In the Achievements window, the grayed-out entries represent achievements you haven’t earned yet. Time to get to work!
Want to work toward a specific goal? Then turn to the game’s numerous achievements. For the most part, SimCity is an open world gaming experience, allowing you to define and complete your own goals. Achievements are optional tasks with clearly defined criteria.
For example, the Medical Miracle achievement requires you to treat 200 Sims at a Hospital within a day. Achievements sometimes require you to play the game in counterintuitive ways that may not benefit your city or its residents. For Medical Miracle, it may be helpful to pollute your water source to produce the 200 sick Sims required to complete the achievement.
Other achievements are more easy to attain and occur naturally through gameplay by accumulating resources—you get the King Coal achievement for extracting 100,000 tons of coal. Playing to earn achievements adds an addictive element to the game, allowing for a more focused gameplay experience.
There’s also a competitive factor, since all achievements earned are shared on the CityLog, updating your friends on your latest successes.