Recently while discussing my Monopoly blog with a friend, she compared Monopoly to The Game of Life. I had a lot of questions about this comparison, considering I'd never actually played Life (for short). As a child we had a limited selection of games at home. I owned playing cards, chess, checkers, Chinese checkers, Scrabble and Monopoly. Other popular games were known to me, but I have never actually played them. While my friend insisted that this game was some how derived from Monopoly, my research has proved the opposite. The Game of Life was created in 1860 by Milton Bradley, it was called The Checkered Game of Life. The game simulates a person's travels through life. Wikipedia describes game play as: The game board resembled a modified checkerboard. The object was to land on "good" spaces and collect 100 points. A player could gain 50 points by reaching "Happy Old Age" in the upper-right corner, opposite "Infancy" where one began. Instead of dice – which were associated with gambling – players used a six-sided top called a teetotum.
The modern version was released in 1960. The players travel along the track in a tiny automobile according to their spin on the wheel. Each car has six holes into which pegs are added as the player "gets married" and "acquires children". Each player chooses between the college or carrer path. When a player lands on or passes a green/payday space they collect their paycheck. There are action spaces, when a player lands here they will take an action card and proceed as directed. When players reach the retirement space, they must pay off all loans and give up their career. Once all players have retired, the players count all their money, players flip over the life tiles and add to their score. The player with the most money wins.
I enjoyed learning about this game, it tries to incorporate the milestones found in the average person's life. While you do have the option to own properties and collect rent, there are so many other things happening in this game. I wouldn't really compare it to Monopoly, aside from the fact that you are trying to be the wealthiest player. If anything it seems this game is an advocate for going to college. You can only get the better careers if you hold a college diploma, with out the diploma you are prevented from switching to a higher paying job down the road. That seems like a good lesson to be teaching young children.
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