Keep Auto mode off for a hands-on run. Use Pause for reading, Next decision for upcoming choices and Spend & invest for actions between major events.
Separate pace from decision-making
The top bar offers Pause, speeds from 1× to 16×, Next decision and Auto mode. Pause stops the clock so you can inspect the character. The speed buttons change pacing. Auto mode delegates decisions; choosing a faster speed does not mean you intended to delegate them.
Our playthrough sometimes displayed a year as roughly three seconds. That makes it easy to miss an annual update while reading another panel. For a first life, use a slower speed and pause after an important event. The nominal 30-, 60- or 90-minute session settings are not exact finish times: pauses and lifespan affect how long you spend.
Use Next decision for choices, not a precise one-year step
A player asked for a simple advance-year button. The visible control is Next decision, which should be treated according to its label. It helps reach the next decision rather than promising exactly one birthday per click. If you want to review each year, use a slower pace and manual pauses.
The Pauses control governs reflection prompts at milestone ages such as 5, 15, 30, 50 and 70. It is separate from major decision cards and Auto mode. Our later capture showed Pauses off; that does not mean choices are delegated. At a decision, the option to leave future decisions to auto is a separate delegation choice.
Open all parts of Spend & invest
The money menu itself says time stands still while choosing. The first group shows timely actions, but More reveals additional purchases and preparations. Ways of living holds persistent preferences and automation.
| Where to look | Examples observed |
|---|---|
| Worth doing now | Marriage discussion, home offers, dinners, job courses |
| More | Business research, work abroad research, checkups, graduate school |
| Ways of living | Investment allocation, gifts, insurance and eating |
| On its own | Recurring checkups, courses, job searches, trips and gifts |
Understand the two different kinds of automation
Auto mode handles decisions and can also enable spending habits. When we switched it off at 31, the toast said the automatically enabled habits were switched off too. Separately, a manually enabled annual checkup can coexist with manual decisions. Inspect the On its own toggles after changing Auto mode instead of assuming their state stayed the same.
Press an enabled recurring setting again to disable it. Read its timing and affordability conditions, then check the life record after time advances. If an expected purchase did not happen, insufficient savings may explain it; the interface requires more than three times the cost for paid automatic actions and additional reserves for some categories.
Use the record to confirm the result
Life record is newest first and invites tapping a line to mark it with a star. Review it after a purchase, job change, research action or move. It can distinguish an intention from a result: researching a business is not opening it, researching migration is not arriving, and selecting stocks while in debt is not an immediate investment.
When a control appears missing, check age, occupation, current relationships, country and expanded menus before assuming a bug. Available actions change as the life changes.
Sources & verification
Observed in game · Oct 20, 2026 · v0.7.82 beta
A guide to the original .life game. Choices change probabilities; no route guarantees an outcome.