Life~Meaning Game

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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.

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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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Life Builds Meaning

This document defines the full card list, complete card text, starting hand size, and a detailed round-by-round walkthrough across all three Acts.

All mechanical ambiguities from v1 are resolved here.

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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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HIGH-RESOLUTION 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.