Forked Lives (1in8b.space) is a free narrative life simulation you play in a browser. Start with a random origin, grow up, make decisions and return to a saved turning point to try a different answer. You can also invite a friend to begin with the same simulated identity and compare the lives you choose.
Who is this game for?
Try it when you want a short story to step into, a quiet break, or a conversation about the choices people make. Estimated automatic pacing starts at five minutes, with 15, 30, 60 and 90-minute options. Reading and decisions take extra time; pause or change speed whenever you like.
There is no required salary, lifespan or perfect ending. Family, work, happiness and turning points give you a way to look back at a story. They do not grade your real life.
What can you revisit?
A new life draws a new beginning. A branch starts before a saved important decision, keeps the earlier history and lets you choose a different answer. Both records remain available for a side-by-side comparison of choices, state and happiness over time.
Only decisions actually recorded with a branching snapshot can be revisited. The simplified model is not evidence of real-world cause and effect, and an old save cannot recreate a snapshot it never stored.
Can you play with a friend?
Same-start invitations are asynchronous. Share a link or the QR code on a keepsake card; a friend starts with the same simulated identity, family and date, then makes their own later choices. The daily shared beginning changes with the UTC date.
An invitation can include the first player’s outcome numbers for comparison after the other life ends. There are no live multiplayer rooms, server rankings or certified scores.
What is free, and where are lives saved?
Full lives, branches, keepsake cards and save exports are currently free. No account or download is required. Saves stay in the current browser; export a JSON backup before clearing site data or moving to another browser, device or domain.
Google Analytics and Plausible only start with permission. Private life notes, epitaphs, simulated names, invitation seeds and real birthplaces are not sent to these usage analytics services. Invitation links do not contain your full save or private journal.
Is it the official 1in8b.life game?
No. Forked Lives is independently made and has no official relationship with 1in8b.life or similarly named websites. The 1in8b.life about page identifies its own sole official domain; visit that address when you want that product.
Our 172-country and territory figures are approximate. Birth-weighted and population-weighted origins are different draws. Life events, finances, mortality and historical or future scenarios use a simplified entertainment model, not fortune-telling, a psychological test or a population forecast.