Introduction🎮

This toolkit is an experiential life simulation game centered around narrative, card drawing, and choices. The learners will draw cards representing family, education, health, career and social relationships at different stages of their lives. It enables learners to experience a complete life cycle from birth to old age within twenty minutes. Through the interweaving of random events and autonomous choices, learners can explore the contingency of fate and the power of choices.

Material preparation🎨

One or two blank sheets, about A5 size

The snake-shaped grid image for step 3 can be downloaded and printed, or saved as an electronic version. This will be convenient for the subsequent game process.

Various event cards, in printed or electronic form.

A pen

Are you ready? Let’s start!

Step 1:Think about life (2 minutes)🧠

Divide life into five stages: childhood、youth,、adulthood，middle age and old age. What events will occur in each of these stages? Take two minutes to think about it. If you had experienced completely different events from the ones you have now, how would your life direction be? You can simply make a note on a piece of white paper.

Step 2 : Read the game rules (3 minutes)💡

• In the order of life stages：Birth → Childhood → Youth → Adulthood → Middle Age → Old Age

• Each step involves drawing cards or making a choice according to the instructions.

• After each card draw, reflection and recording should be conducted. At the end of each stage, key words and key events should be recorded.

Step 3 : Start experiencing life (10 minutes)

Birth stage 🟨

0.Birth background

Draw one card from the eight cards of birth background.

Record key information such as the birth environment and family conditions.

The childhood period🟦

1.Family structure

Draw one card from the six family cards from childhood.

Think about and document the influence of your early upbringing environment.

2.School education

If your birth background is listed as “conflict zone” or “rural community” with no educational resources, then you cannot draw the education card.

Otherwise, one card from the four cards related to childhood education will be selected.

Think about and record the events that occurred during the educational stage.

3.Health condition

Draw one card from the five health cards from childhood.

Think about and record your health condition

4.Significant childhood events

Draw one card from the six randomly selected cards from childhood.

Record and reflect on the potential impact of this matter.

5.Learn a skill

Choose a skill freely, write down its name, and record its possible impacts.

End of childhood stage: Write down the key words and key events of childhood.

Youth stage🟩

6. Educational Path Selection

If you choose to continue your studies, then one of the four education cards from your youth will be drawn.

If you choose to work, then select one from the eleven career cards.

Record your choices and their outcomes.

7.Have the opportunity to start a relationship

Draw one of the two cards representing the relationship during  youth.

Record the results and reflect on this impact.

8.Chance event

Draw one card from the four random event cards(Social Relationship Category).

Record the results and reflect on this impact.

9.Economic fluctuations

If the previous choice was to continue studying, then no card draw will occur.

If you choose to work, then draw one card from the four random event cards (related to economics).

Record the results and reflect on this impact.

10.New interests or career directions

Choose an interest or direction on your own and record it.

The end of the youth stage: Write down the central problems of your youth and record the key words and key events.

Adulthood stage🟧

11.Career choice

If you are in the state of “unemployment” or “continuing your education”, then draw one card from the eleven career cards.

If you already have a profession, then no card draw will be performed.

Record the results and reflect on this impact.

12.Relationship selection

Based on your personal preferences, choose one of the following options:
Establish a long-term relationship
Stay single
Form a family

Record the results and reflect on this impact.

13.Impact of social events

Draw one card from the four cards representing random events in adulthood(Social Event Category).

Record the results and reflect on this impact.

14.A major turning point

Draw one card from the four major random events cards.

Record the results and reflect on this impact.

End of the adult stage: Write down the key words and key events.

Middle age stage🟥

15.Change in health condition

Draw one card from the five health cards of middle-aged people.

Record the results and reflect on this impact.

16.Changes in family structure

If one chooses to form a family during adulthood, then one will draw one of the four family cards.

If not formed, no cards will be drawn.

Record the results and reflect on this impact.

The elderly stage⬜

17.Health condition

Draw one card from the three health cards of the elderly.

Record the results and reflect on this impact.

18.Family condition

Draw one card from the four family cards of the elderly period.

Record the results and reflect on this impact.

19.Community and Social Environment

Draw one card from the three community environment cards.

Record the results and reflect on this impact.

Step 4 : Looking back and reflecting🪞(5 minutes)

• After the game is over, go back to the paper and take a look at your “life trajectory” Think about which part was the most unexpected for you, and which part is the most similar to your actual life?

• Reflecting on this life, does it make you have a deeper understanding of yourself in reality?

• If it is a multiplayer game, share your insights gained during the game with each other, and also discuss the different choices made.

• The life events depicted in this grid are not fixed. I encourage every learner to modify them according to their own experiences and the culture of their own country, creating a life game that can inspire them. I believe that if it incorporates more diverse cultures and richer experiences, it will become more complete and meaningful.

🌟Conclusion

I hope that learners can realize that the process of life is not a strict, predictable causal chain, but more like a game filled with random events and path dependencies. Perhaps an accidental event during childhood could, like the butterfly effect, produce completely unexpected reverberations decades later. Life is full of turns, and so-called inevitable outcomes are often woven together by a series of accidents. At the same time, I hope that learners can understand that these events themselves have no meaning, but we give them meaning. We are not passive recorders of life experiences, but active authors. We discover the beauty in life and experience fundamental freedom.

(Exploration Of Life Path: Growth And Choices © 2025 by Siyi Wang is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

(snake-shaped grid image © 2025 by Siyi Wang is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)