Greet

$$ Players can have members of a household greet visitors that come to their lot. Few interactions are available with the visitor until the visitor is greeted. In The Sims, each visitor has to be greeted individually, and a visitor cannot be asked to leave until he or she has been greeted; this changed in The Sims 2. Before The Sims 3, greeting visitors would also invite them into the home. With The Sims 3 and The Sims 4, Sims can talk to visitors but they are not allowed inside unless the "Invite Inside" interaction is used. Visitors who are not greeted will idle outside the home for a period of time before leaving.

The Sims: Hot Date, and later expansion packs for The Sims, allows a player to select from several possible social interactions when one adult Sim greets another. Which interactions are available, and whether or not one will be accepted, depends on the relationship between the two Sims. It is not unusual for greeting interactions to become available before they are likely to be accepted. This is not present in The Sims 2. Instead, the way two Sims greet one another depends on the relationship between them. If Nightlife or later is installed, it may also depend on the chemistry between them.

In The Sims 2: University, cheerleaders and mascots do not need to be greeted, and will simply walk into a residence regardless of their relationship (if any) with any of the Sims living there. The "Best Friends Forever" relationship introduced in The Sims 2: FreeTime allows an autonomous "far away greet" interaction. While Sims who are visiting residential lots normally cannot greet other Sims, they can perform the "far away greet" interaction with Sims that they are "best friends forever" with, even if no household member knows that Sim. In addition to this, a visitor who is "best friends forever" with a Sim in a household—or a Sim visiting a household—may not even need to be greeted after arriving on a lot, and may simply walk in.

An issue with greeting in The Sims 2 is that Sims will often not hold still to be greeted. If a house has more than one door, a Sim may start to head for the next door(s) almost as soon as he or she has rung the doorbell or the "Greet" interaction has been selected.

A special greeting or gesture is a social interaction that is available in The Urbz: Sims in the City, The Sims 2, The Sims 3 and The Sims 4. Gestures were introduced in The Sims 2: Bon Voyage with each exotic location having their own gesture. While on vacation, Sims can learn the location's gesture from the locals. Apartment Life offers more based on Social Groups similar to The Urbz: Sims in the City. The Sims 3 and The Sims 4 allows the player various ways of "introducing" their Sim based on their charisma skill and traits. The Sims 4: Get Together allows players to assign a secret handshake when choosing club perks.

In The Sims 2, two Sims with the Grilled Cheese aspiration will greet or say goodbye with a short conversation about grilled cheese.