The Hustler's Digest StaffLife is a complicated type of game that incorporates many activities in life. Throughout life, people choose among various aspects, and everybody wants to know how to deal with it. If you’ll figure out how much money you start with in life, keep reading.
Throughout the game of life, participants have to choose between going straight into a career or going for education and dealing with loans, buying homes or paying mortgages, and taxes, buying vehicles, stocks, and life events, including marriage, children, retirement, or, in some cases, divorces.
The game of life could be educational for kids and fun for adults. Although it is pretty simple, understanding the life rules takes time and vigilance due to the game’s complexity.
The game of life is one of the earliest and most enduring board games in the United States. The Milton Bradley company introduced the life game in 1860 and initially named it The Checkered Game of Life. However, the game still has the same premise, and players move around to step on different stages of life.
While going through different stages in the Game of Life, one may understand many things. It may include attending college, working, getting married, having kids, dealing with loans and taxes, and retiring with ample fortune in the bank.
Overview of the game of life
Initially created by Milton Bradley, The Checkered Game of Life is America’s first popular game. The game covers different paths of a person’s life, from college to jobs, marriage to retirement, and children along the way.
There are variations in the game that can accommodate eight to ten players. Although they invented it in 1860, the modern version came in 1960, after a hundred years. This time Toy and game designer Reuben Klamer created and co-designed it, and Art Linkletter heartily endorsed it.
This game is part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and part of the National Toy Hall of Fame. The famous match sold 45,000 of its copies the year it was invented.
The object in the game of life has to land in suitable spaces and collect 100 points. There is an ending point of happy old age that is opposite to infancy, where the player usually takes a start. Reaching a comfortable old age will add 50 extra points. They have published the game many times, and various new additions have flooded the market.
What is the game of life?
The game of life is an adventurous-filled journey for the players that one goes through throughout their lives. All the aspects of life, which include college, career, marriage, kids, retirement, and more, circulate the board.
Life is a family-type game that depicts the parallel activities in life. Throughout the game, players choose whether to join college or select a career over it, deal with stocks or loans, or with life events. It takes time to catch all the life rules. The attached 3D pieces on the board can make it different from other board games.
It is easy and recommended for eight plus, and the play length could be 45 minutes to one hour. The main objective of playing the game is to face all the ups and downs of life in trying to end up well with ample money.
People love the game of life most, as it does not matter how often you play; the results are always different and exciting. As the game of life has been revised and modernized so many times, it is available in various new auditions with a lot of fun. The latest versions of this game may include the following:
- The features of adopting pets.
- Disney theme parks.
- The game life junior is best for children five years old or up.
What one needs to play the game of life?
One must collect more money and life tile value to win this game. One can seek help from video tutorials and written explanations and win the game. The game of life box contains the following components:
- Game board
- Spinner
- 6 Plastic car pawns
- Three mountains
- Bridge
- Buildings
- Spin to win tokens (Spinners)
- Deck of 36 Cards
- Pegs
- Sack of Play Money
- Life Tiles
- Banker’s Tray
- Insurance policies and bank loan
- Game Guide including the game of life rules and instructions.
Setting up the area of life
Set up the game of life by opening the board while placing the cards, pegs, and money next to the board. Then sort the cards into facedown piles by house, career, college, and salary.
The life board has three-dimensional elements, including the spinner, raised roads, and buildings. All these things appropriately fit into the spaces on the board. Separate the bills into sets of $5,000, $10,000, $50,000, $100,000, and $500,000, and additional loans of $50,000.
Position all the bills near the board to use throughout the game while keeping the automobile and home insurance statements in their stack near the bank. Players will place a peg in the driving seat to represent themselves when they buy a car. During the spin-to-win edition, the player will get a token with the matching color of their vehicle.
Each player will collect $200,000 from the bank, but the choice is yours whether you choose college or a career. Place the car on board that follows your decision, and you follow arrows when moving through the game.
Before you start the game, ensure each piece is attached to the board in the correct spot. Mix up the life tiles and place four near the millionaire’s estate, and you should not know about the chosen life tiles. The rest of the tiles after these four are for draw piles.
Separate the rest of the card into four piles: a Salary pile, a House Deeds pile, a Career pile, and a Stocks pile. They face down to any edge of the board and follow the same pattern regarding insurance policies, bank loans, and automobile insurance policies. We will explain it in detail in setting up the game arena.
How to win the life?
To win the game of life, players must collect as many life tiles as possible and try to get the most money as the game ends. In other words, the competition aims to have the highest value of money and life tiles when they retire.
Game of life, life tiles
Life tile in the life game carries a dollar amount, and all the tiles one can count as a cash amount by the end of the game. Like various board games, several tiles on the board indicate something.
Whenever the car lands on any particular tile, one should know what that tile represents and what the next person is supposed to do. Life tiles grant you an additional life tile from the pool. If there is no tile in the pool, you have to take the life tile from the other player, who could be pretty advantageous.
How to set up the game?
Set the board by matching the letter on the bottom of each piece with the same note on the board. Separate the life cards into four piles:
- The Stock cards,
- The House Deed cards
- The Salary cards,
- The career cards
One must put all these piles on the board next to the Millionaire Estate building. Choose a car and add a person representing you. A banker’s bin money would be set up, separating the money by domination, insurance and loans, life tiles, and people peg. While the most important thing to know is how much money you start with in life, each player begins with $10,000 from the bank.
How to select a banker?
One player works as a banker during the game duration. They will organize the money and give each person $10,000. Bankers issue loans to players whenever they ask and count money to ensure everyone is playing fairly and there is no lying.
If someone wants to be a banker, they can do the job, but everyone must agree. The banker sets the board up with the game’s cards.
The game of life rules
Some fun choices while playing along make it appealing for the younger audience who feel like adults. Each player will begin while spinning with the spinner. The player with the highest number goes, and the play starts clockwise around the board.
The first player begins by spinning the spinners and moving their car that number of spaces on the board. Players are supposed to move forward on the game board if someone lands on the blue space; it’s on the player whether they follow instructions or not.
Players who land on an orange space must follow the instructions indicated in the play. At the same time, green areas on the board come with PayDay indicators. Every time players land on a Pay Day space, they collect their salary from the bank.
At the very first turn, one must decide whether to begin a career or go to college.
College
Before starting the game, players must choose whether to follow a college or a career. If the player is going to college, place the car in the college space and get a bank loan of $40,000 for college tuition. Spin and move your piece on another turn.
After a few turns, the player will reach the job search space. At this place, one has to stop and check whether they have moved left; you can take the help of Career Deck. Pick three random cards and choose any of them as a career. Repeat the process with the salary card and select one from the three cards.
Career
Suppose the player has selected the career path, like the top two cards from the career desk, and keeps one profession among them. Place the card in front of you as this job you will choose and go further with.
In the next step, one has to choose the salary card from the salary deck that will determine your income, but it also depends on the edition of the game. Salary payment can vary during games that rely on various board spaces and life cards. Even one can trade salary cards with another player. After you get your career and salary, you should spin the wheel to get another turn.
Stock card
One can choose between buying stocks or insurance or getting bank loans on each regular turn. Spin the wheel to take your turn; purchasing additional items is impossible.
Auto insurance
While purchasing auto insurance, the player has to pay the banker $10,000 at the beginning of the round and take one of the purple police. Insurance can protect your car from damage or theft.
Homeowner’s Insurance
If you own a home, purchase homeowner’s insurance with the amount listed on a specific home card at the beginning of the round. The player has to pay the amount to the banker and get one of the green policy slips of paper.
A player can buy homeowner insurance from the bank by paying the bank the amount listed on the house deed card.
Stocks
To purchase stock, one has to pay the banker $50,000 at the beginning of any round and then select the stock card from the deck. After owning the stock, the player gets an entitlement of $10,000 from the bank as they spin the number corresponding to the stock card.
Loans
The player can purchase bank loans that could be $20,000 and up. Pay off the loans and the $5,000 interest that comes with them before you retire and faces some debt that will lower the final scores.
Special tile colors
As you play the game, you encounter different tiles colors, each with a different meaning.
Green tiles
Green tiles are for your Pay Days; when the player passes or lands on these tiles, they must receive their salary from the bank.
Blue tiles
When the player gets into the blue tiles, they must follow the instructions on the space if they want to.
Orange tiles
Landing on the orange tiles means that the player has to choose to follow the given directions on the space.
Red tiles
Landing on red tiles means the player has to stop in space, whether you have moves left. One has to follow the instructions on the area and spin again. Red tiles usually contain special instructions for job search, getting married, or buying a home.
Red tiles are unique, and one needs to resolve them before moving on. After landing on a red tile, one must fix it first. You may need a spinner to determine the tile.
Various other spaces where a player can land on.
Apart from these colorful games of life, life tiles throughout the board and some other spaces need players to take specific actions.
Life tile spaces
Landing on life tile spaces will make you take one life tile from the pile. If no life tile is left, the player must get it from the other player.
Career spaces
If some player lands on career spaces, and someone else has their card, the landing player has to pay the existing player, as career spaces match the career cards. If anyone owns a career card, they will pay nothing. However, if no one owns the card, the player who lands on this space must pay the bank.
Buy a house spaces
If the player lands in the buy a house space, they must stop and purchase a house. Draw a card from house deed piles, then pay for the chosen House. The player has to pay the total amount, but if they do not have enough money, they need to take a loan from the bank.
Get married
Various other spaces require you to get married or have children. While landing on such areas, add pegs to your vehicles and follow the instructions. Additionally, one can get live tiles in one such space.
Retirement
As you reach the end of the game, you must try to retire at Millionaire Estate or Countryside acres to win the game. If someone retires at Millionaire Estate, the player can receive four additional Life tiles as you would be the wealthiest person to withdraw.
How do you win the game of life?
In the game of life, victory hinges on accumulating the most wealth. Players strive to repay loans, collect life tiles, and amass money. The ultimate winner emerges as the wealthiest when the last player retires.
At Millionaire Estate, coveted life tiles are vulnerable to other players. If a player lands on a living space and the life tile pile is empty, they risk losing tiles. Conversely, parking at Countryside Acres poses no such threat.
Opting to retire at Millionaire Estate grants players an additional four life tiles. Retiring there with the maximum number of life tiles ensures unparalleled wealth upon retirement.
Why is this game called ‘The game of Life’?
This game of life was initially designed to take players through random events in their life. Players are supposed to select a college or career, earn money, buy homes, and deal with the unexpected errands of life.
It may include investments, insurance, taxes, and other stocks. Therefore, one might be dealing with things as they mimic life events. Even the players must deal with expensive home repairs, accidental hits, etc. So copying lifetime events in real life, even making tough decisions such as getting married, having children, divorcing, or retiring, makes it a game of life.
What is a game of life junior rules?
The game of life is suitable for children as no objectionable content could be unsuitable for children of all ages. It can provide opportunities to the kids for educational stuff while understanding the real-life struggle for paying taxes and managing money and the importance of automobiles and home insurance.
Components for the junior game of life
- Gameboard
- Spinner and base
- Four tokens
- 96 cards
- 48 stars
- Instructions
Let’s start by separating the cards into 58 Action cards, 22 $1 Notes, 12 VIP tickets, and 4 Books of Adventure. After choosing the junior car, place it in the matching color ‘Start’ space. Get the same color as the book of adventure cards that matches the color of your vehicle. Each player needs the Book of Adventure.
Find the places on the game board that got you 3 VIP tickets, and by visiting the area, the players can get a bonus star. Moreover, one must pay a $1 note to get into some attractions. Choose the banker. And put all the action cards, stars, and remaining money facedown near the gameboard.
Gameplay
The oldest player will start the game, and it will continue clockwise. On each turn, every player has to spin the spinner while moving the car forward, following the arrows. If you land any attraction, then follow the instructions, and the next left player will spin now.
Action cards will allow you some stars or money, and some can even take it away. Keep the action cards in front of you. If you stop at an attraction, you must pay the entry fees to the bank unless it’s free. The next step is to put a star on your Book of Adventures.
Check VIP tickets; you can get a bonus star if you get any. One needs to stop at the attraction whether you have moves left. If you lack money to visit the attraction, you can not go in and will not get a star either. If you are the first player to reach ten stars, you are the winner.
Conclusion
In the game of life, each player begins with $10,000, with the option to add $40,000 by pursuing a college path over a career. The distribution of funds, handled by a chosen banker, involves allocating $10,000 to each player, a decision made collectively among the participants.
Winning the game involves accumulating wealth for retirement, with the ultimate victor determined by the highest net worth after settling all debts. The game concludes upon the retirement of the final player.
Life’s lessons, mirrored in the game, emphasize the unpredictability of outcomes despite strategic choices. Challenges such as securing desired salaries or possessions highlight the necessity of adherence to rules amidst uncertainty.
Success in the game, like life, demands meticulous execution of each step towards victory.
