The Game of Life on Steam, Part 3: Advanced Tips, Tactics and Strategy
Having already discussed the basics of the Game of Life on Steam as well as providing a brief walkthrough, I will now show a few tips and tricks I learned during the countless hours I spent playing it that will improve your chances of winning. Here they are, starting with some early-game advice, and ending with late-game tips.
Starting Out and Early Investing
While it is possible to win without starting college, it's a lot harder due to the fact that the careers with the highest starting salaries all require a college degree. That said, the Entertainer and Athlete careers have the potential to out-earn every career other than the Lawyer and Doctor under certain circumstances. But no matter what career you start with, it's a good idea to buy a Long-Term Investment as soon as possible, to have more chances of earning returns (of $5,000 each) every time its number is spun.
Wedding Gifts
The more players there are, the more coveted wedding gifts will become, since you will receive money from more players if you spin a 5 or higher when spinning for wedding gifts. This is especially true if you spin an 8 or higher, which increases the value of gifts to $10,000 per player, and even more so if you receive $5,000 from a Long-Term Investment at the same time.
House Hunting
When the time comes for you to buy a Starter Home, always choose the most expensive one you can afford without incurring too much (or better still, any) debt. In particular, it's best to any of the four Starter Homes that yield a $20,000 profit upon resale - the Log Cabin, Ranch Style, Small Cape and Tudor Style. Similarly, if you wish to buy a House later in the game (thereby selling your Starter Home), I would also recommend picking the most expensive one available, as long as you don't end up having to borrow too much money to do so. Even though doing so provides no advantage due to the fact that Houses are always sold at the same price as they can be bought, the value of a House can be treated as an investment, since it is unaffected by payments.
Loan Management and Repayment
The only times you are absolutely guaranteed to take out a loan is when you choose to start by going to college, or make any payment (including lawsuits from other players) that exceeds your cash on hand. That said, try to avoid the latter as much as possible, since it only adds to your debt unnecessarily if it happens too often. For this reason, repaying as much of your debt as soon as possible is a good idea, since it avoids the problem of having to do so upon retirement.
Lawsuits and Share the Wealth Cards
If you get a chance to sue another player for $100,000, suing the wealthiest opponents (in terms of total net worth) is an effective tactic, since it will put some distance between you and them if you're ahead, and close the gap if you're falling behind. To this end, skillful use of Share the Wealth Cards also helps; using Pay and Collect Cards at the right time, against the right players, and saving Exemption Cards for when you really need them (such as when an opponent sues you) is a particularly helpful strategy. Spin To Win spaces are best exploited when you have a Spin to Win card of any kind, as we shall see later.
Returning to School
Although you must pay $50,000 to return to school, I consider this to be money well spent, since it will be useful even if you already have one of the six highest-paying careers (Entertainer, Athlete, Accountant, Veterinarian, Lawyer, and Doctor); in that case, you should hold on to your current career and take the $20,000 pay raise, whereas the Pay Day space on the Path of Life only awards one Pay Raise if landed on or passed over. However, if you don't, returning to school becomes an even more attractive option, since it gives you a chance to trade your existing career with the latter four of the six options described above. Another reason to return to school is the presence of a Lose Your Job space on the Path of Life; as we have seen, these are spaces to be avoided at all costs.
The Pros and Cons of Having a Family
In this version of the Game of Life, it's much more worthwhile to have children, since doing so allows you to collect $5,000 in baby gifts from every other player, in addition to receiving a Life Tile from the bank. Moreover, you will receive $10,000 per child upon retirement. Having children is a double-edged sword, however. Some Pay Spaces have values that are at least partially tied to the amount of children you have in your family, and are best avoided if possible if you have enough children. Moreover, three of the Baby Spaces on the board are found on the Family Path, which lacks a Pay Raise Space. Finally, the Open Daycare space (which is also on the Family Path) will cause anyone who lands on it to receive $5,000 per child from every other player, making it a space worth landing on if all your opponents combined have lots of children.
All In on Spin to Win
Given that a successful Spin to Win always rewards you with 10 times the amount you money you wagered, it is often a good idea to bet $50,000 whenever you get the chance. However, to improve your chances of success, Besides, any money lost from an unsuccessful attempt to Spin to Win can be easily recovered upon reaching the next Pay Day space. Finally, money earned from Spin to Win is totally unaffected by Share the Wealth Cards from other players.
Retirement Plans
Choosing whether to retire at Countryside Acres or Millionaire Estates depends mainly on your current net worth, not including Life Tiles. This is especially important; although the first three players to retire at Millionaire Estates will receive an additional Life Tile, anyone who retires there can have their Life Tiles stolen if the draw pile runs out, whereas players who retire at Countryside Acres cannot, nor will they receive any extra Life Tiles.
This concludes our rundown of the more advanced skills that can help you win The Game of Life. In the next part, I'll show some assorted trivia regarding this particular version of this long-running board game, and how it differs from other editions.
Starting Out and Early Investing
While it is possible to win without starting college, it's a lot harder due to the fact that the careers with the highest starting salaries all require a college degree. That said, the Entertainer and Athlete careers have the potential to out-earn every career other than the Lawyer and Doctor under certain circumstances. But no matter what career you start with, it's a good idea to buy a Long-Term Investment as soon as possible, to have more chances of earning returns (of $5,000 each) every time its number is spun.
Wedding Gifts
The more players there are, the more coveted wedding gifts will become, since you will receive money from more players if you spin a 5 or higher when spinning for wedding gifts. This is especially true if you spin an 8 or higher, which increases the value of gifts to $10,000 per player, and even more so if you receive $5,000 from a Long-Term Investment at the same time.
House Hunting
When the time comes for you to buy a Starter Home, always choose the most expensive one you can afford without incurring too much (or better still, any) debt. In particular, it's best to any of the four Starter Homes that yield a $20,000 profit upon resale - the Log Cabin, Ranch Style, Small Cape and Tudor Style. Similarly, if you wish to buy a House later in the game (thereby selling your Starter Home), I would also recommend picking the most expensive one available, as long as you don't end up having to borrow too much money to do so. Even though doing so provides no advantage due to the fact that Houses are always sold at the same price as they can be bought, the value of a House can be treated as an investment, since it is unaffected by payments.
Loan Management and Repayment
The only times you are absolutely guaranteed to take out a loan is when you choose to start by going to college, or make any payment (including lawsuits from other players) that exceeds your cash on hand. That said, try to avoid the latter as much as possible, since it only adds to your debt unnecessarily if it happens too often. For this reason, repaying as much of your debt as soon as possible is a good idea, since it avoids the problem of having to do so upon retirement.
Lawsuits and Share the Wealth Cards
If you get a chance to sue another player for $100,000, suing the wealthiest opponents (in terms of total net worth) is an effective tactic, since it will put some distance between you and them if you're ahead, and close the gap if you're falling behind. To this end, skillful use of Share the Wealth Cards also helps; using Pay and Collect Cards at the right time, against the right players, and saving Exemption Cards for when you really need them (such as when an opponent sues you) is a particularly helpful strategy. Spin To Win spaces are best exploited when you have a Spin to Win card of any kind, as we shall see later.
Returning to School
Although you must pay $50,000 to return to school, I consider this to be money well spent, since it will be useful even if you already have one of the six highest-paying careers (Entertainer, Athlete, Accountant, Veterinarian, Lawyer, and Doctor); in that case, you should hold on to your current career and take the $20,000 pay raise, whereas the Pay Day space on the Path of Life only awards one Pay Raise if landed on or passed over. However, if you don't, returning to school becomes an even more attractive option, since it gives you a chance to trade your existing career with the latter four of the six options described above. Another reason to return to school is the presence of a Lose Your Job space on the Path of Life; as we have seen, these are spaces to be avoided at all costs.
The Pros and Cons of Having a Family
In this version of the Game of Life, it's much more worthwhile to have children, since doing so allows you to collect $5,000 in baby gifts from every other player, in addition to receiving a Life Tile from the bank. Moreover, you will receive $10,000 per child upon retirement. Having children is a double-edged sword, however. Some Pay Spaces have values that are at least partially tied to the amount of children you have in your family, and are best avoided if possible if you have enough children. Moreover, three of the Baby Spaces on the board are found on the Family Path, which lacks a Pay Raise Space. Finally, the Open Daycare space (which is also on the Family Path) will cause anyone who lands on it to receive $5,000 per child from every other player, making it a space worth landing on if all your opponents combined have lots of children.
All In on Spin to Win
Given that a successful Spin to Win always rewards you with 10 times the amount you money you wagered, it is often a good idea to bet $50,000 whenever you get the chance. However, to improve your chances of success, Besides, any money lost from an unsuccessful attempt to Spin to Win can be easily recovered upon reaching the next Pay Day space. Finally, money earned from Spin to Win is totally unaffected by Share the Wealth Cards from other players.
Retirement Plans
Choosing whether to retire at Countryside Acres or Millionaire Estates depends mainly on your current net worth, not including Life Tiles. This is especially important; although the first three players to retire at Millionaire Estates will receive an additional Life Tile, anyone who retires there can have their Life Tiles stolen if the draw pile runs out, whereas players who retire at Countryside Acres cannot, nor will they receive any extra Life Tiles.
This concludes our rundown of the more advanced skills that can help you win The Game of Life. In the next part, I'll show some assorted trivia regarding this particular version of this long-running board game, and how it differs from other editions.
No comments:
Post a Comment