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The Game of Life

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This article is about the board game. For the cellular automaton, see Conway's Game of Life. For the Arsonists Get All the Girls album, see The Game of Life (album).
The Game of Life
DesignersReuben Klamer
PublishersMilton Bradley Company
Players2 to 6
Setup time10 minutes (approx.)
Playing time30-45 minutes (approx.)
ChanceHigh (spinning a wheel, card-drawing, luck)
Age range9 to Adult
SkillsCounting, reading

The Game of Life, also known simply as LIFE, is a board game originally created in 1860 by Milton Bradley, as The Checkered Game of Life. The game simulates a person's travels through his or her life, from college to retirement, with jobs, marriage, and possible children along the way. 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. The modern version was originally published 100 years later, in 1960 (then "heartily endorsed" by Art Linkletter, with a circular picture of him on the box) also by the Milton Bradley Company (now a subsidiary of Hasbro).

History

The Checkered Game of Life board

The game was originally created in 1860 by Milton Bradley as The Checkered Game of Life. This was the first game created by Bradley, a successful lithographer, whose major product until that time was a portrait of Abraham Lincoln with a clean-shaven face, which did not do 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, such as The Mansion of Happiness by S.B. Ives in 1843, it had a strong moral message.[1]

Bradley's game did not include a die, instead using a teetotum, a six-sided top (dice were considered too similar to gambling).

The game board was essentially a modified checkerboard. The object was to land on the "good" spaces and collect 100 points. A player could gain 50 points by reaching "Happy Old Age" in the upper-right corner, opposite "Infancy" where one began.

In 1960, the 100th anniversary of The Checkered Game of Life, the first modern version of The Game of Life, was introduced, designed by Reuben Klamer. There were many re-publishings over the years, including (1959?), 1961, 1966, 1978, 1985, 1992, 2000, and 2005.

Setup

The modern game consists of a track on which players travel by spinning a small wheel with spaces numbered 1 through 10 located in the middle of the board. The board also contains small mountains, buildings, and other three-dimensional objects. Playing pieces are small, colored, plastic automobiles which come in red, blue, white, yellow, orange, and green; each car has six holes in the top in which blue and/or pink "people pegs" are placed throughout the game as the player "gets married" and has or adopts "children". Some "early modern" editions have eight automobiles.

Each game also includes a setup for a bank, which includes play money (in denominations of $1,000, $5,000, $10,000, $20,000, $50,000, and $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.

1960s version

The Game of Life, copyrighted by the Milton Bradley Company in 1963, had some differences from later versions. For example, once a player reached the Day of Reckoning, s/he could end up at the "Poor Farm", or become a Millionaire Tycoon, moving on to Millionaire Acres.

This version had Art Linkletter as the spokesman, included his likeness on the $100,000 bills (with his name displayed on the bills as "Arthur Linkletter Esq.") and a rousing endorsement from Linkletter on the cover of the box. It was advertised as a "Milton Bradley 100th Anniversary Game" and as "A Full 3-D Action Game."

Salaries

To determine one's salary, a player could travel one of two routes at the beginning of the game. The shorter route was called Business and resulted in the player receiving a salary of $5,000 per Pay Day space. The longer route was College and earned the player from $6,000 to $20,000 per Pay Day. These routes remerged at the first Pay Day.

1970s/1980s version

About halfway through the production of this version, many dollar values doubled (possibly to reflect inflation). This description focuses on the later version with the larger dollar amounts. The late 1980s version also replaced the familiar convertibles from earlier versions with Chrysler-esque minivans. Early 1960s-era convertibles were still used in the 1978 edition sets.

Salaries

To determine one's salary, a player could travel one of two routes at the beginning of the game, similar to the 1960s version. The shorter route was Business and resulted in the player receiving a salary of $20,000 per Pay Day. The longer route was College, earning the player $20,000 to $50,000 per Pay Day. As before, both routes merged at the first Pay Day.

"Share the Wealth" cards

The Game of Life included "Share the Wealth" cards. Each player began with one, earning a card if "Pay Day" was reached by exact count. There were three types of cards: Collect, Pay, and Exemption, and they were used as follows:

  • If a player landed on a space where money was collected from the bank, (including a Pay Day space), an opponent with a Collect card could steal half the money collected via that space from the player who landed there.
  • If a player landed on a space in which money was paid to the bank (including for Taxes), that player could present a Pay card to an opponent, who immediately had to pay half of the first player's penalty to that player.
  • If a player had an Exemption Card used against them, a Share the Wealth card levied was canceled out; both cards were then removed from the game.

Life Events

Upon adding a member to the family (getting married, having children, etc.) the player "collected presents" from all opponents. At marriage, this amount was determined by spinning the wheel: spinning 1, 2, or 3 was worth $2,000 per opponent; 4, 5, or 6 was worth $1,000; 7 through 10 earned nothing. In the case of children, the player was awarded $1,000 per child. A house cost $40,000; all players had to buy a house when landing on or passing the appropriate space.

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 landed on without being insured. Buying life insurance activated certain spaces which awarded dividends if landed on. Automobile and fire insurance could be lost permanently if the player landed on a "careless" or "reckless driver" space. (At least one version of The Game of Life used the misspelling "Wreckless" here). Life insurance had the possibility of "maturing" with large financial gains if a person holding a policy landed on the corresponding space.

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) 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 or she 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 they landed on a "stock prices drop" space, they likewise lost money.

Lucky Day

Several of the spaces were marked "Lucky Day"; if the player landed on a Lucky Day they 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 $300,000. 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 with a $10,000 bill, the player was given $300,000.

Retirement

When a player reached the end of the game they could retire to the "Millionaire" space if they thought they had the most money. In some 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 was trailing near the end of the road they could make one final gamble in an attempt to become the "Millionaire Tycoon". The player selected one number on the number strip and placed their car on it. Upon spinning the wheel, 9 of the 10 numbers forced the player to move to the "Bankrupt" space, losing the game and forfeiting all money. However, if the correct number was selected, the player became the Millionaire Tycoon and automatically won the game.

1991 version

The Game of Life was updated in 1991 to reward players for "good" behavior, such as recycling trash and helping the homeless. The 1992 version of the game proceeds as follows:

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. If the person lands on a "trade a salary card" space, the player had the option of "trading up". 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 from $20,000 to $100,000) are selected, as outlined below. The Police Officer has an additional bonus to it; that player automatically receives $5,000 from any player that spins a 10.

If a player chooses Career, the shorter path is taken. At its end, one occupation card and one salary card are chosen. If the selected Career card says "Degree Required", another Career Card must be drawn. The player continues the game with that specific career and salary unless another event affects the player.

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

Types of spaces

As in the 1980s version, most of the spaces on the game board are orange 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 over. 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 orange space and is also only active if landed on.

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, no money is paid.

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 they collect a LIFE tile, (a small rectangular game piece with the "LIFE" logo on one side and an event on the other along with a sum of money collected from this accomplishment). (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).

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). From then on, homeowners' insurance may be purchased for a price listed on the house deed. Also, when you spin, you get the amount of money that the house deed shows for the number spinned.

Insurance and stock

In this version, there are two insurance policies (automobile and home owners') 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 landing on a space marked "Stock Market Zooms", at which point a free stock card is chosen. Likewise, "Stock Market Slumps" costs the stockholder one stock card. Each number has only one stock and will not be available to others as they are being purchased.

Retirement

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

If a player thinks he or she will end the game with the most cash, the 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 the amount of cash on hand, they may retire to Countryside Acres. By retiring here, they collect one LIFE tile and no other players can steal tiles from him/her for the remainder of the game. As before, retiring here means the player forfeits all remaining cash on hand.

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 + house value) is the winner.

CD-ROM version

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

Several features of the 1980s version were also resurrected for this version of the game, such as "collecting presents" for marriage and kids (one spin at $2,000 times spin for marriage, one spin at $1,000 times spin for a child, two spins at $1,000 per spin for twins) and exacting "Revenge" on other players (If one landed on a Pay Day space, one would take an amount of money equal to one's salary from a player spun the wheel on their turn, this time to gain or lose money. The difference between Countryside Acres 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 retires' luck turned for the worse:

Number spun Countryside Acres Millionaire Estates
1 -$5,000 -$25,000
2 $5,000 $25,000
3 $10,000 -$50,000
4 $15,000 $50,000
5 $20,000 -$75,000
6 $25,000 $75,000
7 $30,000 -$100,000
8 $35,000 $100,000
9 $40,000 -$150,000
10 $45,000 $200,000

Life's Little Games

Different 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 which replaced the LIFE Tiles with "Life's Little Games" (simple arcade type games which offered the player a chance to win bonus money). 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 the games. One exception was spinning 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 other exception was spinning 5, which was marked "Revenge" and gave the player another spin, but not before choosing one opponent from whom to take one's winnings from the game (or presumably give to, if the player finished with a negative score in Up or Down). Players retired at Countryside Acres are immune from being selected for revenge.

The values used in "Life's Little Games" were typically $5,000, $10,000, $25,000, $50,000, $75,000, and $100,000. Regardless of whether a player clicks DONE, exhausts all turns, or (in the case of Skunk Money) loses the accumulated winnings, all boxes are revealed before the next player spins.

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.

Up or Down

There is one of each denomination from $5,000 to $100,000. 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.

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, position, and colors of the Life ident. If the word is revealed in four clicks, the player gains $100,000. In five clicks, the gain is $75,000. In six, it is $50,000. During the course of this game, a corner display, again in the form of the LIFE ident, keeps track of the player's progress by indicating which letters have and have not yet been uncovered.

Treasure Chest

There are two of each denomination from $5,000 to $100,000. The player has six tries to reveal two identical amounts. The game ends upon a match or exhausting all six turns.

Skunk Money

There are no $75,000 or $100,000 spots on this board. One spot is worth $50,000; two are worth $20,000; six are worth $10,000. 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.

Cannonball

There are two of each denomination from $5,000 to $100,000. Like Treasure Chest, the idea is to uncover two spots containing the same denomination. Unlike Treasure Chest, a player can achieve more than one match over the course of the game. In this take on the Memory Game, the player has four tries and therefore eight clicks to get as many matches as possible.

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. No more than one ball at a time could occupy a slot. If a second ball did land in a slot, both balls would be destroyed, leaving the slot empty. After six balls, the total winnings were tallied and awarded to the player. The player could also stop early by clicking the "stop" button.

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.

2000 (40th anniversary) edition

A 40th anniversary edition was released in 2000. The biggest change to this game was the replacement of the Travel Agent with a Computer Consultant and changes to corresponding career spaces.

2005 edition

An updated version of the game's 1992 format was released in 2005 with a few gameplay changes. The new Game of Life was more realistic and tried to add in extra elements to reduce chance, although it is still primarily chance based and still rewards players for taking risks.

Starting college

In the 1992 version one who started college would receive $40,000 in debt. The current version places such a player $100,000 in debt. One still receives the same benefits for starting college as in the 1992 version.

Career renovations

Players can only get the lower salary cards for a starting wage. Special attributes were also added to the careers.

Jobs in Life

  • Doctor: degree required. The doctor is the only person capable of getting the yellow salary card without luck/wasting tiles.
  • Computer Consultant: Any time the spinner stops between numbers or comes off the track, collect $50,000 to fix it.
  • Artist: Collect $10,000 from a player who buys the artist's art (spins a 1).
  • Salesperson: Collect $5,000 when another player buys stock or insurance.
  • Athlete: This player may trade in 4 life tiles to get the yellow salary card ($100,000).
  • Accountant: Degree required. The accountant collects taxes.
  • Teacher: This player may draw a career card after all players have a job resulting in extra benefits but not an extra salary.
  • Entertainer: If two 8s, 9s, 10s, are spun in a row, this player replaces his or her salary card with the yellow salary card ($100,000) if necessary.
  • Police Officer: Collect $10,000 from any opponent who speeds (spins a 10).
  • All jobs have a circle label. If a person lands on a space with this label on it, all money goes to the player that holds that job.

Selling one's house

There is an addition of a new space where a player can sell his house. The sale price of one's house is determined by multiplying (or dividing) the original price of the house by an amount determined by spinning the wheel (similar to the enhanced game on the CD-ROM). If a low number is spun, the player loses profit, a mid-range number breaks even and a high number nets a tremendous profit. If one sells his house in this manner, another house is bought and the process is repeated (without option) at the end of the game.

LIFE tile reductions

In the 1992 version the LIFE tiles ranged in value from $50,000 to $250,000. This often changed the outcome of the game as it made it possible for the poorest person in the game to win right at the end when they were redeemed. To alleviate this problem, the LIFE tiles have been reduced in value down to a range between $10,000 and $50,000.

Current version

Yet another version of the game was released in 2007 with a few more gameplay changes. The primary change is that all of the jobs except the Police Officer lost their special abilities. Other changes include a return in Share the Wealth cards, the Lucky Spin and withdrawing insurance policies. There are many more stop spaces, with choices similar to Twists and Turns. Also, once retired, players can not be sued or otherwise penalized. However, they may collect on their long-term Investment card. Then the spinner decal was reversed and remade.

Jobs in Life

No Degree Required

  • Salesperson: Salary $20–50,000; taxes $5,000
  • Hair Stylist: Salary $30–60,000; taxes $10,000
  • Mechanic: Salary $30–60,000; taxes $10,000
  • Police Officer: Salary $40–70,000; taxes $15,000; collect $5,000 from anyone spinning a 10
  • Entertainer: Salary $50,000 (no max); taxes $20,000
  • Athlete: Salary $60,000 (no max); taxes $25,000

Degree Required

  • Teacher: Salary $40–70,000; taxes $15,000
  • Computer Designer: Salary $50–80,000; taxes $20,000
  • Accountant: Salary $70–110,000; taxes $30,000
  • Veterinarian: Salary $80–120,000; taxes $35,000
  • Lawyer: Salary $90,000 (no max); taxes $40,000
  • Doctor: Salary $100,000 (no max); taxes $45,000

2010 (50th anniversary edition)

This edition has similar rules to the 2007 version, with the addition of gold bridges and spinner. There are also 5 different-colored coins in this edition. Then the spinner decal returned normal.

Television Game Show

The "Game of Life" is slated to be adapted for television in 2011 and will air on The Hub cable channel, which is a is a joint venture of Discovery Communications, Inc. and Hasbro.

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.
  • The highest sum of money that a player can earn in the current "Game of Life" is $3,115,000 and can only be achieved if the player lands on all of the spaces that give money and has the highest possible salary.
  • In the current version it is possible to become a grandparent without having had or adopted kids.
  • A player holding stock receives pay anytime the appropriate number is spun, including spins for home resale value.

Criticism

Some critics have noted that luck plays too large a role in determining the winner of the game, with Life Cards, which are essentially random, being the prime determinant of the winner. Aspects of the game where a user has to make a decision, such as attending college or purchasing insurance, have a very small effect in the outcome.[2]

Other versions

  • The post apocalyptic Anime series Desert Punk has a character who became rich by discovering and reprinting the Game of Life.
  • In the R.E.M. song "Man on the Moon", The Game of Life is mentioned along with other board games.
  • In the episode of the television show South Park entitled "The Death of Eric Cartman" during season 9 of the series, the children can be seen playing a game called "LIVING," which is an obvious cameo appearance of the game.
  • It appeared on the That '70s Show season two episode, "Kitty and Eric's Night Out".
  • Adult Swim's Robot Chicken sketch, involving a blue and pink peg. As the segment goes on it gradually turns to dark humor, as the pink peg gets rejected from college (every time before the event happens, you hear the faint rush of a spinner going in the background), has to have sexual intercourse with her boss to keep her job, gets a positive pregnancy test, has four girls, her husband turns alcoholic, they have a spat, and she shoots him, the police arrive and she aims the gun at the camera and insults the spinner. Throughout it, the 'da da da-da in the game of life!' tv jingle with new lyrics says things like 'sex for favors in the game of life' and 'kill your husband in the game of life.'
  • During the end of 2010 and beginning of 2011, the game stared in Neighbours, Jade Mitchell and Jarrod (Toadie) Rebecchi, loved to play the game and became competitive with it.

See also

References

  1. ^ Lepore, Jill. The Meaning of Life "The New Yorker," May 21, 2007.
  2. ^ Hofer, Margaret (2003). The Games We Played: The Golden Age of Board and Table Games. p. 276.
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