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Description
We all have one common desire: the desire for happiness. As we build our life, taking steps towards the pursuit of happiness, we come closer to the realization that happiness lies in the pursuit.
The Pursuit of Happiness is a game in which you take a character from birth and you live the life you always wanted. Using a worker-placement mechanism with time as your workers, you take on projects, you get jobs, you buy items, you establish relationships, you raise families. The possibilities are endless as you live the life you have always wanted.
How much will you be able to achieve in just one lifetime during The Pursuit of Happiness?
Year Published
2015
Featured Videos
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 6
This page: 6
Sentiment:
pos 4 ·
mix 1 ·
neu 1 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–6 of 6
Video w1ArvtkeAzE
Unknown Channel game_review at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 60555 · mention_pk 152938
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Rich, story-driven experience that rewards thematic play and role-playing
- Impressive table presence with a large box and expansive expansion content for variety
- Strong solo play focus that emphasizes character development and narrative over pure optimization
- Nostalgia and memory mechanics add depth, giving players personal hooks to explore
Cons
- Can be mechanically complex; the breadth of expansions may overwhelm new players
- Certain expansions introduce extensive bookkeeping that can slow sessions
- Endgame thresholds in solo mode may feel opaque without clear immediate goals
Thematic elements
- Life choices, relationships, personal growth, and nostalgia
- A character’s life journey spanning adolescence to old age, with daily activities, milestones, and life events shaping the arc.
- Story-driven, memory-forward, with a strong emphasis on character backstory and personal moments
Comparison games
- The Game of Life
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card-based life events — Large decks of cards representing projects, experiences, items, and life moments drive decisions and narrative beats.
- Career and life-stage progression — Expansions introduce schooling, jobs, and career choices that shift character trajectories and scoring opportunities.
- hidden victory points — Solo mode uses life-goal cards that define what must be achieved to win, providing structured but flexible targets.
- Non-linear, open-ended play — Players choose actions that align with their character’s personality and backstory, rather than following a single optimal path.
- Nostalgia memory flip — Nostalgia cards begin as childhood memories and flip to reveal lasting realizations with ongoing effects.
- Resource management — Players track resources and upkeep costs for items and activities, tying management to available options and pacing.
- resource management and upkeep — Players track resources and upkeep costs for items and activities, tying management to available options and pacing.
- Variable life-goal objectives — Solo mode uses life-goal cards that define what must be achieved to win, providing structured but flexible targets.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I really like it for appreciating those moments and just seeing what happens.
- I enjoy telling stories when I play games, and this one feels like it lends itself to that really well.
- This is a large box. There's a lot of stuff in here, so I want to cover as much as I possibly can in this video.
- It's not just picking up cards and making up nice stories. really is a game that is difficult to manage your resources with.
- The nostalgia actually gives you sort of a very quick rundown of what your character experienced during childhood.
- I love going in here and playing solo and having a character and just seeing how their life unfolds.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video ZjmDuEQbG_8
Board Game Dad top_10_list at 10:36 sentiment: positive
video_pk 38404 · mention_pk 115652
Click to watch at 10:36 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Engaging and humorous storytelling
- Accessible worker-placement with a thematic twist
- Strong social interaction and quotes-worthy moments
Cons
- The theme may skew toward luck of timing for some
- Boxed components and production quality may vary by edition
Thematic elements
- life choices and time management
- A life-simulation where players pursue personal goals and happiness
- humorous, light-hearted slice-of-life framing
Comparison games
- The Game of Life
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Compound Scoring — Completing life goals grants happiness points to win.
- dynamic objective cards — Life goals create varied strategic objectives across play.
- Goal-based scoring — Completing life goals grants happiness points to win.
- worker placement — Players place workers (time) to pursue projects and life goals.
- worker placement with time as resource — Players place workers (time) to pursue projects and life goals.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- these games satisfy the same three criteria of all of my countdown family lists which is first of all they are accessible for all ages meaning none of the games on the list have very complex rules you can teach these games in less than 10 minutes and play it with anybody
- Planet Unknown is easily my favorite game on this list
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video AC0OZsvhWXg
Foster the Meepolo top_10_list at 15:41 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 8303 · mention_pk 24384
Click to watch at 15:41 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Sounds like life
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Life simulation
- Life
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Life simulation — Live your life to the fullest start relationships careers hobbies and many more
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- We love trick taking games
- This game is so much freaking fun
- I adore GMT games, they are becoming one of my favorite game publishers
- If you remember Vast Crystal Caverns is in my top five games of all time
- We bloody love it
- We can't stop playing
- It's a blimp game not a train game
- That's just work
- I don't think I want to play it
- I'll get it eventually
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video hD49Iy9qfcM
Actual Ol Anjaan Purchase top_50_list at 0:41 sentiment: positive
video_pk 7654 · mention_pk 22648
Click to watch at 0:41 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- strong thematic integration and storytelling
- high replayability via multiple life paths
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- pursuit of happiness through choices and trade-offs
- Life trajectory from childhood to retirement
- story-driven life-simulation
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- life-path progression — players progress through stages with consequences shaping happiness
- Time management — time is allocated among work, hobbies, relationships, and family to maximize happiness
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- there are many different paths to happiness and nothing's necessarily the right or wrong answer
- the dice are weighted towards being negative
- this game tells a story unlike any other board game I've ever played
- you can't talk to each other during this game
- it's a simple clean auction game which you just come to expect from Ronnie comitia
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video K5xSPyZUxYU
Three Minute Board Games general_discussion at 2:35 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 6062 · mention_pk 17972
Click to watch at 2:35 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
- Uncertain if it will reach the channel
Thematic elements
- Personal achievement
- Life simulation
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I used to call this a shelf of shame that was a pretty common thing to call it back in the day and I don't never really liked that term because I don't feel shame that I haven't got to these games
- this is mostly work like this is just a backload of things I probably should get to
- people will still be looking for it
- it doesn't matter if the game is like 20 years old people will still be looking for it
- I've painted this one and I spent a lot of time doing it
- there's no point putting them on the channel I think both of them have been out of print for like a decade
- one of the worst kickstarters by one of the worst studios in board gaming history
- Golden Bell Studios did everything wrong you could possibly think of
- purely toxic company run by incredibly terrible people
- it would be kind of a joke that I'd be able to do a three minute video of feudum
- this game has a tutorial video online that's like 40 minutes long
- The Rose explanation video feels like a parody but it's actually how the game is played
- nothing personally to me puts me off playing a game that then sitting down unboxing it and having a craft assignment
- stop making me spend hours assembling your damn games
- this is an uncontrollable mess right now
- I'm a full-time dad and I'm really doing this in the evenings
- I have a finite space and also it just puts pressure and stress on me having a whole bunch of crap there that I know I'm not going to get to
- I'm going to do a big cull
- I will be published by this company but that doesn't mean I'm going to be slavishly devoted to every single game they put out
- I am a sucker for cute animal games like I really am
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video rrmFBYHVPx8
Board Game Co top_8_list at 7:33 sentiment: positive
video_pk 170 · mention_pk 483
Click to watch at 7:33 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Mechanically satisfying while remaining accessible
- Clear life-progress narrative
Cons
- Similar concept to CV/Life may feel repetitive to some players
Thematic elements
- achieving happiness through choices and trade-offs
- modern life-focused narrative of career and family
- story-driven progression through goals and careers
Comparison games
- CV
- Life
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card-driven progression — Using a deck of cards representing careers, paths, and opportunities.
- story-based scoring — Scoring tied to achieving personal life milestones.
- worker placement — Assigning workers to actions to pursue life goals.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's literally just about the journey that you're on.
- you are simply moving along a track.
- you craft a story.
- This is a story of your villagers of how they're going to go around collecting the things you need as you try to find the various ways to find victory points.
- you are telling your story, but you're doing so with dice rolls and cards
- it's incredibly accessible
- you are going to lend itself to full fantasy over here
- you are trying to set up all these marriages to try to get these various people into your family
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–6 of 6