Jones in the Fast Lane

Game Description

Sierra Entertainment released Jones in the Fast Lane, a social simulation game, in 1991. The game’s goal is to accumulate a certain amount of money, happiness, status, and education. When Jones in the Fast Lane begins, the player(s) determine the exact amounts required. The name and goals of the game are a play on the concept of keeping up with the Joneses.

[title] Gameplay

JONES IN THE FAST LANE world is represented by a ring of square buildings resembling a cross between Monopoly and Careers. Up to four players can take turns “living” their respective weeks in Jones in the Fast Lane the titular “Jones.”

Each player is represented on the board by a different colored marble. Players are free to move in either direction, with the only restriction being the amount of time remaining per turn. Moving to a new location and performing actions such as working, attending class, or resting consume time. Each turn represents a week in the life of the character, during which the player chooses what the character does.

On weekends, each character has an “Oh What a Weekend” event, which either consumes some money (usually less than $200) or generates some money in the form of earnings if the player has a computer. These events are usually based on a purchase made by the player the previous week, such as going to a show if the player bought theatre or concert tickets. The event can also be random and described to the player with Sierra sarcasm, such as “you drove to Las Vegas in a $20,000 car and returned in a $200,000 Greyhound bus.” If the player chooses to deposit all of his or her cash in the bank at the end of the week or simply ends the week with no cash, no money will be spent over the weekend.

The goal of Jones in Fast Lane is to be the first player to achieve 100 percent success, which is accomplished by completing the top four goals. The objectives are wealth, happiness, education, and a successful career. Wealth is attained by having a certain amount of money in the bank, shares, and cash on hand; normally, the player would earn this money by going to work. Happiness is attained through the accomplishment of other goals, the acquisition of goods, and the taking of time off from work. Education is obtained by completing the available university qualifications; the number of qualifications required by the player is determined by how high the goal level is set. Climbing the career ladder into a management position in a specific job is how a career is achieved.

The game does have several fail states, such as when a player exits the bank or Black’s Market and Wild Willy steals his or her money. Wild Willy may also rob the Low-Cost Housing apartments from time to time, stealing items from all players who live there, such as TV sets and VCRs. The Security Apartments will never be robbed by Wild Willy. Other fail states could include a bank glitch that results in the loss of bank savings as well as the loss of the players’ jobs. Jones in the Fast Lane also has a changing economy in which prices such as rents and wages can rise or fall. If prices fall, the player will typically remain on the same wage; however, if the player changes jobs, he or she may be forced to accept a pay cut. The player can also choose to lock in a lower rent when prices are low and pay that price for the duration of the game, regardless of price increases.

Download [title]

We might have the game available for more than one platform. Jones in the Fast Lane is currently available on these platforms:

DOS (1991)

How to play on Windows

1. Download the DOS emulator, DOSBox, and put a shortcut for DOSBox onto your desktop.
2. Download the “Jones_in_the_Fast_Lane_DOS_Files_EN.zip” file from the link above. Make sure you download the file properly and that your internet does not disconnect while downloading.
3. Open the downloaded .zip file and extract the “Jones_in_the_Fast_Lane_DOS_Files_EN” folder to your desktop. You will need to use software such as WinRAR to do this.
4. Open the extracted “Jones_in_the_Fast_Lane_DOS” folder and then open the “Game Files” folder.
5. Drag the file called “sciv256.exe” on top of the DOSBox icon and the game should now launch in DOSBox.
6. Enjoy Jones in the Fast Lane!

[title] Screenshots

DOS

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