Genre Perspective Visual Pacing Gameplay Interface Setting Narrative |
Not an American user?
Description
Jones in the Fast Lane is a simulation of a person's life, presented as a turn-based strategy game. You can play by yourself, or compete with other human players or the computer-controlled Jones. At the beginning of the game you determine what your goals are, in four categories - Money, Happiness, Education and Career: the higher your goals, the longer the game.The game itself is presented as something akin to a board game. The board represents the city where you live. Each turn (here, a turn represents a week of your life) you have limited time to act, and you have to choose how to spend it. Walking somewhere else costs you time, as well as working, learning, and looking for a job.
The first thing you should do is looking for a job at an employment center. Since initially you have no education, experience or work history, you can only choose the simplest, lowest-paying jobs - such as a janitor or a cook. Later on, as you enroll into various courses at an university, you'll get smart enough to get the high-ranking jobs. But remember that some jobs require you to buy and wear expensive clothes.
Work isn't mandatory, and you can dedicate time to working whenever you feel like it. The money you get can be spent in many ways. You can buy a snack at a fast food restaurant (you should eat something each week, or next week you'll have less time due to hunger). You can buy some appliances for your house, lottery tickets, newspapers and more. You can also store your money in the bank (a wise choice, considering the ubiquity of pickpockets) or invest into stock market. Remember that you have to pay rent for your house - if you don't pay for a long time, your landlord will garnish some amount from the money you earn at work. But if you get enough cash, you can rent a luxury apartment and move out of the stinky hole inside which you've been spending your life earlier!
Screenshots
Promo Images
There are no promo images for this game
Alternate Titles
- "Keeping Up With Jones" -- Working title
Part of the Following Groups
- Game Engine: Sierra's Creative Interpreter (SCI)
- Genre: Simulation - Human life
- Jones in the Fast Lane versions
User Reviews
Critic Reviews
The One | Mar, 1991 | 88 out of 100 | 88 |
Press Play On Tape | Jan 08, 2021 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
80 |
Play Time | Oct, 1991 | 80 out of 100 | 80 |
ASM (Aktueller Software Markt) | Dec, 1990 | 9.2 out of 12 | 77 |
Raze | Apr, 1991 | 76 out of 100 | 76 |
The Retro Spirit | Nov 22, 2005 | 4 out of 6 | 67 |
Power Play | Feb, 1991 | 54 out of 100 | 54 |
PC-Spiele '92 | 1991 | 5 out of 10 | 50 |
PC Games (Germany) | May, 1993 | 35 out of 100 | 35 |
Alle PC Spiele | 1993 | Unscored | Unscored |
Forums
Topic | # Posts | Last Post |
---|---|---|
New version out on Android | 1 | Tristaan Polkinghorne (1) Dec 25, 2014 |
Trivia
Development
This game was developed externally, and shopped around a few publishers before Sierra picked it up. At that time, all the game mechanics were there, but the presentation was all very "comicy", and there was no music or sound at all. Sierra added the whole yuppie look and feel, and this game was one of the first to include digitized actors and superior Roland Sound (which was ported to the CD version).Title
Jones in the Fast Lane was originally titled Keeping up with Jones for the obvious reference to the phrase "keeping up with the Joneses", which refers to the desire to have at least as much wealth and success as your neighbours/peers (which is exactly what the game is about). The details are unclear, but someone somewhere owned a trademark on the phrase, so Sierra changed it.Different DOS versions
At least three different versions of the game for DOS are known to exist: Floppy with VGA graphics, floppy with EGA / Tandy graphics and CD-ROM with VGA graphics and Audio CD.Information also contributed by Tony Van and Trixter
Related Web Sites
- Crapshoot (A humorous review on PC Gamer)
MajorDad (535) added Jones in the Fast Lane (DOS) on Nov 03, 1999
Credits (41 people)
Executive Producer:
Creative Director:
Producer:
Lead Programmer:
Artists:
Composer:
Based on the original design by:
Actors:
Creative Director:
Producer:
Lead Programmer:
Artists:
Composer:
Based on the original design by:
Actors: