A mother has been left reeling after finding that the latest updates to the family-favourite, The Game of Life, are far too inclusive.
The mum, who defines herself for her followers as a “Christian homeschooling mother of 5 and writer on Biblical worldview topics” has shared her dismay about how The Game of Life has evolved.
The Game of Life dates back to 1860, however the game many of us are well versed in has been in circulation since 1960. Since then, we’ve all picked up a vast array of versions that have altered over the years. One would assume that this would be in large part to keep up with evolving values and to ensure the game is reflective of the different configurations each person’s version of “life” resembles.
Pretty cool notion, right?
Apparently not such a cool idea…
A mum has taken to her followers on Facebook to share her horror upon discovering the most recent version of The Game of Life reflects far from traditional family units, gender identities and values.
“But in several major ways, it is now very much a woke game. The changes are really a microcosm of how society has changed over the last generation or so,” she explained.
Her top 3 issues with it
The mum pointed out what irked her with the new version of The Game of Life.
Different coloured pegs
“In my childhood version, the people were either blue or pink, male or female. You married someone of the opposite color and the game prescribed whether you had a baby boy or a baby girl each time, depending on which space you landed. Part of my interest in the game, as a young girl, was seeing how many kids of each gender I ended up with.“In the new game, the people come in pink, blue, red, purple, yellow, and green. No more boys and girls. You can be whatever you want. Oh, and not all the “people” are humans. Not only can you add a spouse and children and friends (it’s not just family anymore) to the car, but you can also add a pet, which is represented by the same little peg person. So there’s no longer two genders and pets are now people too,” she explained.
The mum shares her disgust that gender diversity is included in the updated version of the game. Her issue that “you can be whatever you want” could very well be the biggest selling point for the game, finally allowing gender diverse people to feel included in a game that once embraced the stereotypical nuclear family.
Oh, and pets absolutely should not be part of the family, she claims.
Marriage is a choice, not a requirement
“In the old game, there was stop sign so that everyone had to get married before proceeding in the game. You added a person peg of the opposite gender to your car. You also drew a LIFE card for the happy occasion which could add $50,000 to $250,000 to your net worth at the end.“Now, you can choose the marriage or non-marriage path. And getting married costs you big bucks. You get that cost back at the end because you get money for each person in your car, but marrying has no real overall benefit. In fact, because the marriage path is slightly longer, it might delay you from reaching the Retirement space and cost you the bonus you get for retiring before others,” she continued.
The horror continues when the post explains that “getting married costs you big bucks”. I’m not sure where the surprise lies there, but clearly this woman was very surprised that the game chose to reflect that there are big costs with getting married. High-five for hitting the nail on the head there, Hasbro Games!
She was also unhappy that the game that is intended to mimic life is not as simple as adding a “person peg of the opposite gender to your car” adding big bucks to your overall value at the end of the game. It is almost as if Hasbro is saying that finding an opposite gender partner to marry doesn’t actually add more value to a human being, compared to, say, being in queer relationship or not in a relationship at all.
Having kids is a choice and does not require marriage beforehand
“In the older version of the game, you couldn’t proceed past the marriage stop without getting married because after that, you might land on a baby space and add a child to your car family. Obviously, that requires marriage first. There were lots of baby spaces. It was a rare game where anyone managed not to land on at least one. And each baby endowed you with a LIFE card that paid benefits in retirement. There was no limit to the number of children you could add. If you filled up one car, you could just add a second vehicle to transport your large family. I’ve had 8 or 10 kids before in that game.“In the woke version, you must choose the path where children are an option or the child-free life. But choosing the kid path costs you. And this choice is completely independent of whether you chose to marry or not. So you can say no to marriage and yes to kids. If you take the child path, there’s no guarantee that you will actually have a child. There are only three spaces that can give you kids, one of which is twins. So if you happened to land on all the baby spaces, you could have 4 kids, at most. Also, you no longer find out that you had a boy or girl; their color is up to you. Weirdly, adding a pet is an option regardless of which path you take, not something you have to intentionally choose like children. I guess everyone should have pets, but only some people should want kids? And again, wanting to have children not only costs you up front, but results in a longer path that delays you from reaching the end faster and getting a financial bonus,” she added.
The shock and horror continues as she discovers the game accurately depicts unmarried families with kids and the expenses included.
In conclusion
In conclusion, I feel like this woman has unintentionally given The Game of Life an incredible plug for all those that have yet to buy the latest version. Every con listed basically reads as a reason we all need to hop over to K-Mart and snag our own copy of the game.
But, in case you wanted to know the disgruntled mother’s conclusion on the game:
“The new game sends a very different message. If you want to win this dystopian game of LIFE, it’s best to avoid marriage and children as they cost you and slow you down. You definitely can’t have a lot of kids. That’s not even an option. There’s no reason marriage and children have any connection to one another. Pets and friends are the same as a spouse or children. They’re all equally valid choices. The bottom line is only about money. Family just gets in the way of that. But if you really want them, it’s an option. Whatever. Your life, your way.“So, needless to say, I’m not at all happy with the new version of the game. I don’t recommend this one at all. Wokeness ruins everything,” she finishes.
And, needless to say, shut up as take my money!
