Life Board Game Questions?

Question

I just bought the game (2005 ed.) and played it with a couple friends last night. We had some questions that the rules made ambiguous or did not state:

Do you have to buy a house? If not then what is the point of buying a house. You can't make any money on it if you buy insurance.

When you stop at the "sell your house" space and spin to sell your house can you opt to not sell it if you would lose money?

If you take out a loan for any reason is there any incentive to pay it off before the end of the game since there is no interest rate?

What is the point of going to college, you can easily make $80,000 / pay day as a policeman without going to college and make as little as $20,000 / pay day as a computer tech by going to college? I ask because this happened in our game last night.

I have a few more, but I will ask them later if there are some good answers.

Answer 1

I don't know the answer to any of those questions.  Have often wondered myself.  Especially, why do I have to get married.  Isn't the point of the game to live in a fantasy world?  If so, I would definitely not be married.

Answer 2

After much debate my friends and I have come up with what we think is the most logical interpretation of these rules:

1. You have to buy a house. Otherwise you would be immune to house damages and that's just not fair. Also, there's no "rent an apartment" option, so your choices are buy a house or live in a cardboard box.

2. You have to decide whether to sell your house or not BEFORE you spin. Again, it just wouldn't be fair to decide after. Then you have to buy a new one, so you don't live in a cardboard box.

3. No, there's no reason to pay back loans before the end of the game. Just hang onto them until retirement and pay for them then.

4. College isn't as good in this version as it was in older versions. But it doesn't seem to make that much of a difference, so just pick whichever strikes your fancy at the time. And didn't you find tech support to be broken? When we play the spinner seems to get stuck every other turn.

I hope this answers your questions!

Answer 3

With the CD Rom version there's no ambiguity. You have to buy a house, loans are paid back as you make money, college gives you the benefit of more job choices and more salary choices.

I prefer this version to the board version. Also, there's a version in the CD ROM where you can play special games to earn more money during your turn. You can also take revenge on other players and have them pay your bills or your salary.

Answer 4

In the rules that I read on Hasbro's website... it states that you HAVE TO buy a house!!!

Also, seems that there is NO incentive to pay off your loans... unless there is some space on the board about paying any interest on your loans???  There used to be spaces like that in the older versions of the game.

It also states in the rules that if you go to college you get to pick three salary cards and then CHOOSE the best one!!

If you don't go to college... you just get to pick one salary card and that's your salary!!  So, you have a better CHANCE at a higher salary if you go the college route!!!

HEY, I'm just goin' by what the rules say on Hasbro's website!!!

Check it out yourself... click on this website!!!

http://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/li...