Playing The New Game of Life Twists and Turns
For Christmas my kids got the new Game of Life Twists & Turns – the updated version of the classic game we all grew up on. Last night we decided to have a family game night and while I missed putting the little “people” in my car as I drove around the board, the new “credit card” and LIFEpod banking/playing system is pretty cool.
This game definitely requires reading the rules and having the guide handy the first few times you play it, but once you get the idea, the game moves pretty quick. Another feature I like is the ability to control the length of the game. Using the LIFEpod, you can decide if you want to play for 15 “years” (which takes just under an hour) or 30 which takes closer to two hours or some other life span.
Each player has a fake Visa card that you insert into the LIFEpod at the beginning of your turn. The pod calculates your salary, accounts for expenses, earnings, and other life events. It takes a lot of the math out of the game but certainly speeds it up. You start the game earning $5,000 in the career field of your choice and your first means of transportation is a skateboard. As you go through the game you can increase your education, get promotions, buy a car, a house, get married and have children.
You navigate through the areas of the board – Learn it, Earn it, Love it and Live it, drawing “Life cards” as you land on spaces. The life cards are what makes the game fun! Invent a cure for baldness and you get $900,000, go camping in Yosemite and lose $20,000 but gain 2,000 life points. The twists and turns of the game are fun.
I highly recommend this game for older kids – 9 and up – as it is complicated. We let our 6 year old play with us and she needed a lot of direction from us and she lost interest pretty quickly.
We haven’t tried the new version of the Monopoly game yet (Monopoly Electronic Banking Edition) - something tells me the kids would like it though.
We have this, too, and there are two things I do not like about it.
1) the branded VISA, and
2) I always lose. Always. My daughter says I have to get more life points. Whatever.
Lisa – I don’t understand the VISA thing either – VISA must have paid big bucks for that placement.
I won last night – My strategy was education first, then build my career then live a little and I went to the love it section very last -I waited to get married and have kids until I had done everything else. Hey, maybe that’s how it should work in real life
I am currently, looking into buying this game. I am 14, turning 15. And I love the original game of life, but not sure whether I would like this. Sure it looks fun, but I have never played it, and I am just wondering, is it still fun? The first one I get a lot of enjoyment out of, but after playing it heaps, it seems kinda the same some of the time. With this game, is it different everytime you play?
Sorry for all the questions, I just want to know if I should spend my money on it?
Thanks
Erin
I just got the game the other night. My roommate and I love bored games so we always try to find new ones and this one was actually really fun and some of the stuff on the cards is pretty funny. It’s not straight forward so it’s not like the original game instead you choose the different ways to live your life how you see fit. I definitely recommend it.
I spent so long trying to find this game, but I finally found it, and luckily enough it was the last one in stock!! I got it yesterday afternoon and played it for hours last night!! I loved it, very different from the first one but just as good!! There are so many different ways you can live your life!! I highly recommend this game, guaranteed you’ll love it!!
I must say, this game goes straight to the #2 spot on my board game podium (right after World of Warcraft)
The game is just so creative and offers much more freedom than other money-making games, because the board has many different tracks.
Overall, it strangely reminds me more of The Sims 2 than the original Life. I guess it’s because of the four different lifestyles and the promotions. Watching your salary grow up is thrilling, I just wished the careers could be a little more balances (some end up with a million dollars in salary difference, and salary is received each turn!)
The LIFEpod works perfectly well, except that entering the cards might feel a bit rough. Once the card is entered, learning how the thing works is easier than learning the rules. For those skeptical, let’s just say the LIFEpod is still much less of an hassle than the most qualified banker (Give me 10% interest on 456,714$ please ?)
Well, I love this game, everyone should play it, it almost makes you forget everything else you ever played. It’s THAT good, trust me!
I got it for my brithday and i fell in love with it. untill one day my cousin came and lost the life pod what a bummer. when we were moving i was their to clean up so i asked my mom if she throw it away and she said “idk” omg.what do i do now ?