The Game of Life

Experience a more successful life than your real one

The Game of Life is an animated version of the popular board game of the same name.

Live your life over

The Game of Life gives you the chance to live your life over again, playing out your career and family life on a virtual board. The object of the game is to wind up with more money and life experiences than your opponent once the game (and thus your 'life') is over.

Just like the original, The Game of Life is played by spinning a wheel to determine the number of spaces on the board to move. Each square on the board represents either an opportunity to win or lose money, or a life event such as a wedding, having a baby, or going on a big trip.

You can play The Game of Life in single player or local multiplayer mode. You can play with up-to four players, with each of you taking it in turns on the device.

Unlike the more tactical Monopoly, there's not much skill involved in The Game of Life. Most of the game is determined by luck, based on what square you land on. However, there are some decisions you need to make in the game, such as your choice of career, and what type of house you want to buy.

Life imitating game

With The Game of Life, Developer EA has tried to recreate the feel of playing a board game. To spin the wheel you flick the screen, just as if you were playing the game for real.

There's a map that allows you to explore the board by swiping the screen and zooming in/out, so you can see what squares are coming up ahead of you.

All of the other features of The Game of Life are automated. Your piece automatically moves the number of spaces you spun, cards appear manually and financial transactions are immediate, rather than you having to manually touch currency. There's an option to fast-forward or skip the AI turns, which is great because waiting for your opponent to take their turn gets a bit dull after a while.

Bringing the game to life

Visually, The Game of Life is a little more appealing than looking at a board. There are certain animated background elements on the board, the movement of the cars around the 3D board is fun, and it's all very colorful and bright.

The plinky plonk music in The Game of Life gets a bit irritating after a while, but thankfully there's an option to turn it off and leave sound effects on.

Not bad, if you like this sort of thing

Personally, I find The Game of Life a bit dull. Unlike many other board games, the emphasis is weighted more heavily on luck than it is on skill.

Fans of the original will find it a pretty faithful recreation, albeit one which doesn't add any bells and whistles like achievements or online leaderboards.