There is little violence or sex in The Sims Online, an interactive computer game that arrived in stores last year. Even the characters are born by the immaculate conception of your computer keyboard.

As your character teleports around the Sims world, there is plenty of scheduled entertainment. But most people seem to enjoy wandering around, checking out other people’s houses while communicating Charlie Brown-style with messages that pop out of everyone’s head.

A player can spend the first 10 minutes on the Sims Online doing what most newcomers will do: Finding a party and trying to score. We quickly discovered that the beds are styled like Rob and Laura Petrie’s, and most Sim women seem more interested in showing you their new breakfast nook than anything else. Stick around, though; there’s fun in the mundane with the Sims.