Hobby

Hobbies ship with The Sims 2: Freetime. They are fun pursuits for Sims. Sims gain enthusiasm in hobbies by performing related activities. There are ten hobbies: Arts and Crafts, Cuisine, Film and Literature, Fitness, Games, Music and Dance, Nature, Science, Sports and Tinkering.

As Sims master activities they will unlock new interactions and uncover secret lots. A Sim has a predestined hobby and will gain enthusiasm in it faster than others. When a Sim first tries an activity in his or her predestined hobby, a chord will play, and a message will appear. Once a Sim's predestined hobby has been revealed, the enthusiasm meter for that hobby will be outlined in silver.

Most, though not all, hobbies have special "idle" animations that Sims will occasionally perform if they have enthusiasm in that hobby. While this can be a way for a player to discover what hobbies a Townie or NPC has enthusiasm in, some players find them annoying.

Unlockable Interactions
All hobbies can unlock these interactions:
 * "Talk about Hobby" (unlocked at level 1)
 * "Read Section ..." in Newspaper (unlocked at level 2)
 * "Browse Web About Hobby" (unlocked at level 4)
 * "Share Hobby Tips" with a Sim (unlocked at level 6)
 * A Sim with this interaction unlocked may autonomously share tips with others who are doing a hobby activity
 * "Blog About Hobby" on the computer (unlocked at level 7)
 * "Instruct in Hobby" (unlocked at level 9)
 * "Be in the Zone"

Hobby specific interactions:
 * Cuisine: Serve "Chip", "Cheese" and "Appetizer" platters (unlocked at levels 3, 5, and 8, respectively)
 * Film and Literature: Participate in Book Club (unlocked at level 3)
 * Science: Search for Constellations, Search for Planets, Search for UFOs (unlocked at levels 3, 5, and 8, respectively; requires a telescope)
 * Nature: Go Hiking (unlocked at level 3), Collect beetles, butterflies and spiders (additional possibilities are unlocked at levels 5 and 8)
 * Fitness: Go Jogging (unlocked at level 3), get Protein Shakes from the refrigerator (unlocked at level 5)

Secret Lots
Only members of the Hobby Club have access to these lots. Meet Instructors and other enthusiasts, interact with hobby specific objects, enter food or dance competitions, etc.


 * Peerless Park (Nature)
 * Will's Garage (Tinkering)
 * Games of Glory (Games)
 * My Muse - Music &amp; Dance Studio (Music and Dance)
 * Aspirational Laboratories (Science)
 * My Muse II - Arts and Crafts Studio (Arts and Crafts)
 * Sue's Secret Kitchen (Cuisine)
 * Platinum Gym (Fitness)
 * Dreamy Fields (Sports)
 * Desirable Discourse (Film and Literature)

Hobby instructors
Instructors (which are internally referred to as iconic hobbyists) are NPCs that can be found on the secret lots and can instruct Sims in their hobby. These Sims are easily encountered, usually when they walk into a house uninvited to shake the hands of a skill-building Sim and leave again. Much like the Coach, an instructor is usually an annoyance if the player is currently uninterested in raising hobby skill or if the Sim has other activities lined up. Otherwise, these Sims are useful as friends for careers or as highly skilled instructors who can tutor Sims on hobby lots, as they have a related skill at level 10.

Unlike other Sims, instructors can give hobby instruction regardless of the enthusiasm level of the Sim who is looking for instruction, and can give instruction to children.

Instructors can be fairly useful for career purposes. In addition to counting toward the needed number of family friends, befriending an instructor in a hobby related to the career track a Sim is working in decreases that Sim's family-friends requirement by one. However, some careers such as Law, Politics, and Business are not related to any hobby, so Sims in those careers cannot get this benefit. It appears that Sims will retain this benefit even after they are no longer friends with the instructor.

When the secret Hobbies sub-neighborhood is first associated with a given neighborhood, the hobby instructor for each hobby is randomly chosen from a predefined pool of three Sims, and will remain the same for that neighborhood. The randomly chosen instructor will be given maximum enthusiasm in the lot's hobby and a plaque signifying excellence in that field. If activities that build talent badges also build enthusiasm in the lot's hobby, it appears that the chosen instructor will be given gold badges in those fields, provided that the appropriate expansion pack is installed.

Instructors are not encountered outside of their secret lot unless they are visiting a lot for hobby-related reasons. However, Sims can invite them to their homes or to other lots. Becoming friends with an instructor will help to gain promotions in its associated careers.

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