LIFE Tiles of game

A major change to the game in this version is the collection of "LIFE Tiles" as one progresses through the game. Every time a player lands on a space marked with the LIFE logo they collect a LIFE tile, (a small rectangular game piece with the "LIFE" logo on one side and an event on the other along with a sum of money collected from this accomplishment). (These also replace the previous "collecting presents" rule). On each of these tiles is a major life event (e.g. climbing Mt. Everest, curing the common cold, building a better mousetrap, etc.). Each of these tiles bears an amount from $50,000 to $250,000. The tiles are not revealed until all players have "retired", at which point they are flipped over and their total is added to the player's money total.
If at any time the draw pile of LIFE Tiles is depleted, a player may steal one from any active player remaining in the game, or certain "retired" players (see Retirement section below).

[edit] Buying a house

One of the red spaces in the game is buying a house. At this point in the game, the player must immediately draw one House Deed and pay to the bank whatever that house costs (ranging from a $200,000 Victorian mansion, to a $40,000 "split-level" shack). From then on, homeowners' insurance may be purchased for a price listed on the house deed.

[edit] Insurance and stock

In this version, there are two insurance policies (automobile and home owners') that prevent the player from being affected by a number of "tragedy" spaces throughout the board. Purchasing a Stock certificate still costs $50,000, however its role is very limited in this series. Upon purchasing stock, the player chooses a stock card numbered between 1 and 9. From that point, any time any player spins that number, the stockholder collects $10,000 from the bank. A player may only hold one stock card at a time unless landing on a space marked "Stock Market Zooms", at which point a free stock card is chosen. Likewise, "Stock Market Slumps" costs the stockholder one stock card. Each number has only one stock and will not be available to others as they are being purchased.

[edit] Retirement

When a player reaches the end of the game, there are two options to "retire". One is to place their car at Millionaire Estates (largely unchanged from the previous version), or, may retire at Countryside Acres (previously the "Bankrupt" space). Each has its benefits and risks.
If a player thinks he or she will end the game with the most cash, the best option is to retire at Millionaire Estates. Four LIFE Tiles are placed here before the start of the game. After all players have finished the game, they count their cash on hand; whoever has the most cash receives these four tiles (in the rare occurrence of a tie, they are split). However, if other players are still playing the game and the LIFE Tile draw pile is empty, these players may still steal tiles from anyone retired at this space.
If a player is not confident in the amount of cash on hand, they may retire to Countryside Acres. By retiring here, they collect one LIFE tile and no other players can steal tiles from him/her for the remainder of the game.
After all players have retired, the amounts on the LIFE Tiles are revealed and whoever has the most money (cash on hand added to the combined total of one's LIFE Tiles + house value) is the winner.

[edit] CD-ROM version

In 1998, a CD-ROM version of the game was produced by Hasbro which added computerized moves and short animations to the game. An option was also given for players to compete in games over the Internet.
Several features of the 1980s version were also resurrected for this version of the game, such as "collecting presents" for marriage and kids (one spin at $2,000 times spin for marriage, one spin at $1,000 times spin for a child, two spins at $1,000 per spin for twins) and exacting "Revenge" on other players (If one landed on a Pay Day space, one would take an amount of money equal to one's salary from a player of one's choice. Players retired at Countryside Acres were presumably immune from being selected). Also the routine for retiring changed. Retired players still spun the wheel on their turn, this time to gain or lose money. The difference between Countryside Acres and Millionaire Estates is that the former only had one space in which the player could lose money, but the payouts were lower. The latter offered bigger payouts, but also had more numerous and severe penalty spaces, thus adding more risk to retiring here. This changed retiring strategy quite a bit, making come-from-behind victories possible if Millionaire Estate retirees' luck turned for the worse:

Number spun	Countryside Acres	Millionaire Estates
1	-$5,000	-$25,000
2	$5,000	$25,000
3	$10,000	-$50,000
4	$15,000	$50,000
5	$20,000	-$75,000
6	$25,000	$75,000
7	$30,000	-$100,000
8	$35,000	$100,000
9	$40,000	-$150,000
10	$45,000	$200,000

[edit] Life's Little Games

Different versions of the game were offered on the CD-ROM. The Classic game followed the rules of the current board game. An Enhanced Game was also offered which replaced the LIFE Tiles with "Life's Little Games" (simple arcade type games which offered the player a chance to win bonus money). In the Enhanced game, when a player landed on a space that would ordinarily award them a LIFE tile, they instead spun the wheel. Random items were assigned to each space, being either a cash amount or one of the games. One exception was spinning 10, which allowed the player to spin again and multiplied the player's winnings from whatever they landed on. The space started at Double and the multiplier increased by one for each successive spin of 10. The other exception was spinning 5, which was marked "Revenge" and gave the player another spin, but not before choosing one opponent from whom to take one's winnings from the game (or presumably give to, if the player finished with a negative score in Up or Down). Players retired at Countryside Acres are immune from being selected for revenge.
The values used in "Life's Little Games" were typically $5,000, $10,000, $25,000, $50,000, $75,000, and $100,000. Regardless of whether a player clicks DONE, exhausts all turns, or (in the case of Skunk Money) loses the accumulated winnings, all boxes are revealed before the next player spins.

[edit] Safe Cracker

The player has four tries to reveal as high an amount as possible. If satisfied that (s)he cannot achieve a higher amount with any remaining attempts, the player clicks DONE.

[edit] Up or Down

There is one of each denomination from $5,000 to $100,000. There is also one of each denomination in the negative, which subtracts this amount from a player's potential gain (and is painted the complementary color). A player can choose as many spots as seen fit and stop at any time by clicking the DONE box.

[edit] Get a Life

All letters in the word L-I-F-E must be uncovered in six clicks or fewer. Every letter appears alone in three different spots on the grid, in the form, position, and colors of the Life ident. If the word is revealed in four clicks, the player gains $100,000. In five clicks, the gain is $75,000. In six, it is $50,000. During the course of this game, a corner display, again in the form of the LIFE ident, keeps track of the player's progress by indicating which letters have and have not yet been uncovered.

[edit] Treasure Chest

There are two of each denomination from $5,000 to $100,000. The player has six tries to reveal two identical amounts. The game ends upon a match or exhausting all six turns.

[edit] Skunk Money

There are no $75,000 or $100,000 spots on this board. One spot is worth $50,000; two are worth $20,000; six are worth $10,000. One spot reads "DOUBLE YOUR WINNINGS" and thus doubles the potential amount. The other two spots contain a skunk. If a skunk is uncovered, the game ends and no money is gained. A player can stop at any time by clicking the DONE box.

[edit] Cannonball

There are two of each denomination from $5,000 to $100,000. Like Treasure Chest, the idea is to uncover two spots containing the same denomination. Unlike Treasure Chest, a player can achieve more than one match over the course of the game. In this take on the Memory Game, the player has four tries and therefore eight clicks to get as many matches as possible.

[edit] Crane Dump

Only included in the PC version, this game involved a player moving a crane left or right on top of a game board very similar to Plinko from The Price is Right. When the player was satisfied with the crane's position, they dropped the ball into the board, where it would land in a slot on the bottom. The slots were labeled with money amounts ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. No more than one ball at a time could occupy a slot. If a second ball did land in a slot, both balls would be destroyed, leaving the slot empty. After six balls, the total winnings were tallied and awarded to the player. The player could also stop early by clicking the "stop" button.

[edit] Trash Can

Another PC exclusive, this game was essentially the converse of Crane Dump. It involved the player moving a white bucket between the slots of Crane Dump. When they were satisfied with the bucket's position, they dropped the ball from the crane above (the crane in this game was stationary) in hopes that it would land in the bucket. The player was allotted six balls; each ball that successfully landed in the bucket awarded the player $50,000, making the maximum possible winnings $300,000