The Sims 2 Open for Business Expansion Pack (PC)

*Sims 2: Open for Business*

This is the third expansion pack for the popular Sims 2 game (not counting the christmas expansion pack, but that was more of a small add-on than expansion). This expansion finally lets you go to work with your sims, as they run a shop, hairdresser's/barber's, gym, florists', park.... There are many different businesses to choose from with Open to Business, and its up to you which one you want.

*Opening for Business*

For your sim to open a business, they have to call up the real estate office and buy a community lot (why do americans call it real estate? We say estate agents and I don't get what real has to do with houses or property). Many of these are already up and running shops or parks etc. and so you wouldn't have to buy things to furnish them, but these are very expensive. If you're sim is new and doesn't have much money, there are a couple of small unfurnished shops that you can buy for only a few thousand simoleans. Or otherwise, you can start up a home business and run a shop or whatever in your own home.

*Running the business*

My favourite kind of business to run is just a simple shop. To sell items in a shop you need a till, an open/closed sign and items to sell. There is a business toolbar thing at the top right of the screen, which gives you information on how well your business is doing and lets you set items for sale. When customers come to your shop they usually look at an item to see if they want to buy it. When they are looking at an item they get a bar on top of their head (which looks like a skill bar) and when its full they will buy the item, but sometimes they decide they don't want it and walk away before then. While they are deciding, you can talk to them and entertain them to try and convince them to buy it. You can also use 'sales' options to try to convince them, but this sometimes works against you.
If your customer really likes your business and the service, then they might give you a gold star. However, if they don't like it or have bad experiences there, they will get a red star which counts as -1 gold star. Gaining gold stars can let you rise to higher business levels, and for each level you rise you get another choice of business perks. Business perks are in the Business toolbar, and you can choose between cash payments or money off stock etc.

*New to the Expansion*

In addition to skill points, you can now earn skill badges in different things. For example, in your business you gain experience when you use the till, use sales actions on customers or restock items. When you get enough experience from these you gain a skill badge in it. There are 3 badges: bronze, silver and gold. Gaining badges in restocking and tills just makes you quicker. but badges in sales will let you use better sales actions. For example, when you get to a gold sales badge you can use 'Dazzle', which convinces the sim to buy the item immediately and usually gives you a gold star from then too.
As well as these, you can gain badges in flower arranging, toy making and robot building. The expansion gives you new items in buy mode, including three work benches: one for flower arranging, one for making toys and one for robots. You can make money from making things and selling them, and you can also sell your products in shops. Gaining badges increases how fast you can make products, but also gives you more things to choose from. My favourite is when you get a gold badge in flower arranging, as you can make 'snapdragon bouqets'. These can either be sold for a 140s profit, or can be placed in the world to stop stat meters going down as fast when your sims are near them.

I love this game because it is different to the other expansion packs and is more original. It's difficult to get a successful business up and running but its great when you do :)