The world setting selects a statistical context. Country draw mode is a separate choice, so record both when comparing lives.
Use Today to learn the core loop
The original describes today’s starting statistics as the context retained through that life. The character still ages and encounters events, but the setting is not a promise to forecast the real future year by year.
For a first run, Today makes comparisons easier: you can concentrate on focus, education, work and money without also interpreting a historical starting point.
Choose another world for a different context
Past worlds use historical context and can include historical events. Future worlds use projections. Those projected conditions are hypothetical inputs to a game, not predictions about where a person will be born or how long they will live.
Any world lets the context itself be drawn. Check the years currently offered by the original rather than assuming an older screenshot or a similarly named game has the same range.
Keep comparisons fair
Country weighting can use annual births or the population alive. That control and the world setting answer different questions. Changing both at once makes it harder to explain why a new run feels different.
When sharing a result, include the game version, world, starting year, draw mode and birthplace. Add family circumstances if you are comparing money or schooling. A prosperous future-world life and a poor historical-world life are not a controlled test of the same strategy.
Sources & verification
Official documentation · Oct 20, 2026 · v0.7.82 beta
A guide to the original .life game. Choices change probabilities; no route guarantees an outcome.