The Game of Life

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The Game of Life

Current edition of The Game of Life
Designer Reuben Klamer
Publisher Milton Bradley Company
Players 2 to 6
Age range 9 to Adult
Setup time 15 minutes (approx.)
Playing time 60 minutes (approx.)
Rules complexity Low
Strategy depth Low
Random chance High (spinning a wheel, card-drawing, luck)
Skills required Counting
BoardGameGeek entry

The Game of Life is a board game originally created in 1861 by Milton Bradley as The Checkered Game of Life. The modern version was originally published in 1960 by the Milton Bradley Company (now a subsidiary of Hasbro). Two to six players can participate in one game; however, variations of the game have been made to accommodate a maximum of eight or ten players.

Contents

[edit] History

The Checkered Game of Life board
Enlarge
The Checkered Game of Life board

The game was originally created in 1861 by Milton Bradley as The Checkered Game of Life. This was the first game created by Bradley, a successful lithographer, whose major product was up til that time a portrait of Abraham Lincoln with a clean shaven face, which did not do very well once the subject grew his famous beard. The game sold 45,000 copies by the end of its first year. Like many games from the 19th century, it had a strong moral message, such as the The Mansion of Happiness by S.B. Ives in 1843.

Bradley's game did not include a die, but instead used a teetotum, a six sided top (dice were considered by many to be wicked items fit only for gamblers).

The game board is essentially a modified checkerboard. The object is to land on the good spaces and collect 100 points. You can gain 50 points toward your goal by reaching "Happy Old Age" in the far corner, opposite "Infancy" where you begin.

In 1960, the one hundredth anniversary of the game, the form of the game, now known as The Game of Life, was introduced, designed by Reuben Klamer. There were many re-publishings over the years, including 1866, 1959, 1961, 1978 and 1985.

[edit] Setup

The game consists of a track, on which players travel by spinning a small numbered wheel in the middle of the board. The board also contains small mountains, buildings, and other similar pieces, so the playing area does not appear flat. Playing pieces are small, colored plastic automobiles, and each pawn has six holes in the top in which "people pegs" are placed throughout the game as the player "gets married" and has or adopts "children".

Each game also includes a setup for a bank, which includes imitation money (in denominations ranging from $1,000 to $100,000), insurance policies (automobile, life, fire, and/or homeowners' insurance depending on the version), $20,000 promissory notes, and stock certificates. Other tangibles vary with the game version.

[edit] Gameplay

Each player begins the game by choosing a plastic car, in which he/she builds his/her "family" throughout the game. Each turn consists of spinning a wheel with spaces numbered 1 through 10, and obeying the instructions of the space landed on, which are almost always related to some "real-life event". Such scenarios include births, marriage, natural disasters, job promotions, the stock market, and finally retirement. Dispersed throughout the board are "Pay Day" spaces; every time a player lands on or passes one of these, he/she receives his/her "salary" which is determined during the early stages of the game. The method of determining one's salary varied with the game format throughout the years.

In all versions, any Promissory Notes accrued throughout the game must be paid back with interest - for every $20,000 note, $25,000 must be paid back to the bank to pay it off.

[edit] 1960s version

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The Game of Life copyrighted by the Milton Bradley company in 1963 had some interesting differences from later versions. For one, once you reached the Day of Reckoning you could end up at the "Poor Farm" (not a politically correct term today) or you could become a Millionaire Tycoon and move on to Millionaire Acres. For some reason later versions renamed this Millionaire Estates; a fact unknown by the millions of new players every year.

This version had Art Linkletter as the spokesman and included his picture on the cover of the box and on the 100,000 bills. It was advertised as a "Milton Bradley 100th Anniversary Game" and as "A Full 3-D Action Game."

[edit] 1970s/1980s version

About halfway through the production of this version, the dollar values were increased by approximately double (possibly to reflect inflation). This description will focus on the later version with the larger dollar amounts.

[edit] Salaries

To determine one's salary, a player could travel one of two routes at the beginning of the game. The shorter route was entitled Business and resulted in the player receiving a set salary of $12,000 per Pay Day. The longer route was entitled College and could earn the player anywhere between $10,000 and $50,000 per Pay Day. Both of these initial routes joined back together at the first Pay Day.

[edit] Types of spaces

Most of the spaces on the game board were various shades of yellow and orange; the instructions on these spaces were only followed if they were landed on. The "Pay Day" spaces, and a few others, were red (including "Taxes Due" in which the player had to pay half of his salary to the bank); any red space impacted the player regardless if they landed on or passed such space. Also in the game were a handful of white spaces; landing on or passing one of these resulted in the player being given the choice whether or not to follow the instructions. Examples of these spaces included deciding whether or not to buy insurance or stock.

[edit] "Share the Wealth" cards

Distributed with this game were a number of "Share the Wealth" cards which were earned throughout the course of the game. There were three types: Collect, Pay, and Exemption, and they were used as follows:

  • If a player landed on a space in which he collected money from the bank, or received a Pay Day, an opponent with a Collect card could steal half the collected money from that player.
  • If a player landed on a space in which he had to pay money from the bank, or had to pay Taxes, he could present a Pay card to an opponent, who immediately had to pay half of that player's penalty.
  • If a player had an Exemption Card, he could cancel out a Share the Wealth card levied against him; both cards were then removed from the game.

[edit] Life Events

Upon adding a member to the family (getting married, having children, etc.) the player "collected presents" by spinning the wheel and collecting $1,000 times the number spun from each of the opposing players. If the player had twins or adopted two children, the amount was doubled. A house cost a flat $40,000, and buying one was one of the red spaces (i.e. all players had to buy a house at the time they landed on or passed this space.)

[edit] Insurance and Stock

In this version, the three insurance policies (automobile, life, and fire) prevented the player from being affected by a number of "tragedy" spaces throughout the board (house fires, car wrecks, etc.) which cost the player a significant amount of money if he/she landed on it if not insured. Buying life insurance activated certain spaces which awarded dividends if landed on.

The Stock certificate played a much more important (and realistic) role in this version than in later versions. Purchasing a Stock certificate cost $50,000; however, many of the high-payout spaces (such as "striking oil" with its $480,000 payout, the largest on the board) were only active if the player owned stock. In addition, a couple of white spaces allowed the player the opportunity to "play the market" if he so desired, in a game similar to the Lucky Day space (explained below). If the bearer landed on a space indicating a rise in stock prices, the player collected money accordingly, and if he/she landed on a "stock prices drop" space, he likewise lost money.

[edit] Lucky Day

Several of the spaces were marked "Lucky Day"; if the player landed on a Lucky Day, he/she immediately received $20,000 (paid with two $10,000 bills.) The player could keep the money or gamble it for the chance to turn it into $100,000. To gamble, the player placed each of the $10,000 bills on one of the numbers printed on a large "number strip" provided with the game, and spun the wheel. If it landed on an empty number, the player lost the $20,000; however, if it landed on a number on which he placed a $10,000 bill, he/she was given $100,000.

[edit] Retirement

When a player reached the end of the game, he could retire to the "Millionaire" space if he thought he had the most money. In normal circumstances, all players would retire here after reaching the end of the game, at which point they would count their money. The player with the most money won the game.

If a player felt like he was trailing severely at the point he retired, he could make one final gamble in an attempt to become the "Millionaire Tycoon". He selected one number on the number strip, and placed his car here. He spun the wheel; if the number was anything but the one he selected, he was banished to the "Bankrupt" space and lost the game. If, however, he landed on the number he previously chose, he became the Millionaire Tycoon and automatically won the game.

[edit] 1992 Version

The Game of Life was updated in 1992 to reward players for "good" behavior, such as recycling trash and helping the homeless (spaces which cost players a good deal of money in previous versions.) The 1992 version of the game proceeds as follows:

[edit] Careers and Salaries

There are still two routes at the beginning of the game, now labeled Career and College. Selecting the College route now places the player in debt from the very start; however, the probability of landing a better job and a higher salary is much better than selecting the Career route. At the shared end of both paths, the player's career and salary are decided by chance. A Career Card (with such occupations as a teacher, police officer, athlete, and travel agent), as well as a Salary Card (ranging in $10,000 increments between $20,000 and $100,000) are selected, as outlined below.

If a player chooses Career, he takes the shorter path; at the end, he selects one occupation card and one salary card. If the selected Career card says "Degree Required", he must draw another Career Card. The player continues the game with that specific career and salary unless another event affects him.

If a player chooses College, he must immediately take two Promissory Notes from the bank for tuition, and must take the longer path (which in this game is also more "dangerous" than the Career path.) However, at the end, he selects three Career cards and three Salary cards, and may choose one from each set after looking at them.

[edit] Types of spaces

As in the 1980s version, most of the spaces on the game board are yellow, and their instructions are only followed if they are landed on. The "Pay Day" spaces are green and impact the player when landed on or passed. Red spaces now always signify a major life event (e.g. graduation, marriage, buying a house, retirement), and must be stopped on even if the spin is greater than the number needed to land on them. The "decision" spaces are now blue, and if landed on, the player can choose to follow them or do nothing. "Taxes Due" is now a normal yellow space, and is also only active if landed on.

[edit] Occupation spaces

Most of the spaces requiring the player to pay money to the bank have a symbol next to them, each of which corresponds to that on one of the career cards. If any opponent has that career card, the money is paid to that opponent instead of the bank; if the player himself has that career, he does not have to pay anything.

[edit] Special "Police Officer" rule

There is only one space on the board that will award the Police Officer money from another player; this is due to a special rule regarding this career. If any player spins 10 while an opponent is the Police Officer, that opponent may collect a $5,000 "fine" from the spinning player for "speeding".

[edit] LIFE Tiles

A major change to the game in this version is the collection of "LIFE Tiles" as one progresses through the game. Every time a player lands on a space marked with the LIFE logo, he/she collects a LIFE tile. (These also replace the previous "collecting presents" rule.) On each of these tiles is a major life event (e.g. climbing Mt. Everest, curing the common cold, building a better mousetrap, etc.). Each of these tiles bears an amount from $50,000 to $250,000. The tiles are not revealed until all players have "retired", at which point they are flipped over and their total is added to the player's money total.

If at any time the draw pile of LIFE Tiles is depleted, a player may steal one from any active player remaining in the game, or certain "retired" players (see Retirement section below.)

[edit] Buying a house

One of the red spaces in the game is buying a house; at this point in the game, the player must immediately draw one House Deed and pay to the bank whatever that house costs (ranging from a $200,000 Victorian mansion to a $40,000 "split-level" shack.) At this time (or later in the game at any point) he may also buy homeowners' insurance for a price listed on the house deed.

[edit] Insurance and Stock

In this version, there are two insurance policies (automobile and homeowners') that prevent the player from being affected by a number of "tragedy" spaces throughout the board. Purchasing a Stock certificate still costs $50,000; however, its role is very limited in this series. Upon purchasing stock, the player chooses a stock card numbered between 1 and 9; from that point, any time any player spins that number, the stockholder collects $10,000 from the bank. A player may only hold one stock card at a time unless he hits a space marked "Stock Market Zooms", at which point he selects another stock card free of charge; likewise, "Stock Market Slumps" costs the stockholder one stock card.

[edit] Retirement

When a player reaches the end of the game, he may choose two options to "retire". He may place his car at Millionaire Estates (largely unchanged from the previous version), or he may retire at Countryside Acres (previously the "Bankrupt" space.) Each has its benefits and risks.

If a player thinks he will end the game with the most cash, his best option is to retire at Millionaire Estates. Four LIFE Tiles are placed here before the start of the game. After all players have finished the game, they count their cash on hand; whoever has the most cash receives these four tiles (in the rare occurrence of a tie, they are split.) However, if other players are still playing the game and the LIFE Tile draw pile is empty, these players may still steal tiles from anyone retired at this space.

If a player is not confident in his amount of cash on hand, he may retire to Countryside Acres. By retiring here, he/she automatically collects one LIFE tile, and no other players can steal tiles from him/her for the remainder of the game.

After all players have retired, the amounts on the LIFE Tiles are revealed, and whoever has the most money (cash on hand added to the combined total of one's LIFE Tiles) is the winner.

[edit] CD-ROM version

In 1998, a CD-ROM version of the game was produced by Hasbro which added computerized animations and short animations to the game. An option was also given for players to compete in games over the Internet.

Two versions of the game were offered on the CD-ROM. The Classic game followed the rules of the current board game. An Enhanced Game was also offered - this version replaced the LIFE Tiles with "Life's Little Games" (simple arcade-type games which offered the player a chance to win bonus money.) Several features of the 1980s version, such as "collecting presents" for marriage and kids and exacting "Revenge" on other players, were also resurrected for this version of the game. Also, the routine for retiring changed. Retired players still spun the wheel on their turn, this time to gain or lose money. The difference between Countryside Acrea and Millionaire Estates is that the former only had one space in which the player could lose money, but the payouts were lower. The latter offered bigger payouts, but also had more numerous and severe penalty spaces, thus adding more risk to retiring here. This changed retiring strategy quite a bit, making come-from-behind victories possible if Millionaire Estate retirees' luck turned for the worse. The $10,000 bonus to the artist mysteriously disappeared in the CD-ROM game, despite the fact that the bonus to the police officer remained intact.

In the Enhanced game, when a player landed on a space that would ordinarily award them a Life tile, they instead spun the wheel. Random items were assigned to each space, being either a cash amount or one of Life's Little Games. The exception was 10, which allowed the player to spin again and multiplied the player's winnings from whatever they landed on. The space started at Double, and the multiplier increased by one for each successive spin of 10.

The values used in Life's Little Games were typically $5,000, $10,000, $25,000, $50,000, $75,000, and $100,000.

[edit] Safe Cracker

The player has four tries to reveal as high an amount as possible. If satisfied that (s)he cannot achieve a higher amount with any remaining attempts, the player clicks DONE and all remaining boxes are revealed.

[edit] Up or Down

There is one of each denomination from $5 K to $100 K. There is also one of each denomination in the negative, which subtracts this amount from a player's potential gain (and is painted the complementary color). A player can choose as many spots as seen fit and stop at any time by clicking the DONE box.

[edit] Get a Life

All letters in the word L-I-F-E must be uncovered in six clicks or fewer. Every letter appears alone in three different spots on the grid, in the form and colors of the Life ident. If the word is revealed in four clicks, the player gains $100 K. In five clicks, the gain is $75 K. In six, it is $50 K.

[edit] Treasure Chest

There are two of each denomination from $5 K to $100 K. The player has six tries to reveal two identical amounts. The game ends upon a match or exhausting all six turns.

[edit] Skunk Money

There are no $75 K or $100 K spots on this board. One spot is worth $50 K; two are worth $20 K; six are worth $10 K. One spot reads DOUBLE YOUR WINNINGS and thus doubles the potential amount. The other two spots contain a skunk. If a skunk is uncovered, the game ends and no money is gained. A player can stop at any time by clicking the DONE box.

[edit] Cannonball

There are two of each denomination from $5 K to $100 K. Like Treasure Chest, the idea is to uncover two spots containing the same denomination. Unlike Treasure Chest, a player can keep whatever amounts are matched in a single turn. In this take on the Memory Game, the player has four tries and therefore eight clicks to get as many matches as possible.

[edit] Crane Dump

Only included in the PC version, this game involved a player moving a crane left or right on top of a game board very similar to Plinko from The Price is Right. When the player was satisfied with the crane's position, they dropped the ball into the board, where it would land in a slot on the bottom. The slots were labeled with money amounts ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. After six balls, the total winnings were tallied and awarded to the player.

[edit] Trash Can

Another PC exclusive, this game was essentially the converse of Crane Dump. It involved the player moving a white bucket between the slots of Crane Dump. When they were satisfied with the bucket's position, they dropped the ball from the crane above (the crane in this game was stationary) in hopes that it would land in the bucket. The player was allotted six balls; each ball that successfully landed in the bucket awarded the player $50,000, making the maximum possible winnings $300,000.

[edit] Current Version

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An updated version of the game's 1992 format was released in 2005 with a few gameplay changes. One of the most notable is the decreased value of the LIFE tiles (now only worth between $10,000 and $50,000), possibly due to their causing too large of a swing at the end of the game. In addition, spins of the wheel affect how much items such as homeowner's insurance will cost the player. If any player spins 10 while an opponent is the Police Officer, that opponent may collect a $10,000 "fine" from the spinning player for "speeding", two times more than the older version.

[edit] Notes

The game was endorsed by Art Linkletter in the 1960s. It is now part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. It spawned a book, The Game of Life: How to Succeed in Real Life No Matter Where You Land (Running Press), by Lou Harry.

[edit] Other Versions

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