I’ve loved playing THE GAME OF LIFE. I love the chase to the end, collecting as much money along the way in order to win! And if Mr. Alexander was involved it became even more interesting mainly because I hate losing to him. 🙂 I admit I’ve got that naturally competitive streak in me. Fortunately, I’ve managed to tame it over the years. Kinda.

Anyway, what a surprise to find a board game that was much more realistic, much grittier, and way more adult than the original. Pure genius!

It starts out with a roll of the die to determine a player’s sex at birth, overall health, and socio-economic class. And as the game progresses, there are the same kinds of experiences offered in real life. Check these out:

Life’s temptations

Starting the game

The famous mid-life crises

Dying happy

Chris Pender – the genius behind the game

But unlike real life, where our culture tends to most value he (or she!) who dies with the most stuff, in this game, the winner is the one who ends with the most “smileys”. Which means that a player can “die” before anyone else and still win the game. How’s that for a different spin? And how thought-provoking for the real game of life. . ..

The best part? As a writer, you got yourself a great back story for a character in a future book. Just sayin’!

So if I invited you over for a rousing game, would you come? And, yeah, there’ll be booze. 😉

Happy playing,
Melia