. Allow the game to load.
5
Enable custom content. A popup will come up warning you that you have mods in your game; near the bottom of the popup, check the box for "Enable custom content".
- You need to restart your game for the changes to take effect.
6
Enter a household. You should now be able to add more Sims to the household, even if there are already eight Sims living there.
- You may need to move the family out and back into their house for the changes to take effect.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Spawning Sims

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It doesn't matter which neighborhood it's in or how many Sims already live on the lot.
Type in boolprop testingcheatsenabled true and hit ↵ Enter.
Click Spawn..., then Tombstone of L and D. A tombstone should appear near your Sim.
6
Click on the tombstone. Select any of the New _____ options (for example, New Adult Male). Continue generating Sims like this until you've passed the eight-Sim household limit.
- These Sims will be randomly generated, with random names, appearances, and personalities. They will not be related to each other.
Warning: If you spawn too many Sims, you won't be able to select all of them in the sidebar.

Community Q&A

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Question

What is the maximum amount of characters on the sidebar?

Community Answer

It depends on your game resolution and whether you play in fullscreen mode. In general, though, larger resolutions show more Sims on the sidebar. (On my computer, with the game in windowed mode running at 1920x1080 resolution, the sidebar fits 17 Sims.)

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Tips

If you're spawning Sims and want to do it quickly, pause the game and then continue spawning Sims until the Sim's action queue is full. When you resume the game, it should spawn multiple new Sims at once.

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Warnings

Avoid spawning too many Sims if you have a low-end computer. The game will become slow and potentially crash.

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If you have spawned many, many Sims, it is highly likely they will all lose needs at the same time, causing jams, messes and whines all over the place. Unless you want to keep it like this, don't save your game!

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