Download ArticleDownload ArticleThis article was reviewed by Ashton Wu and by How.com.vn staff writer, Hunter Rising. Ashton Wu is a Board Game expert at Shelfside. After delving into the Yugioh tournament community while growing up, Ashton launched himself into the board gaming community in 2014 and went into reviewing board games as a career full-time in 2019. His YouTube channel Shelfside has over 35K subscribers and over 4 million views, assisted by written reviews on the Shelfside website and BoardGameGeek.com. He also consults with gaming companies to build high-quality gaming products. Ashton is a tournament commentator, board game playthrough director, and host of the Shelfside Podcast, where he talks about board games with his business partner, Daniel. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in addition to the Technology Management Certificate.
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If you’re looking for a fun and simple game to play with the whole family, The Game of Life is the perfect choice. Throughout the game, you’ll go through various stages of life, from going to school, starting a career and having a family to retiring as you try to earn more money than other players. This game is really based on luck, so there isn’t a ton of strategy, but it’s quick to set up and perfect for anyone 8 or older to play. Just keep reading for all the rules you’ll need to get started.
The Game of Life Rules
On your turn in The Game of Life, spin the wheel and move the indicated number of spaces forward. Each space triggers an action that either makes you lose or gain money. When all the players reach the end of the board, whoever has the most money is the winner!
Steps
Setting Up The Game of Life
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Assemble the board and punch the pieces if it’s your first time playing. The Game of Life has a spinner and may have buildings that attach to the board. Each plastic piece has a letter on it that matches up with a letter on the board. Fit the buildings, mountains, and bridges into their matching places on the board. Then, insert the spinner into the slot on the board.[1]- If you have an older version of Life, you may need to attach stickers to the board pieces
Shuffle and separate the decks of cards. The backs of the cards are labeled House, Action, Career, College Career, and Pet. Separate the cards by type, shuffle them, and put them face-down next to the game board.[2]- If your game has Stock cards, you do not need to shuffle them. Just place them somewhere near the board.
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Give each player a car, pegs, tokens, and starting money. You can play The Game of Life with 2-4 people. Give each person one of the cars with the matching circular token, 1 Person peg, and 1 Pet peg. Place the pegs inside of the car and place them on the starting space of the board. Then, give each player $200,000 in paper money.[3]- Some older versions of the game support up to 6 players.
- In older versions, players start with only $10,000 and do not have tokens or Pet pegs.[4]
Choose a banker. Pick a player at random to be the banker for the entire game. The banker still plays the game, but they're also in charge of giving players their salaries and bank loans. Have the banker sit near the spinner so they can be near the money supply.[5]- If you’re the banker, keep your personal money supply separate from the rest of the cash in the bank.
Have each player choose to start with Career or College. Take turns spinning the spinner, and whoever has the highest number goes first. One at a time, decide if you want to start the game with a Career to start earning money right away, or choose to go to College to have a potentially higher salary later in the game. Move your car to the space that you decide on.[6]- If you pick Career, look at the top two cards of the Career deck. Pick one to put face-up in front of you, and put the other on the bottom of the deck. The Career path is the shorter route.
- If you pick College, pay the bank $100,000 right away. Even though you start on a longer path and lose money right away, you have a better chance at a high-paying job later.
- From start to finish, The Game of Life takes about 1 hour for you to play.
Taking a Turn in The Game of Life
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Buy Insurance or Stocks if you’re able to afford them. In older versions of the game, you have the option to buy Automobile Insurance, Homeowner’s Insurance, and Stocks right at the beginning of your turn. If you want to add any of these to your personal supply, pay the amount listed to the bank and keep the cards in front of you.[7]- Automobile insurance costs $10,000, and it will protect you from paying for accidents, damage, or theft later in the game.
- Homeowner’s insurance policies depend on the home that you own later in the game. Once you buy a home in the game, check its card for the homeowner’s insurance cost.
- To buy a Stock, choose any from the deck and pay the cost to the bank. Whenever a player spins the number listed on your Stock, gain $10,000 from the bank. You may only own 1 Stock.
- If you’re playing the most recent version of the game without these cards, then you can skip this step.
Spin the spinner and move that many spaces. At the start of your turn, quickly spin the spinner and wait for it to land on a number. Once it stops spinning, follow the path on the board and move that many spaces forward.[8]- If you move over a green Payday space, then immediately collect the amount listed on your Career or Salary card from the bank.
- If you move into a red Stop space, leave your car there even if you have more movement left.
- In older versions of the game, if you spin a 10 and another player has the Police Officer career card, then you must pay them $5,000. However, if the Police Officer doesn’t notice you spun a 10 and the next player starts their turn, there’s no penalty.
Take the action for the board space you land on. Once you land on a space, follow the instructions for the space color or icons. We’ll cover each of the board spaces in the next section. After you complete the action, your turn is over and the next player to the left takes their turn.- Board spaces may vary between different versions and editions of the game. Always check the instruction manual that came with the game for specific instructions on the board spaces.
Take out a bank loan whenever you’re running low on money. If you are running low on cash at any point during your turn, ask the banker to take out a loan. Take a Bank Loan certificate as well as $50,000 from the bank.[9]- At the end of the game, you must repay $60,000 to the bank for each bank loan, so only take out loans if you really need them.
- In older versions of the game, bank loans are worth $20,000 each and you must pay back $25,000 for each one by the end of the game.
The Game of Life Board Spaces
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Collect your salary when you pass a green Payday square. Collect the salary listed on your Career card or on your Salary card in older versions. If you land exactly on a Payday square, collect your salary plus another $100,000 as a bonus![10]
Draw an Action card when you land on a gold Action space. Each space has a faint circle image on it. Read the action card aloud and do what it says. It may help you earn more money, or you may have to pay the bank.[11]- Keep any action cards you earn because they could be worth money at the end of the game.
- In older versions of the game, there are orange Action spaces with directions printed directly onto the board. On a blue Action space in older games, you can choose whether or not to take the action.
- If it has a Life symbol, then take a Life token and keep it face-down. Life tokens are worth random amounts of money at the end of the game.
- Some actions (or spaces in old versions), like Mid-life crisis and Lose your job force you to draw a new Career card.
- Some spaces on older versions have Career spaces with symbols next to them, such as “Taxes Due” spaces. If you land on this space and another player has a matching Career card, pay them the money listed. If no one has the Career card, then pay the bank instead.
Draw a Pet card when you land on the pink paw space. Read the card aloud and follow its instructions. These cards may have effects on your pet, add more pets to your car, or have you pay money to the bank.[12]- Keep the card next to you after you're done because they are worth money at the end of the game.
Play the Spin to Win minigame when you land on the spinner icon. Each player puts their circular token next to a number on the "Spin to Win" image in the corner of the board. Then, take the extra, silver token out of the box and place it next to a second number. Spin the spinner until it points to a number someone has chosen, and give them $200,000 from the bank.[13]
Add pegs to your car when you land on Baby spaces. Add one pink or blue Person peg to your car as soon as you land on a space labeled “Baby.” Add 2 pegs instead if the space says “Twins.”[14]- Each Baby is also worth $50,000 at the end of the game.
- In older versions of the game, take a Life token any time you land on a Baby space.
Buy and sell houses on a House space. When you land on a square that has a picture of a House, you may either buy a house, sell a house, or do nothing.[15]- To buy a house, draw two cards from the House deck. Pick one to keep, pay the bank the price listed on the card, and put the second card on the bottom of the deck.
- If you have a house already and want to sell it, spin the spinner and look at the inner circle to see if it landed on red or black. Collect the amount of money listed on your House card next to that color. Put that House card back on the bottom of the deck.
Stop moving when you hit a red STOP space. Even if you have extra moves left, stop your piece on the red square. Each STOP space has its own special rules or choices to make:[16]- Graduation: Look at the top two College Career cards, pick one to put in front of you, and put the other on the bottom of the deck. Spin and move again.
- Get Married: Add a blue or pink peg (your spouse) to your car. Spin and look at the inner circle: if it's red, everyone gives you $50,000 each. If it's black, everyone gives you $100,000 instead. Spin and move again.
- Night School: If you want to change your career, pay the bank $100,000, draw the top card of the College Career deck, and choose whether or not to replace your old Career with it. Spin again and move on the Night School path. Alternatively, you can keep your current career, spin again, and keep moving forward on the Life path.
- Family: Spin again and move onto either the Family path if you want kids or the Life path if you don't want to have kids in the game.
- Spin for babies: Spin the spinner, and add that many People pegs to your car. Then, spin and move again.
- Risky/Safe: Spin and move again onto either path. The Risky Road has some squares with special instructions that can make you win or lose big money, but the Safe Route has normal squares.
How to Win The Game of Life
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Stop moving when you reach the Retire space. Once you get to the end of the board and hit the Retire space, you no longer have to spin the wheel, draw cards, or purchase things. Move your piece to either Millionaire Estates or Countryside Acres to finish your game.[17]- Getting to the Retire space first does not mean you immediately win the game, but you get a cash bonus for getting there early. The first player that reaches the Retire space gets $400,000, and the following players get $300,000, $200,000, and $100,000.
- In the latest version of The Game of Life, it doesn’t matter where you move your car. In older versions, move to the Millionaire Estates if you think you have more money than other players for a chance to earn 4 bonus Life tokens. Go to Countryside Acres if you want to play it safe and think you have less money.[18]
Repay your loans plus any interest you owe. If you have any bank loan cards in front of you, pay them back once you finish. Put this money from your personal supply back into the bank.[19]- In current versions of the game, it costs $60,000 to repay a bank loan. For older copies of the game, repaying bank loans costs $25,000.
Count your money at the end of the game to see who wins. Once everyone has gone through the whole board and hit the Retire space, start counting all of the paper money you have in your supply. Then, tally up your money from cards, babies, and Life tokens you have. Whoever has the most money, wins![20]- Sell your Houses by spinning the wheel for each one and looking at the inner wheel color (red or black). Earn the amount of money listed next to that color on your House card.
- Get $100,000 for each Action card and each Pet card.
- Earn $50K for each baby you had during the game.
- Add the cash amounts listed on the back of Life tokens in older versions of games.
EXPERT TIPOur Family Plays Games, LLC is a family-owned business based in Omaha, Nebraska. Launched in 2018, their mission is to promote growth and awareness of the modern board game hobby and bring more BIPOCs and families into the board game community. In June 2020 they were featured on Good Morning America and have since been featured on NBC News Online, Senet Magazine (UK), Ligadas.com (Brazil), a variety of YouTube programs, podcasts, and on local television. In January of 2022, they launched a second program on their channel, called OFPG Voices to highlight other underrepresented voices in the hobby. In addition, they make special appearances at board game conventions all around the country and work with board game publishers from around the world.Board Game Experts
Our Family Plays Games
Board Game ExpertsApproach gameplay with a positive mindset. Board games are fun yet strategic. Even if you want to win, preserve the spirit of this wholesome pastime by offering encouragement and support to all gameplayers. Avoid being overly competitive. Cultivating a positive atmosphere will ensure that everyone has a good time.
Community Q&A
- QuestionHow do I sue for damages?
Community AnswerYou have to get an action card that says you can file a lawsuit, and then you have to choose a player to sue. - QuestionWhat if you go to college later in the game, do you keep your first career or change and do you get the 100,000 dollars of debt?Community AnswerYou do still have to pay the 100K. In the newest version of the game, you get the College Career right away when you choose Night School. In the older versions of the game, you keep your first career until the end of the College path when you get a new job.
- QuestionHow do I choose when buying a house?
Community AnswerTo buy a house, have someone fan out the cards, then you pick two. Pick one of those two to be your house.
Tips
- Different versions of the game of Life have different rules, so always check with the instruction manual for the specific edition you’re playing.Thanks
- The Game of Life doesn’t have a lot of strategy since a lot of the game comes down to the luck of the draw. Focus on having fun rather than trying to be really competitive during this game.Thanks
References
- ↑ http://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/Life_the_game_of_2000.PDF
- ↑ https://instructions.hasbro.com/api/download/E4304_en-us_the-game-of-life-game.pdf
- ↑ https://instructions.hasbro.com/api/download/E4304_en-us_the-game-of-life-game.pdf
- ↑ https://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/Life,_the_game_of_%281991%29.pdf
- ↑ https://www.hasbro.com/common/documents/dad261421c4311ddbd0b0800200c9a66/421541C319B9F36910397125043F45A3.pdf
- ↑ https://instructions.hasbro.com/api/download/E4304_en-us_the-game-of-life-game.pdf
- ↑ http://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/life.pdf
- ↑ https://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/Life_the_game_of_2000.PDF
- ↑ https://instructions.hasbro.com/api/download/E4304_en-us_the-game-of-life-game.pdf
- ↑ https://instructions.hasbro.com/api/download/E4304_en-us_the-game-of-life-game.pdf
- ↑ https://instructions.hasbro.com/api/download/E4304_en-us_the-game-of-life-game.pdf
- ↑ https://instructions.hasbro.com/api/download/E4304_en-us_the-game-of-life-game.pdf
- ↑ https://instructions.hasbro.com/api/download/E4304_en-us_the-game-of-life-game.pdf
- ↑ https://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/Life,_the_game_of_%281991%29.pdf
- ↑ https://instructions.hasbro.com/api/download/E4304_en-us_the-game-of-life-game.pdf
- ↑ https://instructions.hasbro.com/api/download/E4304_en-us_the-game-of-life-game.pdf
- ↑ https://instructions.hasbro.com/api/download/E4304_en-us_the-game-of-life-game.pdf
- ↑ https://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/life.pdf
- ↑ https://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/Life_the_game_of_2000.PDF
- ↑ https://instructions.hasbro.com/api/download/E4304_en-us_the-game-of-life-game.pdf
About This Article
To play the Game of Life, first place all of the LIFE tiles face-down next to the game board. Take 4 of those tiles and place them face-down at Millionaire Estates. Separate the game cards into 4 piles—career cards, salary cards, house deed cards, and stock cards—and place the piles next to the board. You should also separate the insurance policies and bank loans into 3 separate piles next to the board. Choose a player to be the banker, who is in charge of handing out money during the game, and have them give each player $10,000 to start with. Each player also starts with a car and one people peg. Once the game is set up, each player spins the wheel. Whoever spins the highest number goes first, and play continues clockwise. On a player’s turn, they spin the wheel and move their car that number of spaces forward on the board. On the first turn of the game, players decide whether they want to immediately start a career or go to college first. Going to college gives players more career options, but it takes longer and costs money. If a player wants to go to college, they place their car on the START COLLEGE space and collect $40,000 in bank loans. If a player wants to start their career immediately, they place their car on the START CAREER space and draw one career card and one salary card. If they draw a card that has “Degree Required” on it, they must draw a different career. Players place their career and salary cards face up in front of them. When players land on orange spaces, they must follow the directions on the space. Blue spaces have optional directions. Green spaces are PAY DAY spaces. Whenever a player lands on or passes a green space, they collect their salary from the bank. Red spaces are event spaces. Players must stop at these spaces, follow the directions, and then spin and move again. If a player lands on a LIFE space, they draw 1 life tile and keep it face-down in front of them until the end of the game. There are also career spaces on the board. If a player lands on a career space, they pay the player who has the career listed on the space the amount of money specified on the space. If no player has that career, they pay the money to the bank instead. Players can purchase automobile insurance for $10,000 at the beginning of any turn, which protects their car from any accidents, damage, and theft. They can also buy homeowner’s insurance for the amount specified on their house deed card to protect their home from floods, tornadoes, and theft. Players are also able to buy 1 stock at the beginning of any turn for $50,000. Whenever a player spins the number listed on a stock card, the player who owns that stock card collects $10,000 from the bank. Players can only own 1 stock at a time. Players are able to take out 1 or more bank loans during their turn. Bank loans must be repaid with $5,000 in interest at the end of the game. When players reach the RETIRE space on the board, they must stop and pay off any outstanding loans, remove their career card, salary card, insurance policies, and house deed from play, and place their car on either Millionaire Estates or Countryside Acres. Players should choose Millionaire Estates if they think they have the most money. Otherwise, they should choose Countryside Acres. Once all of the players have retired, each player at Millionaire Estates counts their money. The player with the most money gets the 4 LIFE tiles that were placed at Millionaire Estates at the beginning of the game. Now any players at Countryside Acres count their money. Finally, all players flip over their collected LIFE tiles and add the value of each tile to their total. The player with the most money wins the game! To learn more, including how to decide whether to start a career or go to college, read on.
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