Hop in your plastic convertible and buckle up! We’re going on an adventure of a lifetime. From college to retirement throughout The Game of Life, we will undoubtedly experience a wide variety of real-world situations along the way- some for better, some for worse.
Since 1960, the Milton Bradley Company (and more recently Hasbro) have sold over 35 million copies of The Game of Life. Over the years, various new editions have flooded the market, including The Game of Life Rivals Edition, Spin to Win, and even Electronic Banking.
The Game of Life rules guide will cover the following:
- What is The Game of Life?
- A brief history of The Game of Life
- What you’ll need to play The Game of Life
- The Game of Life Rules
- How to play The Game of Life (Video Tutorial)
- FAQs
Read on to learn how to play The Game of Life.
What is The Game of Life?
The Game of Life is a board game that takes players on an adventure-filled journey throughout their “lives,” working their way through college, career, marriage, children, and more, all while circulating the game board.
Number of Players: 2-4 players
Ages: Recommended for 8+
Difficulty: Easy
Length of Play: 45 minutes
Category: Board game, family game
Similar to: Pay Day, Carcassonne, Risk
Main Objective: Players travel around the game board facing all the ups and downs of life in hopes of having the most money at the end of the game.
Why We Love It: One of my all-time favorite games is The Game of Life because no matter how many times you play, the outcome is always different! One day you are a teacher with twins and a mansion, and the next day a millionaire athlete with a six-figure salary residing in a condo.
A Brief History of The Game of Life
According to The New Yorker magazine, The Game of Life, originally called The Checkered Game of Life, was invented by Milton Bradley in his youth during the mid to late 1800s.
Approximately 100 years later, the Milton Bradley company published The Game of Life as a commemorative edition, and this is the popular version of the game that we know today.
Years later, Hasbro bought out the Milton Bradley game company. Since then, The Game of Life has been revised, modernized, and is also available in a variety of fun, new editions.
Versions of this classic board game can now be found to include adopting pets, Disney theme parks, and The Game of Life Junior, which is appropriate for children ages 5 and up.
What You’ll Need to Play The Game of Life
Everything you need to play is included in this boxed set.
The complete game box contains:
- Game board
- Spinner
- Spin to Win Tokens
- Cards
- Pegs
- Money
- Game Guide
Area of Play
Set up The Game of Life by opening the game board and placing the cards, pegs, and money next to the board. Sort the cards into face-down piles by Stock, Career, House Deed, and Salary.
There are some three-dimensional elements to the board, including the spinner, raised roads, and buildings. These items easily fit into the appropriate spaces on the board.
Separate the bills in sets of $5,000, $10,000, $50,000, $100,000, and $500,000. Additionally, there are $50,000 loan statements as well. Position these near the board for use throughout the game. Keep home and automobile insurance statements in their own stacks near the bank.
Each player selects a car and places a person (peg) in the driver’s seat to represent themselves. If you are playing the Spin to Win Edition, each player will also get a token matching the color of their car.
Each person collects $200,000 from the bank to start and determines if they will choose to follow the career or college path. Place your car on the board based on your decision, and follow the arrows when moving through the game.
The Game of Life Rules
To begin, each player spins the spinner. The player with the highest number goes first, then plays continues clockwise around the board.
Player one begins by spinning the spinner and moving their car that number of spaces on the game board. Remember, you can only move forward in this game.
If you land on a blue space on the board, you can decide whether or not to follow the instructions; however, players who land on an orange space must follow the directions as indicated on the space.
Green spaces on the board are Pay Day indicators. Every time you pass or land on a Pay Day space, you collect the amount of your salary from the bank.
College
Before starting the game, players must choose whether to follow the college or career path on the board. If a player selects the college path, they must immediately pay $100,000 in tuition back to the bank at the beginning of the game before their first move.
Career and Salary
If you decide to follow the Career path, you will select the top 2 cards from the Career decks and choose to keep one of the professions. Place that card in front of you because this is the job you will have moving forward.
Depending upon the edition of the game, you may also need to select a salary card from the Salary deck to determine your income. Your salary can change during the game depending on various board spaces and Life cards.
Watch out! You may have to trade your salary card with another player.
If you are a Police Officer, you can collect speeding fines from other players during the game. Every time another player spins a 10 on the spinner, they must pay you $10,000.
Stock Card
On any turn, players can purchase a Stock card for $50,000. Throughout the game, if another player spins the specified Stock number, the owner of the Stock card collects $10,000 from the bank. It is more beneficial for players to purchase Stock cards at the beginning of the game!
Each player can only have one Stock Market card unless you land on the Stock space on the board, then players can own two Stock cards.
Stop Sign
If you land on a space listed with a stop sign, you must stop even if you have not yet reached the number you spun.
The stop sign spaces indicate major life events such as getting a job, getting married, or having children.
Bank loans
If you take out a bank loan, you must pay it back with an additional $5,000 for interest. Bank loans can be used to purchase the property.
Insurance
Players can buy automobile insurance from the bank for $10,000 at the start of any turn. I would recommend purchasing insurance because it will prevent you from paying for repairs if you land on a dreaded orange space during the game.
Any player can also purchase Home Owner’s insurance when purchasing a home. Additionally, having insurance can prevent you from paying for unexpected problems such as flood or fire damage if you land on one of those orange spaces on the game board.
Action Cards
If you land on a space with a yellow circle, you must draw from the Action deck and complete the action described on the card. The action cards can range from positive to negative situations, and players may earn money or lose money depending upon the situation.
As gameplay continues, players must follow the directions specified on the cards they draw and the spaces in which they land.
For example, if you draw a card that tells you to switch careers with another player, you must complete the action.
There are other situations that depend upon a player’s career, family, or housing throughout the game. Players will collect income every time they pass a payday space on the board. Each player will collect the money determined by the specific salary for their job.
Related: How to Play The Farming Game
How to Keep Score in The Game of Life
After collecting money for your retirement, each player must add their net worth to determine the winner. The player with the most money, after paying all debts, of course, is the winner. The game ends when the last player retires.
How to Play The Game of Life – Video Tutorial
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it called The Game of Life?
This game is designed to take players through random events that mimic a lifetime. For instance, players will select careers, earn money, buy homes but will also run into the unpredictable occurrences of real-life such as costly home repairs or paying a speeding ticket.
Is The Game of Life Appropriate?
If by appropriate you mean, is The Game of Life suitable for children, well then, yes. It is. Of course, this board game is recommended for children ages 8 and up; however, there is no disagreeable content that would be inappropriate for children and families of all ages.
Aside from a simple statement of “get married” or “have twins,” there is nothing descriptive or mature about The Game of Life.
I play with my six-year-old, and the gameplay provides opportunities for educational dialog that teach real-life struggles of paying taxes, managing money, the importance of automobile and homeowners insurance, and more.
What is the objective of The Game of Life?
Players are competing for success and wealth through career choices, income, and the purchase of the property. A great deal of the outcome of this game is based on luck and the odds of the spinner. You may run into hardship, but you can earn prize money and awards too!
In the end, you want to be able to retire comfortably with no debts. If you have over a million dollars or a net worth over one million, you can retire in Millionaire Estates at the end of the game. If you have the most money, you might even win!
Other Games Similar to The Game of Life (Our Guides)
Check out these other popular board games for your next family game night:
- Monopoly rules
- Ticket to Ride rules
- Pay Day rules
- The Game of Life Junior (Guide coming soon)
