Family tree

The Family tree allows the player to see the relationship connections between Sims. It can be accessed through the relationship panel.

The trees show solid lines between married couples and their children. Unmarried couples who have children together are shown by a solid link to the child only. The portraits of children born via alien abduction are connected to their father and the Pollination Technician, but their parents' portraits remain separate. The portraits of Deceased Sims are grayed-out.

The family trees show the current relationship between Sims. Previous marriages are not shown. If the player clicks on a parents portrait it will usually display his/her children in birth order, from left to right.

Usually in family trees, the husband is on the left and the wife is on the right. In matriarchal families, as in, families where the husband takes the wife's last name, the wife is on the left and the husband is on the right. This may be different in some cases though, usually due to birth order. (For examples, see the Pleasant family tree or the Tricou family tree.)

In The Sims 3, premade families seem to have only 2-3 generations (with exception of Landgraab family) while in The Sims 2 the families nearly always have 3-5 generations.

The Sims 2
In The Sims 2, players plainly see the portraits of Sims in the family tree and their names. If there has been a divorce in the family or if the family has an unmarried couple and the child is highlighted, links from both parents will connect to the child but those links will not connect to each other. If there are multiple children and if the parents are not together/married or if the child has half-siblings the child's siblings will not completely connect to the child. For some reason, a great-grandchild and a great-grandparent and further will not be related, possibly because there is little chance they will be alive at the same time without using the Elixir of Life or cheats.

The Sims 2 consoles
In the console game, family trees have been simplified to parents and grand-parents.. When the player chooses the option to randomize their Sim they will get a family tree and genetics which might include aliens.

The Sims 3
In The Sims 3 the family trees are more advanced. When a Sim is highlighted it will display information concerning that particular Sim including their name, traits, partner (if any), career and anything miscellaneous. When having selected one Sim in the family tree, when the player mouses over a relation of theirs, it also displays (besides the basics) what relation they have (e. g. Aunt, Grandfather, Son, Sister-in-Law, Step-Mother, Cousin.)

Examples of family trees

 * Goth Family Tree
 * Curious Family Tree
 * Caliente Family Tree
 * Capp Family Tree
 * Monty Family Tree
 * Landgraab Family Tree