In THE SIMS, your adult life begins much like the typical 18-year old: desperately trying to move out of your mom's house. Unlike the PC original version, you have to complete a number of objectives before you can move on with your life. Objectives include learning how to cook, fixing household appliances, getting a job and finding a mate. It's kind of like real life, except players have the ability to fast-forward or freeze time at will. A 24-hour clock remains on the screen at all times to help players manage their time. Even at regular speed, the clock moves much faster than in real life, at a ratio of one game minute to one real second. This high-speed pace requires players to make good use of every waking (and sleeping) minute of the day.