GameOfLife
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zAPPed board games hands-on
Alright, zAPPed is no GameChanger but, where Hasbro's line of iOS-integrated board games falls short in the pun department, it shines in cleverness. The Game of Life launched just a couple of days ago with a special edition designed to be used with an iPad app, while other classics Battleship and Monopoly are scheduled to follow later in the year. All make your iDevice an integral part of the gaming experience and leverage an ingeniously simple solution to boosting the interactivity. Underneath the game pieces are uniquely arranged capacitive plastic pads that allow the apps to identify what you're holding. Different boats in Battleship have slightly different arrangements of pads underneath that allow the app to tell whether your carrier or destroyer has been sunk.Monopoly uses the same trick to differentiate player debit cards. When it comes time to make a transaction, you swipe the card across the screen of your iPhone and funds are automatically added or subtracted from your account. Monopoly also adds a few more play options, including a mini game for escaping jail. The Game of Life, of course, lets you spin a virtual wheel, but also customize virtual pegs -- adding hair and accessories where once you were stuck with plain pink or blue ones. Game of Life zAPPed Edition is out now for $25, while Monopoly will land in June, followed by Battleship in September. Check out the gallery below and the PR after the break. %Gallery-147154%Edgar Alvarez contributed to this report.
Jinsei Game of Life pedometer makes you exercise to play
Directly rewarding efforts with results, now that's the way to get someone moving. As we've seen time and time again, providing a clear, undiluted motivator is a perfect way to make fitness a top priority in life, and that's exactly what Takara Tomy is hoping to achieve with its pocket-friendly Jinsei Game of Life pedometer. Essentially, this device is a portable version of the famed Game of Life board game, but users are purportedly not allowed to take a turn unless they take 300 steps first. Additionally, two players can take on one another via the "communication mode," but there's a good chance the most chiseled among you will take home the gold regardless of luck. Out this month in Japan for ¥3,675 ($34).[Via CScout Japan]
Game of Life updated spectacularly for Wii
We admit that we haven't gotten out the Game of Life board in a few years-- rarely having a big enough group, and also having lost all of the money-- but we don't remember the impaling-a-guy-in-a-barrel round of the game. Or the mushroom-shaped houses, or the pastel hippos. Or the, uh, shooting at flying UFO butts. Is this an accurate model of life in Japan? The title and the trademark spinner are the only indications that this is the Game of Life at all. The other screenshots make it look like one of the weirder minigame collections on the Wii-- one with Mii integration, though, to its credit. Buying this and expecting The Game of Life would be like that time we bought what we thought was a James Bond tape, but turned out to be #1 Licensed to Love and Kill.
