Components
- 27 pink Family cards
- 27 blue Career cards
- 27 green Wealth cards
- 27 yellow Adventure cards
- 2 Reminder cards
- Instructions
Object of the Game
Be the player with the most points in your life story at the end of the game.
More cards in front of you on the table = more points!
Play cards onto the table to create your own life story. Have a great time and watch those points come flooding in! Read through the rules and try a practice game before you play for real.
Setup
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Separate the cards into piles by color. Keep the 2 Reminder cards on hand as you play.
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Give each pile a good shuffle and put them facedown on the table.
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Take turns taking 1 card at a time, until you have 5 cards each.
You can take cards from any of the decks - it's good to mix and match!
You don't have to take a card from every deck, as long as you have 5 cards in total.
Game Play
Life's simple! On your turn:
- Play a card onto the table.
- Tell a story to match the card.
- Take a new card from the top of any draw pile or discard pile and add it to your hand.
For example, you could take 1 Career card, 2 Wealth cards and 2 Adventure cards.
If you draw a +10 card, put it to one side and take a new card. When everyone has taken 5 cards, put any +10 cards back into the decks they came from and reshuffle.
Keep Your Cards Secret!
Take a card from any pile at the end of each turn.
How do I play a Card
Remember, it's all about collecting those points!
If a card has no symbol in the top right corner, play it onto the table right in front of you to start building your own life story. Read the card aloud and tell the other players a story to go with it.
For example: "Wow - I got a job as a Pop Star - I'm going to be famous!"
If a card has a red symbol in the corner, it means you need to have a particular card in your life story before you can use it. The symbol shows what you need.
For example, to 'Sail solo around the world,' you need a boat first! So you need a Boat card in your life story before you can use this one.
Use cards with arrow symbols to get stuff from other players! For example, use a Lawsuit card to sue another player like this:
- Choose another player and tell them why you're suing them - make up a reason! Be creative!
- They must choose a card (from their life story) worth 30 points or more and give it to you.
- Put the card into your life story.
- They put the Lawsuit card into their life story.
Once a card is part of someone's life story, it must stay on the table. It can't go back into any player's hand.
Nothing to Play?
If you have no cards you want to play, choose one to lose! Put it faceup next to the deck it came from to start a discard pile. Pick up a new card as usual.
Other players can pick up the cards you've discarded, so think carefully about what you throw away!
The Cards
Look at your cards before you start playing. Here's what each type of card does:
Any Time
Check the top right corner of a card to see if it has a symbol. If not, go ahead and play it into your life story on any turn!
Just Like Real Life!
You can only have ONE Passport and ONE Wedding card in your life story at any one time.
If you 'Lose Your Passport,' you can replace it with another one later in the game.
Career Ladder
Get a job! If a Career card has a scroll in the corner, you need a degree before you can add it to your life story.
As soon as you have a Career, you can build up your points by putting Payday cards into your life story! You can have up to 3 Payday cards per Career.
Red Symbol
If a card has a red symbol in the corner, the symbol shows you something you must have done before you can play that card.
Look out for the symbols as you play.
For example: To celebrate your Golden Anniversary, you need to be married (i.e. have a Wedding card in your life story). Just like in real life!
You can't make Home Improvements until you have a home!
Sometimes you need to play a card from one deck before you can complete a Life event from a different deck.
For example, you need to play a Boat card from the Wealth deck into your life story before you can play a 'Sail solo around the world' card from the Adventure deck!
Cards with an arrow in the corner help you add to your own life story by swapping cards or taking cards from other players!
For example, use a Mid-Life Crisis card to swap your whole hand with another player!
Always give the card with the arrow to the other player to put in their life story. It's like compensation!
End of the Game
There are 8 of these cards in the game. Each one shows that 10 years have flown by! The game ends after 60 years. (For a shorter or longer game, play for 40 or 80 years!)
When you draw a +10 card of any color:
- Show everyone and put it to the side of the playing area.
- Take a new card from any pile and add it to your hand. Your turn is over.
- As soon as someone draws the sixth +10 card, 60 years have passed and the game is over!
- All add up the points on the cards in your life story. Don't count any cards still in your hand.
The player with the most points wins! Congratulations on a wonderful life!
If there's a tie, the player with the most cards wins.
Tip: If it's tricky counting up your points, group your cards into sets of 100 points first, then add the sets together!
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