Life~Meaning Game

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Players: 2–5 Play Time: 60–90 minutes Age: 14+

Life Builds Meaning is a three-Act engine-building game with a Splendor-style market. Players begin as fragile patterns competing for scarce resources. As engines mature, players shift from competitive survival to negotiated interdependence, and finally to a fully cooperative effort to stabilize Civilization against escalating crises.

Early selfish strength can become late weakness. Early sacrifice can become structural resilience. The system becomes the organism.

The Three Acts

• Act One asks: How much do I take? (Persist, Layers 1–4, competitive)
• Act Two asks: How much do I trust? (Connect, Layers 5–8, mixed)
• Act Three asks: Was it enough? (Leave Something Behind, Layers 9–10, cooperative)

There is no single winner. The final score belongs to the group.

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Components

Tokens

• Energy tokens (at least 40), used to buy cards and pay for actions
• Coherence tokens (at least 25), used as victory capacity and becomes shared in Act Three

Cards

• Market Cards (the engine cards), divided into 3 tiers:
  • Tier 1 (Foundation) deck
  • Tier 2 (Systems) deck
  • Tier 3 (Institutions) deck
• Entropy Deck (Act One events)
• Social Deck (Act Two events)
• Crisis Deck (Act Three events)

Boards / Tracks

• Player boards (or paper):
  • Stability track (0–10)
  • Connection track (0–6)
  • Purpose track (0–6)
• Civilization board (or paper) with 4 tracks (0–10):
  • Infrastructure
  • Knowledge
  • Cohesion
  • Stewardship

Markers

• Round marker (1–10)

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Core Idea (Plain Language)

You buy permanent engine cards from a visible market. Cards generate resources each round and reduce costs, like Splendor. Early game is competitive and selfish. Mid game introduces trading and commitments. Late game converts personal Coherence into a shared pool and the group fights the Crisis deck together.

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Setup

1. Set Civilization tracks to 3 each: Infrastructure 3, Knowledge 3, Cohesion 3, Stewardship 3.
2. Each player starts with:
   • Stability 7
   • Connection 0
   • Purpose 1
   • Energy 2
   • Coherence 0
3. Prepare market:
   • Shuffle Tier 1 deck, reveal 4 cards face-up.
   • Shuffle Tier 2 deck, reveal 4 cards face-up.
   • Shuffle Tier 3 deck, reveal 4 cards face-up.
4. Place Entropy deck, Social deck, Crisis deck face-down.
5. Set Round marker to 1.
6. Choose first player.

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Game Length and Acts

The game lasts 10 rounds total.

• Act One (Persist): Rounds 1–4
• Act Two (Connect): Rounds 5–7
• Act Three (Leave Something Behind): Rounds 8–10

At the end of each round, the game reveals one event card for the current Act (Entropy, Social, or Crisis).

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The Market (Splendor-Style)

There are always 4 face-up cards in each tier row (Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3).

When a card is bought:

• The buyer takes the card into their tableau (permanent engine).
• Immediately reveal the top card of that tier deck to refill the empty slot.

You may buy from any tier if you can pay the cost.

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Market Cards (What They Do)

All Market cards have:

• Tier (1/2/3)
• Cost (Energy cost, sometimes with a requirement)
• Passive Bonus (permanent discount or permanent effect)
• Production (what the card generates at end of each round)
• Sometimes Legacy Points (these matter in Act Three)

Passive Bonuses (Simple)

A Market card provides one permanent bonus of one of these types:

• Discount (Reduce cost of buying future cards by 1, once per purchase)
• Shield (Reduce Stability loss from Events by 1, once per round)
• Bond (Increase Connection by 1, once when purchased)
• Compass (Increase Purpose by 1, once when purchased)

Each card has only one passive bonus. This keeps reading load low.

Production (End of Round)

Most cards produce one of:

• +1 Energy
• +1 Coherence
• +1 to one Civilization track (Act Two and Three only)
• +1 Stability

Tier 1 produces mainly Energy and Stability. Tier 2 starts producing Coherence and Connection. Tier 3 produces Civilization boosts and Crisis mitigation.

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Player Tableau (Your Engine)

Your tableau is all Market cards you’ve purchased. They stack permanently.

At end of each round, you resolve Production on all your cards, in any order.

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Key Tracks (Simplified but Thematic)

Stability (personal survival)

If your Stability reaches 0, you do not lose the game, but you become Strained.

Strained:

• Your end-of-round Production generates 1 less Energy total (minimum 0) until Stability is 3 or higher.

This makes collapse painful but recoverable.

Connection (social capacity)

Connection represents how much you can coordinate and trade.

Act One: Connection doesn’t enable trading, but some cards can increase it. Act Two: Connection matters directly for trades and commitments. Act Three: Connection improves the efficiency of shared repairs.

Purpose (legacy orientation)

Purpose is how effectively you convert your engine into collective benefit.

Purpose matters mostly in Act Three:

• Higher Purpose lets your Coherence contribute more to shared stabilization.

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Turn Structure (Clean)

On your turn, choose exactly ONE action:

A) Take Energy Take 2 Energy tokens from the supply.

B) Buy a Market Card Pay the Energy cost (after discounts). Take the card into your tableau. Refill the market slot.

C) Reserve a Market Card Take 1 face-up Market card and place it face-down in front of you as Reserved. Gain 1 Energy immediately. Limit: you may have at most 1 Reserved card.

D) Repair Spend 2 Energy to gain +2 Stability.

E) Act Two/Three: Build Civilization (Only in Act Two and Act Three) Spend 2 Energy to increase one Civilization track by +1.

That’s it. One action per turn.

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Discounts (Splendor-like, but only one kind)

If you have any cards with the Discount bonus: When you buy a card, you may apply up to 2 total discounts (maximum 2 per purchase), each discount reduces the cost by 1 Energy.

Example: A card costs 5. You apply 2 discounts, you pay 3.

This keeps the engine effect strong without turning into math.

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End of Round Sequence (All Acts)

After all players take one turn:

1) Production Each player resolves Production on their tableau.

2) Event Reveal the top card of the Event deck for the current Act and resolve it.

3) Cleanup Advance the Round marker by 1.

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Events (The Pressure That Creates Story)

Events are short and punchy. They create urgency and shift incentives across Acts.

Act One: Entropy Events (Rounds 1–4)

Entropy mostly hits players (Stability and Energy).

Act Two: Social Events (Rounds 5–7)

Social events hit players and Civilization, and they punish isolation.

Act Three: Crisis Events (Rounds 8–10)

Crisis events hit Civilization hard. Players can spend shared Coherence to prevent losses.

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Act Transitions (Critical Theme Beats)

End of Act One (after Round 4 Event)

Each player gains Coherence equal to:

• the number of Tier 2 cards they own (minimum 0, maximum 3)

Theme: once prediction/learning emerges, meaning capacity grows.

Then:

• Trading unlocks in Act Two.
• Players may freely talk about plans.

End of Act Two (after Round 7 Event)

Each player must contribute Coherence into a shared pool:

• Contribute Coherence equal to your Purpose (minimum 1, maximum 3).

Theme: elders begin pooling resources.

Start of Act Three (Round 8 begins)

All remaining personal Coherence becomes shared:

• Move all Coherence you have into the shared pool.

From here on, Coherence is spent by group agreement.

Theme: the score stops being personal.

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Act Two Trading (Simple, Enforced by Rules)

In Act Two only: On your turn, before your action, you may trade Energy with one other player.

Limit:

• One trade per player per round.

Broken promise rule (lightweight): If you explicitly promised a trade and do not do it, lose 1 Connection (minimum 0).

No tokens, no tracking beyond social memory.

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Act Three Shared Repair (Simple)

In Act Three, after the Crisis Event is revealed, the group may spend shared Coherence to prevent losses:

• Spend 1 shared Coherence to prevent 1 point of Civilization loss.

Connection efficiency: If the player proposing the spend has Connection 3 or higher, they may prevent 2 total loss for every 1 Coherence they spend, once per round.

Theme: social capacity makes repair more efficient.

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Victory, Collapse, and Score

After Round 10 Event resolves:

• If all Civilization tracks are 1 or higher: Collective Success
• If any Civilization track is 0: Collective Collapse

Final Score = sum of the four Civilization tracks (0–40).

Optional epilogue: Each player says one sentence: “What did we pass on?”

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Market Card Catalog (Prototype Set)

This is a complete prototype card set that supports the rules. You can print these as text cards.

All costs are in Energy.

Tier 1 (Foundation) – 16 cards

Tier 1 cards are cheap and mostly help you survive and generate Energy.

1) Scavenge Loop Cost 2. Bonus: Discount. Production: +1 Energy.

2) Heat Control Cost 2. Bonus: Shield. Production: +1 Stability.

3) Small Cache Cost 3. Bonus: none. Production: +2 Energy.

4) Boundary Habit Cost 3. Bonus: Shield. Production: +1 Stability.

5) Simple Routine Cost 3. Bonus: Discount. Production: +1 Energy.

6) Local Foraging Cost 4. Bonus: none. Production: +1 Energy and +1 Stability.

7) Stress Valve Cost 4. Bonus: Shield. Production: +1 Stability.

8) Resource Timing Cost 4. Bonus: Discount. Production: +1 Energy.

9) Patchwork Repair Cost 5. Bonus: Shield. Production: +2 Stability.

10) Efficient Intake Cost 5. Bonus: Discount. Production: +2 Energy.

11) Hard Shell Cost 5. Bonus: Shield. Production: +1 Stability and +1 Energy.

12) Reserve Store Cost 6. Bonus: none. Production: +3 Energy.

13) Quiet Discipline Cost 6. Bonus: Shield. Production: +2 Stability.

14) Constraint Skill Cost 6. Bonus: Discount. Production: +1 Energy and +1 Stability.

15) Redundancy Cost 7. Bonus: Shield. Production: +1 Stability. (Also: once per game ignore 1 Entropy event loss to you.)

16) Efficiency Groove Cost 7. Bonus: Discount. Production: +2 Energy.

Tier 2 (Systems) – 16 cards

Tier 2 introduces Connection, Purpose, and Coherence production.

1) Predictive Model Cost 5. Bonus: Discount. Production: +1 Coherence.

2) Signal Tuning Cost 5. Bonus: Compass (+1 Purpose on purchase). Production: +1 Energy.

3) Social Cue Cost 5. Bonus: Bond (+1 Connection on purchase). Production: +1 Energy.

4) Shared Language Cost 6. Bonus: Bond. Production: +1 Coherence.

5) Trust Routine Cost 6. Bonus: Bond. Production: +1 Connection (cap 6).

6) Meaning Anchor Cost 6. Bonus: Compass. Production: +1 Coherence.

7) Mutual Aid Practice Cost 7. Bonus: Bond. Production: +1 Stability. (Act Two: you may also give 1 Energy to any player after production.)

8) Apprenticeship Cost 7. Bonus: Compass. Production: +1 Coherence.

9) Model Sharing Cost 7. Bonus: none. Production: +2 Coherence.

10) Repair Through Others Cost 8. Bonus: Bond. Production: +2 Stability.

11) Role Clarity Cost 8. Bonus: Compass. Production: +1 Coherence and +1 Energy.

12) Commitment Loop Cost 8. Bonus: Compass. Production: +1 Coherence. (Act Two: if you traded this round, +1 additional Coherence.)

13) Small Institution Cost 9. Bonus: Bond. Production: (Act Two/Three) +1 Civilization track of your choice.

14) Shared Norms Cost 9. Bonus: Bond. Production: +1 Coherence.

15) Future Orientation Cost 9. Bonus: Compass. Production: +2 Coherence.

16) Collective Practice Cost 10. Bonus: Bond. Production: +1 Coherence and +1 Connection.

Tier 3 (Institutions) – 12 cards

Tier 3 pushes Civilization and provides Crisis help.

1) Infrastructure Guild Cost 10. Bonus: none. Production: (Act Two/Three) +2 Infrastructure.

2) Knowledge Commons Cost 10. Bonus: none. Production: (Act Two/Three) +2 Knowledge.

3) Cohesion Council Cost 10. Bonus: none. Production: (Act Two/Three) +2 Cohesion.

4) Stewardship Pact Cost 10. Bonus: none. Production: (Act Two/Three) +2 Stewardship.

5) Repair Corps Cost 11. Bonus: Shield. Production: +1 Stability. (Act Three: once per round prevent 1 Civilization loss for free.)

6) Truth & Reconciliation Cost 11. Bonus: Bond. Production: +1 Cohesion. (Act Three: spend 1 Coherence to prevent 3 Cohesion loss total, once per game.)

7) Education Pipeline Cost 11. Bonus: Compass. Production: +1 Knowledge. (Act Three: your Coherence spend prevents +1 extra loss, once per round.)

8) Mutual Defense Cost 12. Bonus: Shield. Production: +1 Infrastructure. (Act Three: ignore 1 Crisis effect that would reduce Infrastructure, once per game.)

9) Intergenerational Fund Cost 12. Bonus: none. Production: +1 Coherence. (Act Three: add +2 Coherence to shared pool on purchase.)

10) Civic Fabric Cost 12. Bonus: Bond. Production: +1 Cohesion and +1 Stewardship.

11) Stewardship Charter Cost 13. Bonus: Compass. Production: +2 Stewardship. (Act Three: if Stewardship would hit 0, prevent it once per game.)

12) Living Constitution Cost 14. Bonus: Bond and Compass (+1 Connection and +1 Purpose on purchase). Production: +1 to any two different Civilization tracks.

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Event Deck Text (Prototype Set)

Entropy Deck (Act One) – 8 cards

1) Wear and Tear All players lose 1 Stability.

2) Resource Scarcity All players lose 2 Energy. If you have fewer than 2, lose 1 Stability instead.

3) Thermal Drift Players with the most Market cards lose 1 Stability (tie: all tied).

4) Breakdown Each player must either spend 2 Energy or lose 2 Stability.

5) Overreach Players with 6+ Energy lose 2 Stability.

6) Isolation Tax Players with Connection 0 lose 2 Stability. Others lose 1.

7) Repair Window All players may gain +1 Stability. Then the player with the lowest Stability gains +2 more.

8) Entropy Spike All players lose 1 Stability and 1 Energy.

Social Deck (Act Two) – 6 cards

1) Mistrust If no trades occurred this round, all players lose 1 Connection.

2) Rumor Spiral Lowest Connection player loses 2 Stability. Civilization Cohesion −1.

3) Coordination Cost Civilization Knowledge −1 unless any player increased any Civilization track this round.

4) Institution Strain Group chooses one Civilization track to lose 1.

5) Reciprocity If at least two players traded this round, all players gain 1 Coherence. Otherwise, all players lose 1 Stability.

6) Shared Burden Each player may spend 1 Energy to prevent Civilization −1 to a track of the group’s choice. If fewer than two players do so, apply the loss.

Crisis Deck (Act Three) – 6 cards

1) System Shock Infrastructure −2 and Knowledge −1.

2) Polarization Cohesion −3 unless at least two different players spend shared Coherence this round.

3) Generational Drift Stewardship −3. If Stewardship is 1 or less after applying, lose immediately.

4) Cascading Failure The lowest Civilization track loses 3.

5) Resource Collapse All Civilization tracks −1.

6) Institutional Corrosion Choose one: lose 2 from one track OR lose 1 from two different tracks.

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Comprehensive Walkthrough (3 Players, 10 Rounds)

This walkthrough demonstrates the market engine and the Act shifts clearly.

Players: Anna, Ben, Clara. Turn order: Anna → Ben → Clara.

Starting:

• Anna: Stability 7, Connection 0, Purpose 1, Energy 2, Coherence 0
• Ben: Stability 7, Connection 0, Purpose 1, Energy 2, Coherence 0
• Clara: Stability 7, Connection 0, Purpose 1, Energy 2, Coherence 0

Civilization: Infra 3, Know 3, Coh 3, Stew 3

Initial Market (example): Tier 1 row:

• Scavenge Loop (2, Discount, +1 Energy)
• Heat Control (2, Shield, +1 Stability)
• Simple Routine (3, Discount, +1 Energy)
• Boundary Habit (3, Shield, +1 Stability)

Tier 2 row:

• Predictive Model (5, Discount, +1 Coherence)
• Social Cue (5, Bond, +1 Energy)
• Meaning Anchor (6, Compass, +1 Coherence)
• Shared Language (6, Bond, +1 Coherence)

Tier 3 row:

• Infrastructure Guild (10, +2 Infra)
• Knowledge Commons (10, +2 Know)
• Repair Corps (11, Shield, +1 Stability, Act3 prevent 1 loss free)
• Intergenerational Fund (12, +1 Coherence, Act3 +2 shared on purchase)

Shared Coherence pool: empty.

Round 1 (Act One)

Anna action: Take Energy (+2). Anna Energy 2→4. Ben action: Buy Heat Control (cost 2). Ben Energy 2→0. Ben tableau: Heat Control. Clara action: Buy Scavenge Loop (cost 2). Clara Energy 2→0. Clara tableau: Scavenge Loop.

Production:

• Ben: Heat Control produces +1 Stability (Ben 7→8).
• Clara: Scavenge Loop produces +1 Energy (Clara 0→1).

Entropy Event: Wear and Tear. All players −1 Stability.

• Anna 7→6
• Ben 8→7
• Clara 7→6

Round 2 (Act One)

Anna action: Buy Simple Routine (cost 3). Anna Energy 4→1. Tableau: Simple Routine (Discount). Ben action: Take Energy (+2). Ben Energy 0→2. Clara action: Take Energy (+2). Clara Energy 1→3.

Production:

• Anna: Simple Routine produces +1 Energy (Anna 1→2).
• Ben: Heat Control produces +1 Stability (Ben 7→8).
• Clara: Scavenge Loop produces +1 Energy (Clara 3→4).

Entropy Event: Resource Scarcity. All lose 2 Energy or lose 1 Stability if short.

• Anna has 2 Energy: 2→0.
• Ben has 2 Energy: 2→0.
• Clara has 4 Energy: 4→2.

Round 3 (Act One)

Anna action: Take Energy (+2). Anna Energy 0→2. Ben action: Buy Boundary Habit (cost 3). Ben has 0 Energy, cannot. He instead takes Energy (+2). Ben 0→2. Clara action: Buy Boundary Habit (cost 3). Clara Energy 2→? Clara has 2, cannot. She takes Energy (+2) to 4.

Production:

• Anna: +1 Energy from Simple Routine (2→3).
• Ben: +1 Stability from Heat Control (8→9).
• Clara: +1 Energy from Scavenge Loop (4→5).

Entropy Event: Isolation Tax. Connection 0 players lose 2 Stability. All are Connection 0.

• Anna 6→4
• Ben 9→7
• Clara 6→4

Round 4 (Act One Finale)

Anna action: Buy Heat Control (cost 2). Anna Energy 3→1. Tableau now has Simple Routine + Heat Control. Ben action: Buy Scavenge Loop (cost 2). Ben Energy 2→0. Tableau: Heat Control + Scavenge Loop. Clara action: Buy Boundary Habit (cost 3). Clara Energy 5→2. Tableau: Scavenge Loop + Boundary Habit.

Production:

• Anna: Simple Routine +1 Energy (1→2). Heat Control +1 Stability (4→5).
• Ben: Heat Control +1 Stability (7→8). Scavenge Loop +1 Energy (0→1).
• Clara: Scavenge Loop +1 Energy (2→3). Boundary Habit +1 Stability (4→5).

Entropy Event: Entropy Spike. All lose 1 Stability and 1 Energy.

• Anna Stability 5→4, Energy 2→1
• Ben Stability 8→7, Energy 1→0
• Clara Stability 5→4, Energy 3→2

End of Act One bonus: Each player gains Coherence equal to Tier 2 cards owned (cap 3). Nobody has Tier 2 yet, so 0. (This is a clear prompt: get Tier 2 next game, or tune this bonus to Tier 1+Tier 2 if desired.)

Act Two unlocks trading.

Round 5 (Act Two)

Anna action: Take Energy (+2) (Energy 1→3). Ben action: Take Energy (+2) (0→2). Clara action: Buy Predictive Model (Tier 2 cost 5). Clara has 2, cannot. She trades: Clara gives Anna 1 Energy now, Anna promises to send back 1 next round. Clara then takes Energy (+2) to reach 3.

Production:

• Anna: +1 Energy (Simple Routine) and +1 Stability (Heat Control). Energy 3→4. Stability 4→5.
• Ben: +1 Stability (Heat Control) and +1 Energy (Scavenge Loop). Stability 7→8. Energy 2→3.
• Clara: +1 Energy (Scavenge Loop) and +1 Stability (Boundary Habit). Energy 3→4. Stability 4→5.

Social Event: Coordination Cost. Knowledge −1 unless anyone increased Civilization this round. Nobody did. Knowledge 3→2.

Round 6 (Act Two)

Anna action: Build Civilization (pay 2 Energy) to raise Knowledge +1. Anna Energy 4→2. Knowledge 2→3. Ben action: Buy Social Cue (Tier 2 cost 5). Ben has 3, cannot. He takes Energy (+2) to 5, then cannot buy because action already used. (This is the Splendor tension.) Clara action: Buy Predictive Model (cost 5). Clara has 4, cannot. She takes Energy (+2) to 6.

Production:

• Anna: +1 Energy (2→3), +1 Stability (5→6).
• Ben: +1 Stability (8→9), +1 Energy (5→6).
• Clara: +1 Energy (6→7), +1 Stability (5→6).

Social Event: Reciprocity. If at least two players traded this round, all gain 1 Coherence, otherwise all lose 1 Stability. No trades occurred. All lose 1 Stability.

• Anna 6→5
• Ben 9→8
• Clara 6→5

Round 7 (Act Two Finale)

Anna action: Buy Shared Language (Tier 2 cost 6). Anna has 3, cannot. She takes Energy (+2) to 5. Ben action: Buy Social Cue (Tier 2 cost 5). Ben has 6, pays 5, keeps 1. On purchase: Bond gives +1 Connection (Ben Connection 0→1). Clara action: Buy Predictive Model (Tier 2 cost 5). Clara has 7, pays 5, keeps 2. On purchase: Discount bonus.

Production:

• Anna: +1 Energy (5→6), +1 Stability (5→6).
• Ben: Heat Control +1 Stability (8→9). Scavenge Loop +1 Energy (1→2). Social Cue production +1 Energy (2→3).
• Clara: Scavenge Loop +1 Energy (2→3). Boundary Habit +1 Stability (5→6). Predictive Model production +1 Coherence (0→1).

Social Event: Institution Strain. Group chooses one Civilization track to lose 1. They choose Cohesion 3→2.

End of Act Two contribution: Each player contributes Coherence equal to Purpose (min 1, max 3). Everyone Purpose is still 1, so each contributes 1.

• Anna contributes 0? She has 0 Coherence, so she contributes 0 and instead loses 1 Stability as “shortfall penalty.” (Rule for shortfall below.)
• Ben has 0 Coherence, same shortfall.
• Clara has 1 Coherence and contributes it.

Shared pool now: 1.

Shortfall penalty (important to keep Act Two meaningful): If you cannot contribute required Coherence at end of Act Two:

• lose 1 Stability per missing Coherence, and contribute 0 for that amount.

Anna and Ben each missing 1, so each loses 1 Stability.

Start of Act Three

All remaining personal Coherence moves to shared pool. Clara has 0 now. Shared pool remains 1.

Round 8 (Act Three)

Anna action: Buy Meaning Anchor (Tier 2 cost 6). She has 6 Energy, pays 6, gets Compass: Purpose +1 (1→2). Ben action: Take Energy (+2). Clara action: Buy Small Institution (Tier 2 cost 9) not available, so she instead buys Shared Norms if present; if not, she takes Energy. (Market will vary. The point: in Act Three, if you didn’t build earlier, you’re behind.)

Production now matters a lot:

• Clara’s Predictive Model keeps generating Coherence, which goes to shared pool in Act Three (immediately).

Rule: In Act Three, any Coherence you generate goes directly to the shared pool. So if Clara generates +1 Coherence, shared pool +1.

Crisis Event: System Shock. Infrastructure −2 and Knowledge −1. Group spends shared Coherence to prevent losses 1-for-1. If shared pool is low, they take damage.

Round 9 (Act Three)

Players prioritize Tier 3 cards and Civilization building actions. Crisis Event hits, group spends shared Coherence, Connection 3+ players can get 2-for-1 efficiency once per round (if anyone reached it).

Round 10 (Act Three Finale)

Final builds and emergency repairs. Crisis Event resolves. Check for collapse (any Civilization track at 0).

Final score: sum of Civilization tracks.

This walkthrough shows the core loop. In actual play, Tier 2 and Tier 3 purchases accelerate sharply in Act Two, and Act Three becomes a tense cooperative spending puzzle.

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Important Clarifying Rules (So Play Is Smooth)

Coherence in Act Three

During Act Three:

• Any Coherence produced by Market cards goes directly into the shared pool.

Purpose and Coherence Contribution

At end of Act Two:

• You must contribute Coherence equal to your Purpose (min 1, max 3).
• If you cannot, you lose 1 Stability per missing Coherence.

This makes Purpose real and prevents “ignore legacy until the end.”

Civilization Track Caps

Civilization tracks cap at 10.

Any gain above 10 is ignored.

Player Track Caps

Stability caps at 10. Connection caps at 6. Purpose caps at 6.

Reserved Cards

If you Reserved a card, you may buy it on a later turn as your one action. If you buy it, you do not refill the market until after you take it (then refill).

Buying With Discounts

You may apply up to 2 discounts per purchase, total.

Discounts do not carry over. They apply only during that purchase.

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Quick Teaching Script (60 Seconds)

“On your turn you do one thing: take energy, buy a card, reserve a card, repair stability, or build civilization. Your bought cards are permanent engines, and they produce at end of round. After production, an event hits. Early rounds are selfish survival, middle rounds add trading, and late rounds are cooperative civilization defense. Your personal coherence becomes shared, and that’s how we survive Act Three.”

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Overview

Players: 3–5 Play Time: 90–120 minutes Age: 14+

Life Builds Meaning is a three-Act tabletop game about survival, connection, and legacy. Players begin as fragile patterns competing for stability. Each player starts as a simple pattern trying to survive. Over three acts, the game moves from competitive survival to collaborative legacy. What you do early shapes what you can contribute later — and the final score belongs to everyone. Over time they form relationships, build shared systems, and ultimately face escalating crises together.

Early selfish strength can become late weakness. Early sacrifice can become structural resilience.

The system becomes the organism.

THE THREE ACTS

• Act One asks: How much do I take? Persist (Layers 1-4, competitive) You are a pattern fighting entropy. Players compete for Energy tokens, Stability cards, and Repair actions. The goal is to stay coherent while others drift. Players can block, undercut, and outmaneuver each other. Nobody shares. The act ends when every player has survived a set number of entropy events.

• Act Two asks: How much do I trust? Act Two: Connect (Layers 5-8, mixed) Nervous systems emerge. Players can now trade, form alliances, and share prediction cards — but betrayal is still possible. Social bonds are built on a shared board. Institutions start forming. The tension is trust: cooperating makes everyone stronger but exposes you to being undercut. The act ends when a collective coherence threshold is reached.

• Act Three asks: Was it enough? Act Three: Leave Something Behind (Layers 9-10, fully collaborative) All players are now elders. Personal scoring stops. The group works together against the game itself — entropy events escalate, and the board must be stabilized for a next generation. Final score is collective: what did you build, what did you repair, what did you pass on?

The game can end in collective success or collective collapse.

There is no single winner. The final score belongs to the group.

Revision Notes

This revision addresses:

• Why players would play negative cards
• Forced card pressure (no passive hoarding)
• Real market decision tension
• Clear draw sources
• A Bohnanza-style obligation mechanic
• Increased table interaction

The philosophical arc remains intact.

1. Strict Hand Pressure

• Hand limit is 6 cards (5 if Fragmented).
• You may NOT discard freely.
• At end of your turn, if over limit, you MUST immediately play excess cards.
• If unable to legally play a card, lose 1 Regulation per unplayed card.

This creates forced action.

You cannot hoard safely.

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2. Compulsory Action Rule

You must play at least 1 card on your turn if possible.

You may play up to 3.

No "pass and turtle" strategy.

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3. Card Direction Rule (Bohnanza-style Tension)

Each card shows one of three icons:

• SELF (must target yourself)
• OTHER (must target another player)
• FLEX (choose)

If you draw an OTHER card and cannot play it on yourself, you MUST play it on another player before end of turn or suffer 1 Regulation loss.

Now when you hit someone, you have plausible deniability:

"I had to. I couldn't hold it."

This dramatically increases table talk.

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Draw Clarification

During Act One:

On your turn:

1. Draw 2 cards from the Act One Deck (Energy, Repair, Block combined).
2. You may take 1 card from the Energy Market (this does not count as one of your 2 draws).

Entropy cards are NEVER drawn into hand. They are revealed only at end of round.

Act Two: Draw from Act One deck until exhausted. Then reshuffle discard.

Act Three: No more personal card draws. Only Crisis deck is used.

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Energy Market

The Energy Market now matters.

Market Structure

5 face-up Energy cards.

When you take one:

• Slide row left.
• Reveal new card from Energy deck.

Market Pressure Rule

If at end of round there are 3 or more cards left in market, All players lose 1 Belonging.

Theme: unused opportunity creates social drift.

Now players care what sits there.

Reserve Mechanic Revised

Reserve Market now reads:

"Place a claim token. If another player takes this card before your next turn, gain 1 Coherence."

Now blocking becomes strategic.

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Revised Block Cards (Now Rewarded)

Negative cards now provide benefit.

Redirect Entropy

Move 1 damage from you to another player. Gain 1 Energy.

Energy Tax

Target player discards 1 Energy card. You gain 1 Energy.

Lock Track

Prevent track increase next turn. Gain 1 card draw immediately.

Market Disruption

Shuffle Market. Draw 1 card.

You now gain something when you cause friction.

This makes tension purposeful.

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New Card Type: Trade Pressure (Act One & Two)

Add 10 cards.

Forced Exchange (OTHER)

Choose a player. Swap 1 random card. You both gain 1 Energy.

Resource Demand (OTHER)

Target gives you 1 Energy. If they refuse, they lose 1 Belonging.

This introduces negotiation early.

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Revised Entropy Timing

Round structure:

Each player turn → Then Entropy reveal → Then Market Pressure check.

Clear rhythm.

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Act Two: Formal Alliance Mechanic

Players may declare an Alliance at start of round.

Allied players:

• May trade freely.
• Share Prediction peeks.
• If one suffers damage, may split it.

BUT

If alliance is broken: Add 2 Trust Fractures.

This raises stakes.

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Act Three: Personal Sacrifice Track

New Rule:

Any player may overcontribute Coherence.

For each 2 extra Coherence you contribute beyond requirement: Gain 1 Legacy immediately.

This makes heroic play visible and rewarding.

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Walkthrough (Act One, Round 1)

Players: Anna (Regulator 4) Ben (Prediction 4) Clara (Purpose 4)

Starting hand size: 5 each.

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Round 1

Anna Turn

Draw 2 from Act One deck: Redirect Entropy (OTHER) Basic Energy (SELF)

She must play at least 1 card.

She plays Basic Energy → +1 Energy.

She now has 6 cards (over limit). Must play one more.

Redirect Entropy cannot be held long-term and must target another.

She plays Redirect Entropy targeting Ben. She gains 1 Energy.

Ben: "Why me?" Anna: "I had to play it."

Table laughs.

She then takes Efficient Energy from Market.

Hand now 5.

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Ben Turn

Draw 2: Adaptive Model (SELF) Resource Demand (OTHER)

He plays Adaptive Model → Prediction 4→5. He peeks at upcoming Entropy: Regulation Shock.

He plays Resource Demand on Clara. Clara can give 1 Energy or lose 1 Belonging.

Clara refuses. She drops Belonging 3→2.

Ben gains nothing but weakened Clara socially.

He takes Stored Energy from Market.

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Clara Turn

Draw 2: Risky Extraction (SELF) Forced Exchange (OTHER)

She plays Risky Extraction → +3 Energy, Regulation 3→2.

She is at 6 cards again.

She must play Forced Exchange. Targets Anna.

They swap random cards.

Anna gets Lock Track. Clara gets Self-Regulate.

Both gain 1 Energy.

Now table tension is high.

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Entropy Phase

Reveal: Regulation Shock.

All players lose 1 Regulation.

Anna 4→3. Ben 3→2. Clara 2→1.

Clara now fragile.

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Market Pressure Check

2 cards remain in market. No penalty.

Entropy Track = 1.

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What Changed

Now:

• You are forced to play interaction cards.
• Negative play gives reward.
• Market matters.
• Card pressure drives drama.
• "I had to" becomes real table excuse.
• Negotiation begins in Act One.

The game now produces stories, not just systems.

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Design Outcome

The Life Builds Meaning arc still works.

But now:

Act One feels alive. Act Two feels political. Act Three feels earned.

The system still becomes the organism.

But now the organism argues.

Components

• 5 Pattern Boards
• 1 Civilization Board (double-sided; inactive in Act One)
• 40 Energy Cards
• 30 Entropy Cards (Act One)
• 25 Repair Cards
• 15 Block Cards
• 20 Social Entropy Cards (Act Two)
• 20 Crisis Cards (Act Three)
• 40 Coherence Tokens
• 25 Legacy Cards
• 15 Trust Fracture Markers
• 1 Entropy Track Marker

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Pattern Board

Each player tracks four attributes. If any attribute reaches 0, the player enters Fragmented State.

Tracks

Regulation

Represents stability and stress tolerance.

• If Regulation ≥4: reduce incoming Entropy damage by 1.
• If Regulation ≤1: take +1 damage from each Entropy event.

Prediction

Represents foresight and modeling.

• If Prediction ≥4: look at the top Entropy/Crisis card before it resolves.
• In Acts Two and Three, you may reveal that card to others.

Belonging

Represents social integration.

• In Act Two: determines number of trades per turn.
• In Act Three: each 2 Belonging converts 1 personal Coherence into 2 shared Coherence.

Purpose

Represents long-term orientation.

• When you voluntarily sacrifice resources for group benefit, gain 1 Legacy Card if Purpose ≥3.
• In Act Three, each Legacy card may be spent to prevent or reduce Crisis damage.

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Fragmented State

When any track reaches 0:

• Reduce hand size by 1.
• Entropy damage against you increases by 1.
• You cannot gain Legacy Cards.

You may recover by raising the track above 0 through Repair.

No player is eliminated.

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Setup

1. Each player selects a Pattern Archetype.
2. All tracks begin at 3, except one chosen specialty track begins at 4.
3. Shuffle Act One deck (Energy, Repair, Block combined).
4. Place 5 Energy cards face-up in the Energy Market row.
5. Shuffle Entropy Deck separately.
6. Set Entropy Marker to 0.

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Act Structure

The game consists of three Acts:

• Act One – Persist
• Act Two – Connect
• Act Three – Leave Something Behind

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Act One – Persist

Competitive survival phase.

Goal

Survive 6 Entropy Rounds.

Turn Structure

On your turn:

1. Draw 2 cards.
2. Play up to 3 cards.
3. Take 1 Energy card from the Market (optional).

Card Types

Energy Cards

Fuel actions. Cost: free to take from Market. Use to:

• Increase a track (+1 Energy per increase).
• Activate certain Repair cards.
• Pay costs on advanced abilities.

Repair Cards

Restore 1–2 points to a track. Some may target another player.

Block Cards

Moderate disruption. Examples:

• Reserve Market – Place marker on an Energy card. Only you may take it next turn.
• Redirect Entropy – Move 1 damage from you to another player.
• Lock Track – Target player cannot raise chosen track next turn.
• Market Disruption – Shuffle Market row.

Block cards cannot destroy a player.

Entropy Cards

Resolved at end of round for all players. Examples:

• Resource Loss – Each player discards 1 card.
• Instability – All players lose 1 Regulation.
• Drift – Lowest Prediction loses 2.

After each Entropy resolution, advance Entropy Track by 1.

End of Act One

When Entropy Track reaches 6:

• Flip Civilization Board face-up.
• Each player contributes 1 Coherence to shared pool.
• Discard remaining Block cards from hands.
• Begin Act Two.

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Act Two – Connect

Mixed cooperation and competition.

New Elements

• Social Entropy Deck replaces Entropy Deck.
• Civilization Board activates.
• Trust Fracture markers introduced.

Civilization Board Tracks

• Infrastructure
• Knowledge
• Social Cohesion
• Stewardship

All begin at 2.

Turn Changes

Players may trade cards up to Belonging value per turn.

If a player breaks a declared trade agreement, place 1 Trust Fracture marker.

If Trust Fractures ≥5 at any time:

• Increase all future Crisis damage by +1 in Act Three.

Social Entropy Examples

• Alliance Strain – All players with Belonging ≤2 lose 1.
• Institutional Decay – Infrastructure −1.
• Polarization – If any betrayal occurred this round, Social Cohesion −2.

Collective Threshold

When total Civilization track sum reaches 12:

• All personal Coherence tokens move to center.
• Personal scoring ends.
• Replace Social Entropy Deck with Crisis Deck.
• Begin Act Three.

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Act Three – Leave Something Behind

Fully cooperative phase.

Structure

5 Crisis Rounds.

Each round:

1. Reveal 1 Crisis Card.
2. Players may play Legacy cards or contribute Coherence to mitigate damage.
3. Apply unresolved damage to Civilization Board.

Crisis Examples

• System Collapse – Lose 2 Infrastructure and 1 Knowledge.
• Cascading Failure – Reduce lowest Civilization track by 3.
• Generational Drift – If Stewardship ≤2, lose game immediately.

Legacy Cards

Examples:

• Sacrifice – Prevent all damage to one track.
• Teach Forward – Restore 2 Knowledge.
• Institution Builder – Raise Infrastructure by 2.
• Reconciliation – Remove 2 Trust Fractures.

Legacy cards are public and single-use.

Conversion Rule

For every 2 Belonging: You may convert 1 personal Coherence into 2 shared Coherence.

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Victory and Collapse

After 5 Crisis Rounds:

If no Civilization track is at 0:

• Collective Success.
• Score equals total Civilization track sum.

If any Civilization track reaches 0:

• Collective Collapse.
• The system failed to stabilize.

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Starting Hand and Round Structure (Clarified)

Starting Hand

Each player:

• Draws 5 cards from the Act One deck.
• Hand limit: 7 cards (6 if Fragmented).
• If you exceed hand limit at end of turn, discard down.

Round Definition

A round consists of:

1. Each player takes one full turn in clockwise order.
2. After all players finish, reveal and resolve 1 Entropy (or Social Entropy / Crisis) card.
3. Advance the appropriate track.

Act One lasts exactly 6 Entropy Rounds.

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ACT ONE CARD LIST (110 Cards Total)

Energy Cards (40)

Energy cards are not identical. They represent sources.

20 Basic Energy

Text: “Gain 1 Energy token.”

8 Efficient Energy

Text: “Gain 2 Energy tokens.”

6 Stored Energy

Text: “Place 2 Energy tokens on this card. At any future turn, reclaim them.”

6 Risky Extraction

Text: “Gain 3 Energy. Lose 1 Regulation.”

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Repair Cards (25)

8 Self-Regulate

Restore 2 Regulation.

5 Adaptive Model

Restore 2 Prediction.

4 Reconnect

Restore 2 Belonging.

4 Recommit

Restore 2 Purpose.

4 Mutual Aid

Restore 1 track to yourself and 1 to another player.

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Block Cards (15)

4 Reserve Market

Place marker on an Energy card. Only you may take it next turn.

3 Market Disruption

Shuffle the Energy Market row.

3 Lock Track

Choose a player. They cannot increase a chosen track next turn.

3 Redirect Entropy

After Entropy is revealed, move 1 damage from you to another player.

2 Energy Tax

Target player must discard 1 Energy card or lose 1 Regulation.

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Entropy Cards (30)

6 Resource Drain

All players discard 1 card.

6 Regulation Shock

All players lose 1 Regulation.

4 Cognitive Drift

Lowest Prediction loses 2.

4 Isolation Pressure

All players with Belonging ≤2 lose 1.

4 Aimlessness

All players with Purpose ≤2 lose 1.

6 Environmental Stress

Each player loses 1 from their highest track.

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ACT TWO SOCIAL ENTROPY CARDS (20)

4 Alliance Strain

All players with Belonging ≤2 lose 1.

4 Institutional Decay

Infrastructure −1.

4 Polarization

If any betrayal occurred this round: Social Cohesion −2. Otherwise −1.

4 Knowledge Fragmentation

Knowledge −1 unless at least one player has Prediction ≥4 and reveals warning.

4 Stewardship Neglect

If no player sacrifices resources this round: Stewardship −2.

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ACT THREE CRISIS CARDS (20)

4 System Collapse

Infrastructure −2, Knowledge −1.

4 Cascading Failure

Lowest Civilization track −3.

4 Generational Drift

If Stewardship ≤2: lose immediately. Otherwise Stewardship −2.

4 Institutional Corrosion

All tracks −1.

4 Trust Breakdown

If Trust Fractures ≥3: Social Cohesion −3. Otherwise −1.

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LEGACY CARDS (25)

Legacy earned in Act One and Two when:

• You voluntarily take damage for another player.
• You sacrifice 2 Energy to repair Civilization.
• You warn group of Entropy and reduce impact.
• You repair another player while gaining no personal benefit.

Requires Purpose ≥3.

6 Sacrifice

Prevent all damage to one Civilization track this round.

5 Teach Forward

Restore 2 Knowledge.

5 Institution Builder

Raise Infrastructure by 2.

4 Reconciliation

Remove 2 Trust Fractures.

5 Steward’s Gift

Convert 2 personal Coherence into 4 shared Coherence.

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Walkthrough (3 Players)

Players: Anna (Regulator 4) Ben (Prediction 4) Clara (Purpose 4)

All other tracks at 3.

Each begins with 5 cards.

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ACT ONE – ROUND 1

Initial hands:

Anna:

• Basic Energy
• Efficient Energy
• Self-Regulate
• Reserve Market
• Risky Extraction

Ben:

• Adaptive Model
• Basic Energy
• Stored Energy
• Lock Track
• Resource Drain (drawn mistakenly? No. Entropy deck separate. Remove.)

Corrected Ben:

• Adaptive Model
• Basic Energy
• Stored Energy
• Lock Track
• Mutual Aid

Clara:

• Efficient Energy
• Recommit
• Market Disruption
• Basic Energy
• Risky Extraction

Energy Market row: Basic / Efficient / Basic / Stored / Risky

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Turn 1 – Anna

Draw 2: Basic Energy, Self-Regulate

Plays: Efficient Energy → gains 2 tokens Risky Extraction → gains 3 tokens, Regulation drops from 4 to 3 Reserve Market on Stored Energy

Total Energy: 5

Takes no market card.

End turn.

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Turn 2 – Ben

Draw 2: Basic Energy, Adaptive Model

Plays: Stored Energy → stores 2 tokens Basic Energy → +1 token

Uses Lock Track on Clara (cannot raise Purpose next turn)

Energy total: 1 stored, 1 active

Takes Efficient Energy from market.

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Turn 3 – Clara

Draw 2: Basic Energy, Self-Regulate

Plays: Risky Extraction → +3 Energy, Regulation 3→2 Basic Energy → +1 Energy Attempts Recommit but blocked (Lock Track)

Energy total: 4

Takes Stored Energy from market (breaking Anna’s plan).

Anna’s Reserve Market is wasted.

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End of Round 1 – Entropy

Reveal: Regulation Shock.

All players lose 1 Regulation.

Anna: 3→2 Ben: 3→2 Clara: 2→1

Clara now at Regulation 1 (fragile).

Entropy Track = 1.

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ACT ONE – ROUND 2

Turn 1 – Anna

Draw 2: Self-Regulate, Basic Energy

Plays: Self-Regulate → Regulation 2→4 Basic Energy → +1 token Uses 2 Energy to raise Regulation to 5

She stabilizes aggressively.

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Turn 2 – Ben

Draw 2: Mutual Aid, Efficient Energy

Plays: Efficient Energy → +2 tokens Adaptive Model → Prediction 4→5

He now sees next Entropy card: Resource Drain.

He says nothing (Act One, no cooperation).

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Turn 3 – Clara

Draw 2: Reconnect, Basic Energy

Plays: Recommit → Purpose 4→5 Reconnect → Belonging 3→5 Basic Energy → +1 token

She builds internally, ignoring Regulation.

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End of Round 2 – Entropy

Resource Drain.

All discard 1 card.

Clara discards Market Disruption. Ben discards Mutual Aid. Anna discards Basic Energy.

Entropy Track = 2.

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(Condensed but precise continuation)

Rounds 3–6 show:

• Clara enters Fragmented State after Environmental Stress drops Regulation to 0.
• Anna maintains high Regulation.
• Ben peaks Prediction to 6 and looks ahead repeatedly.
• Clara never sacrifices for others and earns no Legacy.
• Anna gains 2 Legacy (Mutual Aid used sacrificially later).
• Ben gains 1 Legacy by warning and taking extra damage voluntarily.

Entropy Track reaches 6.

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ACT TWO SNAPSHOT

Civilization Board starts: Infrastructure 2 Knowledge 2 Social Cohesion 2 Stewardship 2

Clara trades aggressively but betrays once → 1 Trust Fracture.

Ben warns about Knowledge Fragmentation and saves 1 point.

Anna sacrifices 2 Energy to repair Infrastructure and gains 1 Legacy.

Civilization total reaches 12.

Transition to Act Three.

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ACT THREE – ROUND 1

Crisis: System Collapse. Infrastructure −2 Knowledge −1

Anna plays Sacrifice → Prevent Infrastructure loss. Knowledge still −1.

Ben converts 1 Coherence (Belonging 4) → adds 2 shared. Clara has little to contribute.

Board after mitigation: Infrastructure 2 Knowledge 1 Social Cohesion 3 Stewardship 3

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Subsequent Crisis Rounds:

Round 2 – Trust Breakdown Trust Fractures = 1 → minor loss.

Round 3 – Cascading Failure Lowest track Knowledge −3. Ben plays Teach Forward → restores 2. Net −1.

Round 4 – Institutional Corrosion All −1. Group spends 3 Coherence to offset.

Round 5 – Generational Drift Stewardship at 3 → drops to 1 but not 0.

Final totals: Infrastructure 3 Knowledge 2 Social Cohesion 3 Stewardship 1

Collective Success.

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Design Outcome Demonstrated

Anna’s early Regulation → survival capacity. Ben’s Prediction → mitigation leverage. Clara’s selfish Act One → weak Act Three contribution.

No player eliminated. System nearly failed due to Stewardship neglect.

Final score: 9.

Group survived, but barely.

The system became the organism.