The Game of Life, also known simply as Life, is a board game originally created
in 1860 by Milton Bradley, as The Checkered Game of Life. The Game of Life
was America's first popular parlor game. The game simulates a person's travels
through his or her life, from college to retirement, with jobs, marriage, and
possible children along the way. Two to six players can participate in one game.
Variations of the game accommodate eight to ten players.
The modern version was originally published 100 years later, in 1960. It
was created by toy and game designer Reuben Klamer and was "heartily
endorsed" by Art Linkletter. It is now part of the permanent collection of the
Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. It later spawned a
book, The Game of Life: How to Succeed in Real Life No Matter Where You Land,
by Lou Harry. History
The game was originally created in 1860 by Milton Bradley as The Checkered Game
of Life. This was the first game created by Bradley, a successful lithographer,
whose major product until that time was a portrait of Abraham Lincoln with a
clean-shaven face, which did not do well once the subject grew his famous beard.
The game sold 45,000 copies by the end of its first year. Like many games from
the 19th century, such as The Mansion of Happiness by S.B. Ives in 1843, it had a
strong moral message. Bradley's game did not include dice,
instead using a teetotum, a six-sided top.
The game board was essentially a modified checkerboard. The object was to
land on the "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. In 1960, the 100th anniversary of The
Checkered Game of Life, the first modern version of The Game of Life, a
collaboration between Reuben Klamer and Bill Markham, was introduced. The game
was re-published many times over the years, including 1961, 1966, 1978, 1985,
1992, 2000, and 2005. Modern game
The modern game consists of a track on which players travel by spinning a small
wheel with spaces numbered 1 through 10. The board also contains small mountains,
buildings, and other three-dimensional objects. Playing pieces are small,
colored, plastic automobiles which come in red, blue, white, yellow, orange, and
green; each car has six holes in the top in which blue and/or pink "people pegs"
are placed throughout the game as the player "gets married" and has or adopts
"children". Some "early modern" editions have eight cars.
Each game also includes a setup for a bank, which includes play money,
insurance policies, $20,000 promissory notes and stock certificates. Other
tangibles vary with the game version. Versions
= 1960s version= The Game of Life, copyrighted by the
Milton Bradley Company in 1963, had some differences from later versions. For
example, once a player reached the Day of Reckoning, they had to choose between
moving on to Millionaire Acres, or trying to become a Millionaire Tycoon
with the risk of being sent to the "Poor Farm".
This version had Art Linkletter as the spokesman, included his likeness on the
$100,000 bills and a rousing endorsement from Linkletter on the cover of the box.
It was advertised as a "Milton Bradley 100th Anniversary Game" and as "A Full
3-D Action Game." Winning Moves currently markets a
classic 1960's edition. = 1970s/1980s versions=
About halfway through the production of this version, many dollar values
doubled. This description focuses on the later version with the larger dollar
amounts. The late 1980s version also replaced the convertibles from earlier
versions with minivans. Early 1960s-era convertibles were still used in the 1978
edition. The "Revenge" squares were renamed "Sue
for damages" in the 1978 edition. = 1991 version=
The Game of Life was updated in 1991 to reward players for "good" behavior, such
as recycling trash and helping the homeless.
= 2005 version= An updated version of the game was
released in 2005 with a few gameplay changes. The new Game of Life reduced
the element of chance, although it is still primarily based on chance and
still rewards players for taking risks. = Other versions=
Super Jinsei Game series Super Jinsei Game Super Famicom video
game Super Jinsei Game 2 Super Famicom video
game Super Jinsei Game 3 Super Famicom video
game The Game of Life in Monstropolis
Sailor Moon Edition The Game of Life Card Game
Fame Edition Star Wars: A Jedi's Path
Pirates of the Caribbean The Simpsons Edition
Bikini Bottom SpongeBob SquarePants Edition
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
The Game of LifePayday Game Boy Advance game
Twists and Turns Edition The Game of Life Express[1]
Monsters, Inc version The Game of Life Wii game
Indiana Jones Edition Pokémon Edition
SpongeBob SquarePants Edition Family Guy Collectors Edition
The Game of Life WiiWare game The Wizard of Oz Edition
The Game of Life - Haunted Mansion Theme Park Edition
The Game of Life Classic Edition iPhone game
Hasbro Family Game Night 3 for Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 3 video game
platforms, and was also later released as part of the Hasbro Family Game Night
Fun Pack, which consisted as a compilation of both Hasbro Family Game
Night 2 and Hasbro Family Game Night 3. Rite Aid Pharmacy, The Game of Life
Collect and Win game The Game of Life High School Edition
LIFE: Rock Star Edition Game Show Edition on The Hub
The Game of LIFE: It's a Dog's Life Edition
LIFE: My Little Pony Edition See also
Life as a BlackMan References
External links The Game of Life at BoardGameGeek
The Game of Life rules from 1977 at Hasbro.com
The Game of Life rules from 1991 at Hasbro.com
The Game of Life rules from 2000 at Hasbro.com