The Game of Life / Yahtzee / Payday (Game Boy Advance, 2005)

About this game

Three board games are playable in this compilation, which, like the title suggests, are "The Game of Life," "Pay Day," and "Yahtzee." Based off this selection, the compilation is seemingly themed especially to economics and chance. Each time a game is selected, the player has the option to select the number of players, along with whether each player is to be controlled by person or computer. "The Game of Life," which allows two to four players, involves progressing through many events from the start of college or work, to retirement. The wheel, which can land on numbers 1-10, is meant to determine how many spaces (or sometimes how much money) the player proceeds (or gains). Each space can either mean earning or losing money, and/or it can affect the process of the players/opponent(s) through the game. A few spaces, however, must be landed on by every player. The goal is to retire with the most money. "Pay Day" is similar to "The Game of Life" in that the player must have the most money to win, and two to four players can participate. However, the length of the game can be determined, as the game (which is shaped like a calendar) can range from one to six months. The player may land on spaces that, once again, affect the amount of money possessed by oneself or others. There are "Lottery," "Event," and "Auction" spaces to name a few. At the end of each month is the "Pay Day" space. "Yahtzee" has the player roll dice to obtain certain combinations for points. Like the other two games, two through four players can participate; however, this game can also be a single-player experience. Each player gets to roll up to three times to try to fulfill their dice combination; one could try to roll ones, twos, threes, fours, fives, sixes, three of a kind, four of a kind, full house, small straight, large straight, or Yahtzee. If the player feels dissatisfied about the results, he/she can place the score for that turn into the "Chance" section; however, the score of each turn must go into one open space corresponding to one of the mentioned combinations. The most points earned wins.