The Sims 2: FreeTime/Tinkering

Tinkering is about putting apart objects and rebuilding them. This is the tinkering article.

Life
Toddlers start out tinkering by playing with blocks at the activity table. As children, they can get a start by buying remote control vehicles. If you have the funds, get the train set and mix and match several possible combinations of elements on the table. As well, you can try to build the mechanical skill. This does double duty as practically anything that boosts mechanical boosts tinkering.

There are two main things that boost tinkering enthusiasm. The first in the robot bench from which you can craft a variety of services including toys, food and security. The second is the restorable car which is a really large project to undertake. The reward? A fully functional car which you can sell for profit or actually use. In fact, you won't even know it had been broken.

All throughout your sims life, a variety of objects let you tinker with them including kitchen appliances, plumbing and electronic objects. Have fun tinkering but make sure your prepared as you might receive a shock.

Will's Garage
There are three main rooms in this garage. The first is a train set that you can have fun building up. Just outside are some toys that you can play with. The second is the main room with T.V. for entertainment or tinkering. The third room contains lots of objects all for the purpose of tinkering. Have fun playing around.

Chance Cards
These are the tinkering chance cards.
 * Chance Card 1: A kid has bought an RC car for show & tell and your sim wants a closer look. If you ask the kid, you could gain or lose enthusiasm. If you wait until later, you could bring a friend home or lose enthusiasm.
 * Chance Card 2: Your sim could fly a helicopter in and get test questions. The choice is whether to do so or not. Either way, you could gain or lose enthusiasm.
 * Chance Card 3: In shop class, your sim thinks of improvements to make for the project. If you don't, you could gain or lose enthusiasm. If you add them, you could gain enthusiasm or lose $150.
 * Chance Card 4: The office microwave is broken. You could repair it or call for help. If you tinker, you could gain enthusiasm or lose $200. If you call the support team, you could bring a friend home or lose enthusiasm.
 * Chance Card 5: Instructions for machinary have been lost. You could build it without instructions or get help. Do it yourself to gain membership to Will's Garage or a demotion. If you call help, you could get a promotion or lose enthusiasm.
 * Chance Card 6: An employee has left a model train behind. You could play with it or wait until he or she comes back. Play with it to get a friend or loss $175. Wait for them to come back to gain or lose enthusiasm.

Unlockables
These are the tinkering based unlockables. Level 10 also unlocks a few audio sounds. Play with the reparable car to hear racing car noises. Do anything with the train set to hear real train noises. These are the other unlockables.
 * Level 1-Talk about Tinkering
 * Level 2-Read Technology Section
 * Level 3-N/A
 * Level 4-Browse Web for Tinkering
 * Level 5-Join Will's Garage (if not already joined)
 * Level 6-Share Hobby Tips (Robot Station, Reparable Car)
 * Level 7-Blog about Tinkering
 * Level 8-N/A
 * Level 9-Instruct in Tinkering
 * Level 10-Be in the Zone.
 * Robot Station
 * Bronze: Cleanbot, Hydrobot
 * Silver: Sentrybot, Munchiebot
 * Gold: Servo
 * Restorable Car
 * Fully functional car

Basic Info
These are the hobby ranks. This is basic information.
 * 1- Uninspired Underling
 * 2-4 Fixer Upper
 * 5-7 Eager Engineer
 * 8-9 Talented Tinkerer
 * 10- Master of Machines.
 * Skill: Mechanical
 * Personality: Shy, Nice
 * Interests: Toys
 * Mannerisms: None.

Interactions
These are all the objects and interactions that affect tinkering.
 * RC Car
 * Studying Mechanical
 * Reparing Objects
 * Model Plane (ceiling)
 * Robot Bench (Open for Business)
 * Toy Robot Sculpture (Pets)
 * RC Car (FreeTime)
 * RC Helicopter (FreeTime)
 * Train Set (FreeTime)
 * Restorable Car (FreeTime)
 * Tinkering with Objects (FreeTime)
 * Model Plane (ground) (FreeTime)
 * Robot Sculptures (FreeTime)
 * Piles of miscellaneous widgets (FreeTime)