Restarting gives you a different beginning. Branching asks a different question: what might this same person do after another answer at a particular turning point? Forked Lives records snapshots before new important decisions so you can explore another path without replacing the first one.
Reach a decision before looking for a branch
Begin a life and wait for an important choice, or use the next-decision control. Reflection prompts at certain ages are opportunities to write a note; they are not the same as decisions with several actions. A branch needs a recorded pre-decision snapshot.
Try your first answer on its own terms. You do not need to revisit every choice immediately or optimize every number. It can be more interesting to follow a path for a while and return to a question that still bothers you.
Select a turning point that actually exists in the record
Open the branching control and choose one of the available decisions. The new record resumes before that answer, carrying its earlier age, state and history. The original life stays on your local shelf, so experimenting does not erase the story you have already lived.
If no point is available, the life may not have reached an important decision yet. Older records may also lack snapshots. Event text alone cannot reconstruct every old balance, relationship and state, so the game does not invent a missing past.
Compare the shared past before comparing the ending
The history before the selected point is shared; the changed answer starts the experiment. Look at age, happiness over time, decisions and relationships before looking only at money. This helps you understand what changed after the branch.
For example, when comparing more education with earlier work, write down what each answer is trying to protect: immediate income, a later opportunity or a family need. Read that reason again after the outcomes. A larger final number may not answer the question that mattered when you chose.
A branch, a shared beginning and a restart do different jobs
A new life draws another origin. A same-start invitation gives separate players the same birth conditions in their own browsers. A branch resumes partway through one recorded life, with the earlier history intact.
Restart to explore another origin. Invite a friend to compare what each of you would choose. Branch to try another answer at a specific turning point. An invitation is not a mid-life save file, and it does not give a friend your complete private journal.
Use the result to read a story, not prove a life rule
The common starting point makes a game comparison easier to follow, but the model remains simplified. State changes, events and opportunities generate the later story. One pair of endings cannot prove what a decision would cause in real life.
Export a backup if you want to keep an important branch. Clearing browser data can remove both original and alternative records. A keepsake image is a visible summary, not a substitute for the save needed to continue playing.