Playing Lifegame

Lifegame can be utilized in various ways. It can either be played by one learner at a time or in small groups, or screened by video projector for the whole class. There is not much time allotted for each choice (it varies according to the length of the text), so it is not possible to make complicated polls for common answers. In the time runs out before the players decide on an option, the computer makes allots an option for them.

You can find the whole script of Lifegame by clicking here. Briefly, the course of the game is as follows:

1. Short introduction
2. Player chooses a name and sex of the Lifegame character.
3. The players is offered a situational text and an image. There are always three options to choose from. If the player does not make a choice, the computer does it for them.
4. One game comprises 13 situations. There are two situations each from childhood, youth and old age, four situations from young adulthood and three from mature adulthood. The transition from one age group to another is shown by an animation.
5. The game contains a health test for the 40-year age mark, where the player answers health related questions.
6. Once the game is over, Lifegame makes an evaluation using four dimensions (physical, psychological and social health, and general coping skills). This evaluation screen can be printed out for later use.

The length of the game depends on three factors: the reading speed of the player, the quality of the computer used, and on how long the player spends on each question. With fairly peaceful tempo and relatively good computer Lifegame takes about 8 minutes to complete.