Another major expansion pack has debuted, and while the wait for the next one had just started a few weeks back, people are still opening their iOS or Android devices and playing BitLife toward the end of the week/early on in the new week because of its sheer replayability. Just when you might have thought you’ve done it all, developer Candywriter should never be counted out when it comes to these weekly events — they’ve proven there’s always more than a few ways to keep the five-year-old title interesting.
This week’s BitLife challenge is a comparatively easy one with classic mechanics and what doesn’t seem like a real-life basis for the theme. But while the Guilty Grandpa Challenge is nowhere near as difficult as some others we tried to complete in 2024 thus far, it requires you to play through a lot of your character’s years, as most of the requirements can only be completed after the age of 60.
After all, the second word of the challenge’s name is “Grandpa,” so the bulk of what happens in this challenge happens in your older age. The said, we suggest reading on and checking out this week’s BitLife mini-strategy guide — whether you’re trying to beat the challenge’s deadline or complete it after the fact via the Challenge Vault, we’ve got you covered with the Guilty Grandpa Challenge and how to complete it as quickly as possible.
Choose Crime as a Special Talent, But Stay Clean Till Age 60 and Avoid Unpaid OT
This should probably go without saying, but when creating a character for the Guilty Grandpa Challenge, you should make sure he has Crime set as his Special Talent — this will make things much easier when your character reaches old age and begins his crime spree. But aside from that, there’s nothing to it when creating your character — just be sure that they’re male and that they’re born in one of the cities in Texas available in BitLife. (That would include Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio.)
It is very important to take note of the second requirement, which, just like your birth city (assuming you chose one of the above cities), is automatically checked after you create your character. That requirement states you should not commit a crime by age 60, and that means anything that you can get arrested for.
Even fighting back against bullies or picking fights at a bar would count as a crime, and while we didn’t try it out for ourselves, we’d advise staying away from illegal drugs as well if you go clubbing. It’s still a crime even if you don’t get arrested, so to err on the side of caution, be on your best behavior until age 60, and if the random dialog boxes ask you about something you aren’t sure of, it’s better safe than sorry — you might not realize that you’re actually committing a crime!
Also, you’ll want to avoid taking on too many extra hours at work — overworking yourself with no extra pay (as those pesky supervisors often demand) can increase your Stress and negatively impact your health! Remember that you should live up until your 80s at least in order to complete this challenge.
Get Caught for a Minor Crime, Then Pick Fights with “Saner” Inmates
The fun, so to say, in the Guilty Grandpa Challenge starts when you turn 60, so once you reach that age (but not before you turn 70), you’ll want to commit any relatively minor crime that could get you thrown behind bars. That would include getting caught for burglary or bank robbery, but obviously, you wouldn’t want to commit murder or any other serious crime, as that could get you the death penalty, and that’s something you can’t risk in this challenge.
Once you’re arrested, cooperate with the cops, choose the Public Defender, and plead guilty to your crime — this will give you a shorter sentence, but you will definitely be jailed if you do so. After you’re jailed, you can visit the Prison Yard and pick fights with other inmates, but make sure you view their profiles first — inmates with higher Craziness than others are more likely to react more violently, thus taking a larger chunk out of your health when they fight back.
Also keep in mind that choosing Crime as a Special Talent gives you a chance of killing your opponent in a fight, so stick with moves that may do the most damage, e.g. punches to the skull or to the groin, as these can be fatal in the BitLife universe.
Watch a Video to Escape from Jail if Your Sentence is Too Long
While you can choose to serve your entire sentence in jail/prison, keep in mind that being locked up is a surefire way to develop depression, and that could take its toll on your health and possibly kill you off before you can even move on to the rest of the Guilty Grandpa Challenge. As such, we would suggest escaping from the clink if your Health is too low (on account of your fighting and possible battles with depression/anxiety) and you’ve still got more than a few years remaining to serve.
Rather than watch videos or check out walkthroughs on how to escape, simply opt to watch the ad video so you can borrow a guard’s uniform and escape without getting caught — these videos tend to take longer nowadays, but all you need to do is sit through them so you can go on the run without fear of getting recaptured.
Pickpocket Anybody You See, But Choose Cheaper Cars to Steal
At the age of 70, you can start pickpocketing NPCs in the BitLife universe, and you’ll need to successfully get some money each time you pick someone’s pockets — specifically, you need to do this ten times after age 70. It doesn’t seem to matter which people you’re targeting — regardless of their occupation and/or physical handicap (yes, even the infamous blind man), there’s a solid chance they will run after you’ve picked your seventh pocket. Just be patient here and move on to another random target if your original one runs away.
Lastly, you’ll need to steal at least five cars after the age of 80. Even with Crime as your Special Talent, the risk of getting caught remains, especially if you’re trying to drive away with a sports car or a luxury vehicle. That means you should, as much as possible, stick to more affordable vehicles like compact or sub-compact cars — a Toyota Prius will always be easier to steal than a Porsche or a Ferrari.
After you’ve stolen your fifth car, you should be good to go and ready to be credited with completing the Guilty Grandpa Challenge — as always, you can open one of the four prize chests and unlock new eyewear or a new hat at random!