... The Game of Life can be played by 2-6 players, which was ideal and the recommended age is eight to adult. Well, she’s only four months off being eight, so I bid for it and eventually won.
There was also a nostalgic edge to my purchase. When I was around eleven, my best friend Anita ... Read review
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In DA GAME OF LIFE, Snoop Dogg plays Smooth, a man with the skills to make his dreams come ... more
true. The house, the cars, the beautiful wife, he lives in a world of excess where loyalty is tied to the mighty dollar and where trust is as unpredictable as a roll of the dice. If you're going to play the game, you better play to win.
Advantages: Fun, family game, entertaining Disadvantages: Complicated, tiny pieces, quite hard to find
...interest all of us. The Game of Life can be played by 2-6 players, which was ideal and the recommended age is eight to adult. Well, she’s only four months off being eight, so I bid for it and eventually won.
There was also a nostalgic edge to my purchase. When I was around eleven, my best friend Anita had this game and I used to play it at her house and enjoyed it. It was one of those things that went on my ‘wants list’ ... ...good idea to keep this game somewhere out of reach, if you have young children or the sort who can’t leave anything alone, as it would be irritating if the pieces were lost. Our game arrived with only five cars, but my friend had the good idea of using a small lump of blu-tack as a sixth, as the little pegs will stick in it well.
THE GENERAL IDEA
The Game of Life is made by MB Games in the UK and – ... more
INTRODUCTION
Shopping round for Christmas presents, I was finding it quite hard to find suitable gifts for my seven year old daughter. My Mum was buying her several DVDs, she was getting the only CD she wanted (The Cheeky Girls album!), she has no more room for cuddly toys and apparently, Barbie is now a no-no at her vast age!
So I had a look on Ebay for a few ideas and checked out the board games section. I wanted something that all of us could play as a family. There are six of us and my children are 7, 10, 11 and 13, so it had to be something to interest all of us. The Game of Life can be played by 2-6 players, which was ideal and the recommended age is eight to adult. Well, she’s only four months off being eight, so I bid for it and eventually won.
There was also a nostalgic edge to my purchase. When I was around eleven, my best friend Anita had this game and I used to play it at her house and enjoyed it. It was one of those things that went on my ‘wants list’ year after year, but I somehow never got from Santa. Weebles and a Shaker Maker were others. I’m sure I’ve been irrevocably damaged ;-)
THE CONTENTS
The board is folded in half for easy storage and is the right size to fit on our coffee table. There are a number of buildings and bridges which you slot into the correct space, when setting up the board. This is easy enough to do and doesn’t take very long, but it would be annoying if you lost some of the pieces.
The number of squares moved is determined by spinning a wheel, so you don’t need to worry about losing dice! This wheel also slots into the board.
The playing pieces are little cars and you have pink and blue pegs to represent the people. So, in my case, I begin with me in the car (pink peg) then acquire a husband (blue peg) and if any children, the appropriate peg is added.
There are little cards to determine jobs, salaries, credit cards and status symbols. Then there is a rack to place the money on, in denominations of 1000, 5000, 10000, 50000 and 100000. There are also little white flags to use in the gambling, but we don’t tend to bother, as they’re rather fiddly and aren’t really necessary.
It would be a good idea to keep this game somewhere out of reach, if you have young children or the sort who can’t leave anything alone, as it would be irritating if the pieces were lost. Our game arrived with only five cars, but my friend had the good idea of using a small lump of blu-tack as a sixth, as the little pegs will stick in it well.
THE GENERAL IDEA
The Game of Life is made by MB Games in the UK and – as the name suggests – it is a board game where you follow various paths traversing life stages. Your first choice is whether to head to university or to get a career. After that, you get married (This is compulsory!), you might have children (depending which squares you land on), you acquire status symbols (yachts, racehorses, beach villas, etc.) and retire – hopefully to Millionaires’ Mansion.
The idea is to amass as much money as you can, as the one with the most amount left at the end is the final winner – regardless of whether you are the first player to finish. You earn money through your job, through gambling, by saving up to buy Life Insurance policies and through sheer luck.
There is a certain amount of skill involved, as tactics can play a part, but mostly, it is simply down to luck. This means that all players begin with an equal footing, regardless of their age, which children are usually pleased about. Many games give the adults an unfair advantage, but this is not the case here. Anyone can land on an advantageous square and earn hundreds of thousands. (The currency on the notes is not specified, so you can refer to them as pounds, dollars, Euros, etc. as seems natural.)
PLAYING THE GAME
So the gift was unwrapped and on Boxing Day, it was played for the first time. Besides my seven year old, the others playing were myself and my husband, my ten year old daughter and my mother-in-law. It was played again today with my seven and ten year olds, hubby and I plus two of our friends.
The first point to make is that we all enjoyed it. It is, though, a long game (around two hours) and a fairly complex one. Although the suggested minimum age limit is eight, I would think it is better for ten year olds and above. My youngest found it hard to understand some of the language and terms used and, to be honest, her attention tended to drift after a while.
We found a lot of fun was to be have with the rather dated aspects of the game. The idea of having to get married and only having children afterwards, for example. I’m sure we could while away an afternoon inventing a modern version – living in sin, divorcing and remarrying, having kids by different fathers, etc.
We could update the careers too – maybe add lap dancer or Pop Idol judge? The squares to land on could include ‘Pay drug dealer 1000 for an eighth’ or ‘Need operation. Stay in hospital. Miss thirty turns.’ Endless fun!
The game does generate a lot of conversation and laughs, it isn’t one of those where everyone’s concentrating too intensely. My daughter’s blue peg kept falling out of her car and at one point, she said she was fed up of her husband! (We’ve all been there, eh?) As for me, I made sure my blue peg was ‘Simon Cowell’!
The first time we played, we found it was a good idea to have one person as the banker and to check the rules. When we arrived at a particular point of the game, he would then read out the relevant instructions, so we could continue in the desired way. This made it much less complicated, as we weren’t all trying to find out the same thing at different times. Of course, you will need to consult the rules less as you go along.
DISADVANTAGES
Rather complicated. Lots of small pieces that can be lost. Outdated in some ways. Not really suitable for young children.
ADVANTAGES
An interesting game. Fun and entertaining. All ages have an equal chance of winning. The idea of following alternative life paths is a good one.
OVERALL
We all enjoyed the game and it is a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours. It isn’t the kind of game you would want to play several times in succession, as it can be quite tiring, but it is one you will bring out regularly.
It is suitable for a group of older children to play by themselves or a group of adults or a family, which means it is versatile and can take on a different slant depending on who you play it with.
Board games seem to be more of a rarity these days, with Gameboys, Playstations and so on becoming the fashionable norm. But there are many advantages to everyone sitting round a table having fun together. I know that sometimes in our house, everyone can be in a different room doing their own thing and it is good to find a shared activity that all ages can enjoy. Board games are ideal for this.
OTHER VERSIONS
There are several versions of the game. It seems to have evolved over time and has changed slightly from how it was in the 1970s and 1980s. The US variety is different as well – that one includes the opportunity to earn ‘Life Tiles’ as you play, which are basically good deeds for the community. You can buy the American game from www.boardgames.com for $16.95.
The Game of Life is now available for the PC and the Playstation. There is even a Star Wars version of the board game available here http://www.boardgamecompany.co.uk for £29.99.
PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
It seems quite a hard game to get hold of these days. Searching the Internet, the only place I found the British board game was at http://www.secret-games-shop.co.uk/game_of_life.htm where it sells for £9.99.
Rather annoyingly – in hindsight – I bought my game from Ebay, which cost £11 including postage and packing! So it is worth shopping round, if you want to buy it. You might be lucky and find it selling cheaply in a charity shop
Advantages: Interesting board game everyone seems to like Disadvantages: Takes a while to set up
Game Of Life one of the board games I remember from my childhood, when the whole family would sit down together on a Sunday, after Bullseye and Sunday Dinner, and play a game whether it be cards or one of the many board games we had.
== History ==
The game was originally created in 1860 by Milton Bradley, and was called The Chequered Game Of Life, and it sold 45,000 copies in its first year of production. The game did not include a dice as these ... ...middle comes from. The original game was based around a chess board and the object was to land on '''good''' spaces and earn 100 points. You could earn another 50 points by reaching '''happy old age''' which was at the end of the game opposite '''infancy''' where you began.
One hundred years later, in 1960, the modern version of the game was introduced by Milton Bradley Company and featured a circular picture of Art Linkletter on the front as he ...
johnny040676 14.06.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Game of Life
Advantages: Very easy to play, popular with all the family. Disadvantages: Out of date, doesn't compare to computer games and the internet.
...table at my Gran's playing Game of Life. The 1980's seemed to be an era for playing board games (along with poor music and bad hair styles).
Game of Life is a fun board game suitable for all the family to play. It's simply a game of life, you start as a teenager with a car (of any colour you choose) and make the journey through life. Finding a Job, buying a house and insurance, getting married, having kiddies and final retiring in a small country ... ...The object of the game is to get to the end of the route on the board, having made lots of money. The winner is the one with the most cash at the end of the game.
It's a simple game to play and was, and still is, a very popular family board game. ...
darrenloud 25.02.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Game of Life
Advantages: Its got that spinner thing Disadvantages: Dull game
This game is just not good enough. It seems alot like the type of board gamr that quite a few people could make with their eyes closed. There is a distinct lack of variety within the game, and after a few plays, the game becomes progressively duller. The game is supposedly depicted around the average life, get a job, get married, have kids. Plainly, this game is out of date, with the way in which it works, and should be revamped to bring it up to ...
scaddingk 23.11.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Game of Life
Advantages: Great fun Disadvantages: Could be just a little longer
We bought this game just after christmas because we'd been given some gift vouchers that were to be used for the whole family. Everyone had to compromise and we picked The Game of Life because it could be played by all of us (ages range from 7 to 35). We could not have picked anything better, even my sixteen year old daughter enjoys playing this. It's fun, colourful and just long enough to be intersting without being boring. The best thing is that ... ...The object of the game is to get through life (obvious eh!) you have a choice of where to start from, eg. straight into work or onto university and from then on all life decisions (children and house purchases) are made by the game.
You can choose whether to buy insurance and stock or shares to improve your wealth. This determines which position you will retire to. Not exactly lifelike. You either get a mansion or a cottage in the country (no being ...
moggins 09.03.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Game of Life
Advantages: Your character is a little blue or pink pin! What else do I say Disadvantages: If you're looking for twists, turns and general laughter-this isnt for you
...satisfaction factor any more?-you play GAME OF LIFE!
Now I have to admit first putting the board game together to seemed to say that my next 30 or so minutes or play would be like any other family board game ive played. But no not this-this is in a whole other world of its own. Ok now fair enough its layout and aim is pretty similar to other games-move your piece (in this case your car-unless you find yourself in a similar situation and have too ... ...real life? Well though perhaps Game of Life is alittle simplified it certainly made me think about what im doing. I mean if one friend can end up with close to 100k by the end of the game without going to uni-why can't I in real life? Perhaps not the best way to consider life's important descions, but hey, it got me thinking.
All in all-even if family games aren't for you (I know playing anything with my three bros is a daunting enough prospect) ...
starmisthaze 27.10.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Game of Life
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Advantages: Good family fun Disadvantages: Rules are quite difficult to pick up at first
THE GAM OF LIFE
Mention 'games' to children today and they automatically think of Wii, X Box, Play Station or DS games.
But what is better than a good old-fashioned board game that the whole family can play together?
I expect that many of you reading this review played it as a young person - but have you any idea how long it has been going?
It may amaze you to know that it was originally created in 1860 by Milton Bradley, and was then known as The Checkered Game of Life. The modern version was originally published one hundred years later, in 1960) by the Milton Bradley Company (now a subsidiary of Hasbro).
Game of Life is, just what it says on the box, a game about living your life and making choices along the way.
Luck does play a major part in the game, but there are also so important decisions that have to ...
Advantages: Easy and quick to play Disadvantages: Some of the pieces are quite small and easy to lose
Game of Life, manufactured by MB Games, was one of my favourite games as a child and I still enjoy the game today. The rules are very simple and easy to grasp making it a good game to open and play straight away without having to wade through a thick instruction booklet. However, shock of shocks, this game no longer appears to be available. How did this crime happen? I have searched on the Argos, WHSmiths and Toys R Us websites and not one of them seem to have it. As my title states, Life *is* unfair.
PACKAGING
The box is quite large in size and contains the game board, money, plastic 3D buildings and spinner, cars, people, Share the Wealth and Status Symbol cards and instructions. The front of the box shows the game itself and claims it is a game of ?skill and chance for all the family ? an exciting journey through life.? I beg to ...
Advantages: fun ,exiting with endless fun Disadvantages: there arnt many but it does take along time to play
the game of life is a great game if you have relatives stopping over, it gets evrey one talking and its diffrent cards spots and cattegreys just buzz up the atmosphere with life . its educational helps the kids to think about the future .and is the fun way of .thinking for your self about bills and basiccly life but in a fun way recomended to any one from the adge of nine as there are a thew complecations in the game . the game of life can be brought from most toy shops ranging from about 10.99 ...
