1. Life: Celebrity Edition
Mackenzie Watson

2. Front of box/ Logo design:

3. Overview:
In this modification of “The Game of Life,” instead of finishing the game in retirement, collecting savings, selling a house, etc., one’s goal is to cash in the success of their fame.
This modification is a simple alteration of the original game by changing the playing experience.
However, throughout playing the game, the player should make careful decisions that will ultimately determine their success by the end of the game…
Furthermore, the player should also be considering if the celebrity life is worth it as they face challenges throughout the game…

4. Setting Up: Set up: Give each player a limo (different colors).
Give each player 1 game piece (shaped like a person with sunglasses).
Give each player $200,000 dollars.
Split the cards (different colors) in 4 decks: Action cards, Profession cards, Performing Arts Educated Profession Cards and Agent Cards.
Choose a player to be the banker. They will pay from the bank when someone reaches a ”Pay Day” space and handle all money exchanges.
Choose a path: Attend Performing Arts School or Start Performing.
The youngest player spins to get started!

5. Board Spaces STOP spaces Pay Day spaces Action spaces Agent Spaces
When you land on a STOP, the player must make crucial decisions. Such as; pick a profession, choose an agent, buy a house.
Pay Day spaces
Each time a player lands or passes one, the banker must pay how much is on their profession card.
Action spaces
Take a card from the Action card deck and do what it says.
Agent Spaces
At these spaces, the player can choose to switch their agent. However, there comes a cost.

6. Beginning:
The player will choose to go to a performing arts school that has a tuition amount attached that has to be paid immediately. Or, they will choose to begin performing in shows right away (comedy, singing, dancing, etc.): They will be able to choose which profession.
While making this decision the player must consider the pros and cons: The performing arts school will cost money (100k), and they will have an opportunity to perform at high-paying venues while they are in school.
If they choose to start to perform right away, not go to school, they will get paid sooner (from performing in venues), but it will be lower than if they attended school first.
However, if they choose to attend school, they will be offered higher paying opportunities once they graduate.
If they choose not to go to school, they will begin with lower paying opportunities.

7. Choosing an Agent:
Once they finish school, or after performing at 2-3 venues, they will then have to choose an agent.
This is a crucial part of the game, this decision can have the potential to help the player make a lot of money or lose a lot of money.
Each agent has specialties that are listed on their card (such as managing singers, actors, dancers, comedians). However, again, there are costs and benefits (pros and cons).
Each agent is good at some things (getting the player shows) but bad at others (handling scandals). The player will find out how these characteristics will effect them throughout the game.
They have two ratings listed on the card from1-5: one, on how they handle publicity and two, how many people they know (networkability).
As the player chooses action cards, they will be able to take some opportunities, or have to put back opportunities (on the bottom of the deck) if their agent does not reach the minimum rating.
This should cause the player to question the cost of letting someone influence career decisions, as well as get them thinking about what they want in an agent. Which benefits outweigh the cost?

8. Action Cards:
One of the inevitable points of the game is that each player will amount to fame very quickly. They will experience both benefits and consequences when they draw an Action Card.
What the Action Cards Do:
With the fame, the player will be hit with scandals from the paparazzi where they will have to pay a fee. Ex: Pay a magazine to take down a picture.
If they draw a card where they have a scandal or perhaps have an opportunity to perform at an event, their agent must have the minimum rating (to either fix the scandal: don’t have to pay, or help them get the performance opportunity: receive more money).
They will also encounter lawsuits and copyright issues where they will have to pay for lawyers a fee to get them out of it.
However, they also have the opportunity to be paid money (Ex: If they have a hit single, go on tour).

9. The Point:
The player who has the most money at the end of the game is the winner.
However, the player should consider the implications of the decisions they made throughout the game:
Did going to performing arts school help them? Or, should they have started performing right away instead? In real life, we are told that attending school will ultimately make us more successful because we will get paid more. Was that true for this game?
They should also consider the idea that perhaps they became famous so quickly because of luck. Similar to in the real world, do people rise to fame and wealth because of wealth or because of strategic decision making?
However, were they lucky when they drew the action cards? What risks did they take? Would they have taken these risks in real life?
Drawing from Ian Bogost’s idea of procedurality in games, this game was both entertaining while also asking the player to consider how the game drew from expectations and systems in society (such as going to school), and the overall human experience.
Do they think that the the challenges they faced while having a famous life was worth it in the end? Did they look back and like how their life turned out? Would they want this outcome in real life?
The answers all depend on the player of the game. Some players will feel that the wealth outweighed the price of fame, while others will feel that the cost of being famous was simply not worth it.