How to play One Life Journal
Begin a life, make a choice, and pause to see what changed. This free browser life simulation follows one fictional person from birth to the end of their life.
Updated
Start with a new beginning
Select Begin a life on the game page. You receive a birthplace, a name and a family. Read the birth scene, then choose Begin childhood. You do not need to create an account, install an app or enter personal information.
Make a choice, then read the result
When a decision appears, read both the action and its trade-offs. After choosing, the game pauses at that age. The result explains what happened, which people or abilities changed, and what the choice could make possible later. Press Continue this life when you are ready; the next few years do not pass until you continue. New lives also pause on major changes, such as graduation or a goodbye, before the next decision.
Follow the changes between decisions
Time can advance by several years between major decisions. The next scene reports things that happened along the way, such as learning, completing training, changes at work or a farewell. Watch your age, savings, energy, mood and the people in your life. Open Your life journal to revisit the story so far.
Why some choices appear later
Opportunities depend on your current situation. Childhood can involve school, interests and friends. Adult choices can involve training, work, a home, a partner or children. Later life can bring retirement, interests and passing on a skill. These paths are possibilities, not a checklist: age, skills, qualifications, relationships and resources affect what you can do. Some lives end before later stages.
Can you change every outcome?
Your decisions can change skills, money, relationships and the opportunities that follow. They do not change the baseline survival draw in this version. A life does not automatically last until an average life expectancy. There is no guaranteed best path or perfect ending. Read how the data and rules work for that distinction.
Save, return and change language
The game automatically saves your current life in this browser. Reopening the same site restores the reading stage, including a result you had not yet continued from. Changing the language keeps the same person, choices and progress. Use the same browser and device: there is currently no account sync or save export. Past lives keeps the eight most recent completed journeys on this device. Open a name to read its journal while playing another life.
Controls and connection problems
Use a mouse or touch, or move between controls with Tab and activate them with Enter. The current game needs JavaScript and an internet connection to calculate the next result. If a request fails, use the retry action. Keep your browser data if you want to continue; clearing site storage or closing a private browsing session can remove your save. See privacy and saves.