What is there to do in Paralives?

A lot, even in Early Access: create Paras in the Paramaker, build grid-free houses, explore the open-world town of Melino, work careers, level skills, chase life goals and townie requests, run community challenges, collect gems and mushrooms, earn Paradimes without cheats, take photos and add Steam Workshop mods. Each of those links to a full guide on this page.

Is Paralives fun in early access?

It depends on what you want today. Build mode and Para autonomy are already deep — that is where most players spend their hours. Things you may know from other life sims (pets, seasons, gardening, fishing) are not in yet; the roadmap schedules the first major content update for Q4 2026, and the studio has pledged every update stays free. Our should-I-buy page walks through the full verdict.

What can you do in build mode?

Everything from the ground up: raise, lower, bend and curve walls, lay floors, build roofs and sculpt terrain — then resize, rotate and freely place any object, no grid lock. The build hub walks through all of it step by step, from a starter home to split-level houses.

Are there goals or quests?

Yes, but not a traditional quest log. The game draws 30 life goals from the Story Cards deck and suggests them based on context, while townies post 29 requests that pay up to 100 Paradimes. The goals guide lists every objective, reward and rarity.

Can you play challenges like the 100 Baby Challenge?

Yes. The classic Sims community challenges — 100 Baby, Legacy, Not So Berry, Black Widow and more — have been rewritten for Paralives Early Access. Clauses that need features the game doesn't have yet are paused and clearly marked, so nothing breaks your save. The challenges hub has every ruleset.

Things to Do in Paralives (2026)

Short answer

There is no fixed to-do list — that is the point

Paralives doesn't hand you a checklist of quests. You set the goal — a dream house, a big family, a fortune, a challenge run — and the sandbox gives you the tools: build mode, careers, skills, story cards and an open town to wander. Pick a direction below and the linked guide takes it from there.

Nine ways to play

Pick an activity, open its guide

Every card links to a guide we maintain and re-verify after each patch — mechanics, complete lists and the parts nobody has documented yet are all flagged honestly on the target page.

Create & Build

Enter build mode with one key: bend walls, lay floors and resize any object without a grid. The build hub collects every tutorial, from your first starter home to curved walls and split-level houses.

Open the build hub

Play a Challenge

The classic community rulesets — 100 Baby, Legacy, Rags to Riches, Not So Berry and more — rewritten for what Early Access can actually do, with incompatible clauses paused and clearly marked.

Browse all challenges

Follow Goals & Requests

30 life goals across nine categories plus 29 townie requests worth Paradimes — every objective, reward and rarity listed, with the undocumented parts flagged instead of guessed.

Open the goals guide

Live a Story

Roughly 250 one-shot story cards turn everyday moments into small scripted events — a bonus, a debuff, a new relationship or a goal chain. Three Storytellers set how hard the game pushes back.

Storytellers & settings

Open the story-cards guide

Explore Melino

Four districts share one open-world map, with 28 named venues, a museum, the Community Center's donation bundles and a weekly rhythm of town events.

Tour the town

Collect & Discover

Gems, mushrooms, paintings, artefacts and a stamp collection that arrives in the post — every item with its sale value, plus how the museum's donation rewards work.

Open the collectibles hub

Get Rich (Legit)

Every verified way to earn Paradimes without the console: what jobs actually pay, which skills unlock better postings, what collectibles sell for and how to keep bills from eating the income.

Open the money guide

Get Creative

Photo mode has unlabelled controls and saves to its own desktop folder — our guide covers both. Vibes, the long-lasting personality states, steer what your Paras get up to on their own.

Vibes & personality

Open the photo-mode guide

Extend with Mods

All mods run through the official Steam Workshop — one-click subscribe and auto-updates. Start with the install guide or the most-subscribed quality-of-life picks.

Open the Workshop hub

New save

Things to do first in Paralives

The game never assigns you a quest line, so the first hours are yours to structure. Five things are worth doing in the first week, before any grand plan:

1
Claim the tutorial goals. Move into your lot and open The New Paper — the two tutorial Life Goals arrive with the morning issue and pay Personality points for exploring your own town.
2
Take a townie request. Any bulletin board in Melino posts them; Clean the Beach is the common first pick, pays 100 Paradimes, and doubles as a sightseeing tour.
3
Fix the essentials. A bed for every household member and a working fridge before anything pretty — the needs guide explains which bars have real consequences.
4
Meet the neighbours. Friendships unlock later romance, requests and group activities — and townies don't age by default, so there is no countdown pressure.
5
Pick a direction. One life goal, a challenge ruleset or a story card chain — the sandbox rewards a self-set goal far more than wandering.

Every life goal and request The full build tutorial Tour Melino first

Everyday life

Pick up a hobby

Hobbies are the fun-first activities Paras do for enjoyment and progression. Most need an object from the build catalogue — an easel, an instrument, gym equipment — while others cost nothing, and most can be enjoyed in a group thanks to the multi-select system. They feed Emotions and Skills, not the wallet.

In practice they line up with the skills hub: guitar and piano, painting, programming and graphic design, cooking, and working out at the gym or on a jog. Younger stages get their own versions — toys and picture books for toddlers, sandcastles and hopscotch for children.

Two boundaries worth knowing: there is no gardening or swimming system yet — the wiki lists both as future activities — and no hobby pays wages directly; money still comes from careers and requests. Until gardening ships, a garden is landscaping, not a crop system.

All skills, mapped Turn hobbies into goals

Things to do in Paralives — quick answers

What is there to do in Paralives?: A lot, even in Early Access: create Paras in the Paramaker, build grid-free houses, explore the open-world town of Melino, work careers, level skills, chase life goals and townie requests, run community challenges, collect gems and mushrooms, earn Paradimes without cheats, take photos and add Steam Workshop mods. Each of those links to a full guide on this page.
Is Paralives fun in early access?: It depends on what you want today. Build mode and Para autonomy are already deep — that is where most players spend their hours. Things you may know from other life sims (pets, seasons, gardening, fishing) are not in yet; the roadmap schedules the first major content update for Q4 2026, and the studio has pledged every update stays free. Our should-I-buy page walks through the full verdict.
What can you do in build mode?: Everything from the ground up: raise, lower, bend and curve walls, lay floors, build roofs and sculpt terrain — then resize, rotate and freely place any object, no grid lock. The build hub walks through all of it step by step, from a starter home to split-level houses.
Are there goals or quests?: Yes, but not a traditional quest log. The game draws 30 life goals from the Story Cards deck and suggests them based on context, while townies post 29 requests that pay up to 100 Paradimes. The goals guide lists every objective, reward and rarity.
Can you play challenges like the 100 Baby Challenge?: Yes. The classic Sims community challenges — 100 Baby, Legacy, Not So Berry, Black Widow and more — have been rewritten for Paralives Early Access. Clauses that need features the game doesn't have yet are paused and clearly marked, so nothing breaks your save. The challenges hub has every ruleset.

Keep planning

Things to Do in Paralives