Relationships guide
Every NPC has friendship, love, and hate (and other flags) grouped by relationship type (family, romance, friends, work, jail, and so on). Gameplay is about moving those numbers over time — not a single branching dialogue tree.
Building and maintaining bonds
| Lever | What to do |
|---|---|
| Consistency | Interact daily when limits allow; many actions are capped per day |
| Alignment | Pick story choices that fit the situation (work vs home, and so on) |
| Gifts and activities | Use location actions (parks, restaurants) that explicitly help relationships |
| Avoid hate spikes | High hate unlocks sabotage and fights; recover with apologies or space |
Coworkers can become friends after enough positive socializing — great for job stability and social invites.
Family
Family ties help early stability:
- They respond to support interactions and shared events
- Letters from prison can randomly raise a family member’s friendship (+5) when you write from a cell or library
- Deaths, divorces, and rivalries still come from base-game random events
Keep morale up so you have energy to maintain family during grindy jobs.
Romance
Romantic arcs use the romance category:
- Raise love and friendship through flirt and date style beats (exact options vary by age and location).
- Use the Dating App to swipe for romantic matches — the fastest way to meet new love interests once you're 18+ with a mobile phone.
- Watch for blockers — existing partners, age limits, or conflicting story situations.
- When commitment choices appear, decide carefully; saying no often has a cost.
Love and friendship are separate meters. You can be close friends without romance, or romantic while fixing hate after a fight — know which bar you are working on.
Marriage (practical)
- Stabilize income first — weddings and housing strain money.
- Raise friendship before proposals if the game checks trust; some beats fail if you rush.
- After marriage, keep showing up with positive interactions; neglect can push hate up in some event pools.
Big negative swings (cheating beats, crime coming to light) can crash several meters at once. Keep gems in mind for damage-control choices if you play risky.
For category definitions, see Mechanics: relationships.