Game of family life (Game of Life)

Member Name: katyandsam

Product:	Game of Life
Date:	09/09/08 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very fun

Disadvantages: Very hard to cheat - and I like to win

The game of life is raucous fun for all the family!

The general idea behind the game is to collect money and life points by travelling round four zones on the board. Initially every player gets a job card, with all jobs you start on the same wage, buut the top wage and how fast they go up differs substantially. You can chose to travel round 'earn it', where you gain promotions and so collect more money every turn. Alternatively, you can go round 'learn it' to gain a degree and Phd for a lilfe point bonus and the chance to progress up the career ladder. You can also travel round 'live it' where you gain life points for any experiences you have. Finally, you can travel round 'love it', where you can get married and have children for a life points bonus every turn, however children will cost you 10% of your wages! You can also buy cars and houses as you trave round the board - you can go into your overdraft but it will cost you! At the end of the game, money is changed into life points and the player with the most life points wins.

I have the electronic version and I can heartily recommend it as the 'lifepod' keeps track of all your money, life points, debt etc. The lifepod practically has a brain. The cards are much neater than monopoly style cash as well! It is also MUCH harder to cheat - this is very important in my family! Practically the only way to cheat is to put extra noughts on figures you enter the lifepod, however, I have tried this and the lifepod won't accept figures which aren't in the game!

There is alot of luck in this game (how many squares you get to move, what job card you get etc), but there is also enough strategy to make it interesting. Where you chose to go can have a large impact on how the game turns out. For example, if you have a high ending wage then getting up that career ladder quickly is a good plan and having children isn't worth it (how like life), however if you have a lower final wage, kids might be a better idea (as the return in life points will probably be less than the reduction in your wages!)

The one disadvantage is that although you can play this game with two players it really is nowhere near as good. the problem with two players is that the person with the highest final wage ALWAYS wins! I am not sure quite why this only happens in the two player game, however, I have completed extensive testing and it always happens.

All in all this is a really fun game. The lifepod makes the game simple and virtually cheat proof - which makes it ideal for all the family. This game is simple enough for really quite young kids to grasp but interesting enough to make it not a chore for adults to play.

Summary: Great family game