Life~Meaning Game

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👁️ Watch Game Introduction ~ 7 minutes
🎧 Listen to Example of Play ~ 25 minutes

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Game Name: Life Builds Meaning Game
Hold together, learn what matters, become valuable.

Life Builds Meaning is a tabletop game for two to six players that blends competitive engine-building with a shared responsibility to keep the world stable. Players collect specialized Pattern cards to upgrade their personal engines, while also investing in shared Projects that strengthen the table as a whole. There are no hidden roles and no betrayal. Tension comes from scarcity, timing, and competing priorities under shared world pressure. It’s a competitive-collaborative engine builder: everyone cooperates to keep the world from sliding into Drift, and each player competes to score the most by:

• maintaining Coherence under pressure
• gaining Social advantage through reciprocity and long-horizon contribution
• contributing to shared Projects

Progress is tracked on individual player mats, but the world’s condition is shared. Unpredictable World Events generate Drift, and if instability climbs too high it triggers a penalty multiplier that reduces everyone’s final score. The game ends when the table achieves a high-level goal or the environment collapses, and the winner is the player who best integrates personal value with communal stewardship.

Players / Time

• Players: 2–6
• Time: 45–75 minutes

Win Condition / End Triggers

The game ends when the first of these happens:

1. A Layer 10 Project is completed.
2. The World Drift marker reaches the final space (12).
3. The Project supply runs out (you cannot refill the Project row when a slot becomes empty).

Timing rule: If an end trigger happens during Phase C, finish Phase D for that round, then score.

Winner: Highest Final Score.

Components

World Board (1)

• World Drift Track (0–12)
• Pattern Market face-up Pattern cards (6 slots)
• World Project (3 slots) for Project tiles
• World Event (1 slot) for the current World Event
• Shared Mitigation Pool area (tokens spent to mitigate Events)
• Local Drift area for small 🌀D stress tokens (recommended)

Tokens

☀️ E (Energy)
🔁 R (Regulation)
🧩 M (Model)
💎 V (Value)
❤️ S (Support)

What Support means (conceptually): Support is your capacity to repair damage and maintain relationships. Mechanically, it fuels both stabilization (anti-Drift) and pro-social contribution.

Drift markers:

• 🌀 World Drift marker on the Drift Track
• 🌀 D (Drift) stress tokens (local Drift on the World Board)

Pattern Cards (90)

Each Pattern card shows icons only:

• Layer number (1–10) and Layer icon
• Cost (icons)
• Outputs (2–4 icons)
• One Tag icon (🧿 Boundary, ⚖️ Balance, 🦋 Form, 🧫 Membership, 🌐 Prediction, 🎯 Reinforcement, 🧠 Presence, 🏛️ Social, 🌳 Story, 🌍 Stewardship)

Design note: Layers 1–6 are primarily engine parts on the player mat. Layers 7–10 appear mostly as tags and Project tiers.

Layer Guidance

Layers 1–6 live mostly in your personal Pattern Stack as engine parts, while Layers 7–10 show up as special effects and shared structures on the World Board. The Tag icons are the bridge. They let the full 10-layer model appear in play without needing 10 personal slots. Pattern cards naturally reenact the layers via token outputs. Layer-by-layer mapping (10 layers):

• Pattern Stack:
  • 🧿 Layer 1 Boundary: Depicted as the “self vs world” foundation in your Pattern Stack. It supports your Coherence state and your ability to operate under pressure. Mechanically, it’s your basic platform: make ☀️E (Energy) and 🔁R (Regulation) to stabilize your baseline.
  • ⚖️ Layer 2 Balance: Depicted as the 🔁R (Regulation) economy that keeps you in range. Mechanically, it’s the loop that prevents overshoot and collapse: make ☀️E (Energy) and 🔁R (Regulation) to stay stable while expanding your engine.
  • 🦋 Layer 3 Form: Depicted as patterns that restore structure, reduce the cost of “build/repair” contributions, and improve the efficiency of upgrading. Mechanically, Form-tagged Patterns help you contribute to Projects more cheaply and more often, and they tend to create “we-function” advantages.
  • 🧫 Layer 4 Membership: Depicted as patterns that make you more reliable in reciprocal play and more efficient at shared work. Mechanically, Membership-tagged Patterns improve your Project participation, increase contribution credit, and reward consistent cooperation.
  • 🌐 Layer 5 Prediction: Depicted as 🧩M (Model) generation plus Pattern Market manipulation (peek, filter, reserve). Mechanically, this layer helps you see what’s coming and shape the offer so your engine grows with fewer dead turns.
  • 🎯 Layer 6 Reinforcement: Depicted as 💎V (Value) generation plus “policy lock-in” effects (stable conversions, habit-like benefits). Mechanically, Reinforcement stabilizes what you do repeatedly, turning good choices into repeatable advantage.

• Effect:
  • 🧠 Layer 7 Presence: Depicted as a rare “agency burst” icon on select Pattern cards, not as a full slot. It grants flexible choice (wild token effect). Mechanically it is limited flexibility, for example: a once-per-round wildcard token, a third action, or a “choose one of two futures” effect when resolving a World Event. The point is that “Presence” feels like a unified moment of choice, not like another steady currency stream.

• World Board:
  • 🏛️ Layer 8 Social: Depicted primarily on the World Board, not inside a player. It creates ❤️S (Support) and stabilizes Trust via Projects. Mechanically it lives in the Trust track, the Social Touchpoint action, and Projects that create shared scaffolds. Culture-tagged Patterns and Projects tend to increase Trust, reduce the cost of cooperation, and improve contribution credit. This matches the layer: culture is shared rules, roles, and institutions that stabilize meaning across minds.
  • 🌳 Layer 9 Story: Depicted as long-horizon scoring structures that convert sustained contribution into multipliers and endgame scoring. Mechanically it shows up in Story-tagged Patterns and Projects like mentorship, teaching, archives, and “containers that outlast a round.” Story is where your play starts to look like a coherent arc, not just turn-by-turn efficiency.
  • 🌍 Layer 10 Stewardship: Depicted almost entirely as high-tier Projects on the World Board. Mechanically it is the endgame: Stewardship Projects have prerequisites (high Trust, strong Habitat, and often other Vital Signals), require major table investment, and award big points plus world-level stability effects (reducing World Drift, improving Vital Signals). This forces the two-way survival relationship at scale: you can’t “buy” stewardship, you have to stabilize the world enough to make it possible.

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Layers 1–6 live mostly in your personal Pattern Stack as engine parts, while Layers 7–10 show up as special effects and shared structures on the World Board. The Tag icons are the bridge. They let the full 10-layer model appear in play without needing 10 personal slots. Pattern cards naturally reenact the layers via token outputs. Layer-by-layer mapping (10 layers):

• Pattern Stack:
  • 🧿 Layer 1 Boundary: It’s depicted as the “self vs world” foundation in your Pattern Stack, and it supports your Coherence state. Make ☀️E (Energy) and 🔁R (Regulation), stabilize your platform.
  • ⚖️ Layer 2 Balance: The 🔁R (Regulation) economy that keeps you in range. Make ☀️E (Energy) and 🔁R (Regulation), stabilize your platform.
  • 🦋 Layer 3 Form: It’s depicted as patterns that improve restoration of structure and reduce the cost of “build/repair” style contributions. Improve Projects and credit via Form tags, create “we-function” advantages.
  • 🧫 Layer 4 Membership: It’s depicted as patterns that make you more efficient at Projects and more reliable in reciprocal play; creating “we-function” advantages.
  • 🌐 Layer 5 Prediction: It’s depicted as 🧩M (Model) generation plus Pattern Market manipulation (peek, filter, reserve).
  • 🎯 Layer 6 Reinforcement: It’s depicted as 💎V (Value) generation plus “policy lock-in” effects (stable conversions, habit-like benefits).

• Effect:
  • 🧠 Layer 7 Presence: is depicted as a rare “agency burst” icon on select Pattern cards, not as a full slot. Gives flexible choice (wild token effect). Mechanically it’s a limited flexibility effect, for example: a once-per-round wildcard token, a third action, or a “choose one of two futures” effect when resolving a World Event. The point is that “Presence” feels like a unified moment of choice, not like another steady currency stream.

• World Board:
  • 🏛️ Layer 8 Social: is depicted primarily on the World Board, not inside a player. Creates ❤️S (Support) and stabilizes Trust via projects. Mechanically it lives in the Trust track, the Social Touchpoint action, and Projects that create shared scaffolds. Culture-tagged Patterns and Projects tend to increase Trust, reduce the cost of cooperation, and improve contribution credit. This matches the layer: culture is shared rules, roles, and institutions that stabilize meaning across minds.
  • 🌳 Layer 9 Story: is depicted as long-horizon scoring structures that convert repeated contributions into 🌿L (Legacy) and multipliers. Mechanically it shows up in Story-tagged Patterns that produce or amplify 🌿L (Legacy), and in Projects like mentorship, teaching, archives, and “containers that outlast a round.” Story is where your play starts to look like a coherent arc, not just turn-by-turn efficiency.
  • 🌍 Layer 10 Stewardship: is depicted almost entirely as high-tier Projects on the World Board. Mechanically it’s the endgame: Stewardship Projects have prerequisites (high Trust, high Habitat), require 🌿L (Legacy) alongside core tokens, and award major points plus world-level stability effects (reducing World Drift, improving Vital Signals). This forces the two-way survival relationship at scale: you can’t “buy” stewardship, you have to stabilize the world enough to make it possible.

Project Tiles (24)

Each Project tile shows:

• Layer tier (8–10 typically, but can include 6–7)
• Required contributions (icons)
• Public benefit (reduce World Drift and/or remove local 🌀D stress tokens)
• Contribution credit slots (to mark who paid what)
• Completion point awards by rank (Top / Second / Other)

World Event Cards (30)

Each Event shows:

• Drift increase (number)
• Pressure type icon (Scarcity, Threat, Uncertainty, Conflict, Damage)
• Mitigation requirement (icons) that can reduce or cancel the Drift increase
• Optional: place local 🌀D stress tokens

Player Mats (1 per player)

Tracks:

• Project (0–10) track
• Coherence (0–10) track
• Social (0–10) track

Pattern Stack: 6 layer slots for building patterns upward:

• 🧿 1. Boundary: Life Holds Itself Together
• ⚖️ 2. Balance: Staying In Balance
• 🦋 3. Form: Morphogenesis & Regeneration
• 🧫 4. Membership: Shift: From Persistence to Membership
• 🌐 5. Prediction: Predictive World-Models
• 🎯 6. Reinforcement: Reward, Avoidance, Reinforcement Learning

Setup

• Place the World Board in the middle of the table.
• Set World Drift to 3.
• Put local 🌀D stress tokens near the board.
• Shuffle the Pattern deck. Deal 6 face-up cards to the Pattern Market row.
• Shuffle Project tiles. Reveal 3 to the Project Row.
• Shuffle World Events. Reveal 1 to the Event Slot.
• Each player takes a mat and sets:
• Project = 0, Coherence = 4, Social Standing = 2
• Each player starts with tokens: 2× ☀️E and 1× 🔁R.
• Choose a starting player.

Round Structure

Each round has four phases:

Phase A: World Event (Pressure Enters)

Reveal the next World Event:

• Place it in the Event Slot.
• Its Drift increase is pending until Phase D.
• Place any local 🌀D stress tokens the Event shows.

Phase B: Pattern Market Refresh

Refill the Pattern Market to 6 face-up Pattern cards if needed.

Phase C: Player Turns (2 Actions Each)

In clockwise order, each player takes exactly 2 actions.

Phase D: Stability Check (Mitigation + Apply Drift)

1) Mitigation Pool: The table may collectively spend tokens into the Shared Mitigation Pool to satisfy the Event’s mitigation icons. 2) If the mitigation requirement is met, the Event’s pending Drift increase is canceled (or reduced if the Event says “reduce by X”). 3) Apply any remaining pending Drift increase to World Drift. 4) Discard all tokens in the mitigation pool back to the supply (they never carry over). 5) If any Project slot is empty, refill it immediately from the Project supply. If you cannot refill because the supply is empty, the game will end after this round.

Player Actions

On your turn, take exactly 2 actions. Scoring happens only through immediate track movement, plus Project points awarded on Project completion.

Action 1: Acquire Resources

Take 2 tokens total, but they must be two different types.

Action 2: Buy a Pattern Card

Pay the card’s cost. Place it in the matching Layer slot on your mat (stack within a slot if needed).

• Immediately gain the card’s outputs as tokens.
• Tag Discount: Each Pattern you own reduces the cost of future cards sharing its Tag by 1 of the token type shown by the discount icon on the card (icon-only). Discounts stack.

Action 3: Contribute to a Project

Pay any subset of the Project’s required icons and mark your contribution on the Project’s credit slots.

Social Standing triggers (immediate):

• If you contribute at least 1× ❤️S in this action: move +1 Social Standing (max once per action).
• If the Project is Layer 9 or Layer 10: when you contribute to it, move +1 Social Standing (once per action).

If the Project completes, resolve completion immediately (see Projects).

Action 4: Stabilize (Fight Drift)

Spend ❤️S to counter Drift. Choose one:

• Remove 1 local 🌀D stress token from the World Board, OR
• Reduce World Drift by 1 (minimum 0)

Coherence trigger (immediate): Any time you take Stabilize and spend ❤️S, move +1 Coherence.

Emergency conversion (always available):

• Spend 2× ☀️E to gain 1× ❤️S.

Action 5: Social Touchpoint

Choose one:

• Give 1 token to another player. Move +1 Social.
• Request 1 token from another player. If they agree, move +1 Social Standing.

No negotiation required. This is a clean reciprocity move.

Action 6: Recalibrate

On your turn, you may take this action to update either the Pattern Market or the World Projects.

Choose one

• Recalibrate the Pattern Market: Discard any number of face-up Pattern cards (from either row), then refill each row back to 5 cards.
• Recalibrate the World Projects: Discard any number of face-up Project cards, then refill the display back to its normal size.

Cost: Add +1 Drift.

Projects

Projects are shared builds with competitive credit. Everyone wants Projects completed because they stabilize the world, but players compete for point rank.

Contributing

When you Contribute:

• Pay any subset of required icons.
• Mark each icon you paid in your color (or your marker) on the Project’s credit slots.
• A Project may be contributed to by multiple players over multiple turns.

Completing

A Project completes immediately when all required icons are paid. When it completes:

1. Apply the Project’s public benefit (reduce World Drift and/or remove local 🌀D as stated).
2. Award Project points by contribution rank (below).
3. Discard the completed Project tile. Refill the slot during Phase D.

Project Points (Contribution Rank)

When a Project completes, award points on each player’s Project track:

• Top contributor: 6 points
• Second contributor: 3 points
• All other contributors: 1 point (only if they contributed at least 1 icon)

Rank rules:

• Rank is determined by the number of icons you paid into that Project (credit marks).
• If tied, the player who placed the earliest mark on that Project wins the tie.

Scoring

What You Score

There are only 3 scoring sources:

• Project (from completed Projects by contribution rank)
• Coherence (your Coherence track value at game end)
• Social (your Social track value at game end)

Define:

• Track Sub-total Score = Project + Coherence + Social

Track caps:

• Coherence max 10, Social max 10. Excess gains are ignored.

World Drift Multiplier (Collapse Penalty)

At game end:

Final Score = Track Sub-total Score × World Drift Multiplier

Use the final World Drift position:

Final World Drift	World Drift Multiplier
0–2	× 1.2
3–5	× 1.0
6–8	× 0.8
9–10	× 0.6
11–12	× 0.4

Rounding: After applying the multiplier, round Final Score down to a whole number.

Meaning Descriptions (Final Score Bands)

Final Score Band	Title	Meaning Profile (1–2 sentences)
0–19	Barely Holding	Your engine stayed alive, but pressure dominated. You spent most of the game paying emergency costs, and your contribution window stayed narrow.
20–34	Stabilizing	You built enough Coherence to stop the slide. You contributed selectively, and your Social Standing began to turn cooperation into real advantage.
35–49	Reciprocal Builder	You consistently held steady while turning shared work into personal momentum. Your play shows durable reciprocity, not just survival.
50–64	World-Grade Contributor	You helped shape the table’s trajectory under pressure. Your Social Standing reflects reliable trust and long-horizon contribution, not just point chasing.
65+	Steward in Practice	You integrated stability and social value so well that the world stayed playable. Your scoring pattern signals leadership through contribution under constraint.

Example of Play (Full Game, Start to Completion)

This walkthrough plays a complete game from setup to Layer 10 completion, including player rationale and full endgame scoring. For clarity, it uses a plausible subset of Pattern cards, Projects, and Events. Your actual deck will differ, but the decision logic and scoring triggers are identical.

Cast

3 players:

• Alex (stability-first)
• Brooke (engine-first)
• Casey (projects-first)

Starting state:

• World Drift = 3
• Each player tracks: Project 0, Coherence 4, Social Standing 2
• Starting tokens (each): 2× ☀️E and 1× 🔁R

Assumed Pattern Market

Card (Layer / Tag)	Cost	Outputs
Boundary Pattern (Layer 1 / 🧿)	☀️E	☀️E + ☀️E
Balance Pattern (Layer 2 / ⚖️)	☀️E + 🔁R	🔁R + ❤️S
Form Pattern (Layer 3 / 🦋)	🔁R + ❤️S	💎V + ❤️S
Membership Pattern (Layer 4 / 🧫)	🔁R + ❤️S	🧩M + ❤️S
Prediction Pattern (Layer 5 / 🌐)	☀️E + 🧩M	🧩M + 🧩M
Reinforcement Pattern (Layer 6 / 🎯)	☀️E + 💎V	💎V + ❤️S

Assumed Project Row (start)

Slot	Project (Layer)	Requires	Public Benefit
A	Community Shelter (Layer 8)	☀️E + ☀️E + 🔁R + 🔁R + ❤️S + ❤️S	Remove 2 local 🌀D
B	Repair Hub (Layer 8)	☀️E + 🔁R + 🔁R + ❤️S + ❤️S	Remove 2 local 🌀D
C	Mentorship Archive (Layer 9)	🧩M + 💎V + 🔁R + ❤️S + ❤️S	Reduce World Drift by 1

Assumed Event sequence (sample)

Round	Event	Pending Drift	Places local 🌀D	Mitigation (to cancel)
1	Uncertainty	+2	0	🧩M + 🔁R
2	Damage	+1	2	❤️S + 🔁R
3	Scarcity	+2	0	☀️E + ☀️E + 🔁R
4	Conflict	+1	1	❤️S + ❤️S
5	Threat	+2	0	🧩M + ❤️S + 🔁R
6	Damage	+1	2	❤️S + 🔁R
7	Uncertainty	+2	0	🧩M + 🔁R
8	Scarcity	+2	0	☀️E + ☀️E + 🔁R

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Round 1

Phase A: World Event

Uncertainty, pending Drift +2. Mitigation requires 🧩M + 🔁R.

Phase C: Player Turns

Alex (2 actions)

1. Acquire: takes ☀️E + 🔁R
2. Buy Pattern: Balance Pattern (pays ☀️E + 🔁R, gains 🔁R + ❤️S)

Rationale (Alex): I want Support online so I can Stabilize without falling behind, and extra Regulation so I can pay mitigation when needed.

Brooke (2 actions)

1. Acquire: takes ☀️E + 🧩M
2. Buy Pattern: Prediction Pattern (pays ☀️E + 🧩M, gains 🧩M + 🧩M)

Rationale (Brooke): Model is the cleanest answer to Uncertainty, and it keeps me eligible for higher-tier Projects.

Casey (2 actions)

1. Acquire: takes ☀️E + ❤️S
2. Social Touchpoint (give): gives 1 token to Alex, Social Standing +1 (now 3)

Rationale (Casey): I want Social Standing early because it compounds. Also, Alex having Support keeps our tempo high.

Phase D: Stability Check

Mitigation pool:

• Brooke contributes 🧩M
• Alex contributes 🔁R

Mitigation met, pending Drift +2 canceled.

End of Round 1:

• World Drift = 3
• Local 🌀D = 0

Player	Project Pts	Coherence	Social Standing
Alex	0	4	2
Brooke	0	4	2
Casey	0	4	3

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Round 2

Phase A: World Event

Damage, pending Drift +1. Places 2 local 🌀D. Mitigation requires ❤️S + 🔁R.

Phase C: Player Turns

Alex (2 actions)

1. Stabilize: spends ❤️S to remove 1 local 🌀D, Coherence +1 (now 5)
2. Contribute to Project A (Layer 8): pays 🔁R (1 credit)

Rationale (Alex): I clear local Drift first so we don't waste future turns. Then I start Project credit so I’m not locked out of points.

Brooke (2 actions)

1. Acquire: takes ☀️E + ❤️S
2. Contribute to Project A: pays ☀️E + ❤️S (2 credit), Social Standing +1 (now 3)

Rationale (Brooke): Support into Projects is efficient: it advances my Social Standing and my Project rank in one action.

Casey (2 actions)

1. Acquire: takes ☀️E + ❤️S
2. Contribute to Project A: pays ☀️E + ❤️S (2 credit), Social Standing +1 (now 4)

Rationale (Casey): I’m building a lead by turning Support into both score tracks and Project rank.

Phase D: Stability Check

Mitigation pool:

• Alex contributes 🔁R
• Brooke contributes ❤️S

Mitigation met, pending Drift +1 canceled.

End of Round 2:

• World Drift = 3
• Local 🌀D = 1

Player	Project Pts	Coherence	Social Standing
Alex	0	5	2
Brooke	0	4	3
Casey	0	4	4

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Round 3

Phase A: World Event

Scarcity, pending Drift +2. Mitigation requires ☀️E + ☀️E + 🔁R.

Phase C: Player Turns

Alex (2 actions)

1. Acquire: takes ☀️E + 🔁R
2. Contribute to Project A: pays 🔁R (1 credit). Project A completes.

Rationale (Alex): Completing Projects keeps the world from turning into cleanup chores. Even if I don’t win rank, the tempo gain matters.

Project A completion (Community Shelter):

• Public benefit: remove 2 local 🌀D (local 🌀D goes 1 → 0)
• Contribution credits:
  • Alex: 2 credits (🔁R + 🔁R)
  • Brooke: 2 credits (☀️E + ❤️S)
  • Casey: 2 credits (☀️E + ❤️S)
• Tie-break: Alex placed the earliest mark on the Project, so Alex is Top. Brooke placed the next earliest mark, so Brooke is Second.
• Award Project points:
  • Alex +6
  • Brooke +3
  • Casey +1

Brooke (2 actions)

1. Acquire: takes 🔁R + ❤️S
2. Buy Pattern: Form Pattern (pays 🔁R + ❤️S, gains 💎V + ❤️S)

Rationale (Brooke): Value is the bridge to Layer 9 and Layer 10. Form converts my stable base into a closing economy.

Casey (2 actions)

1. Acquire: takes ❤️S + 🔁R
2. Contribute to Project C (Layer 9): pays ❤️S (1 credit)

• Social Standing +1 (contributed ❤️S, now 5)
• Social Standing +1 (contributed to Layer 9, now 6)

Rationale (Casey): Layer 9 grows Social Standing fastest. Early credit also wins ties later.

Phase D: Stability Check

The table chooses NOT to meet Scarcity mitigation (players keep tokens for engines and Projects). Pending Drift +2 applies.

End of Round 3:

• World Drift = 5
• Local 🌀D = 0

Project Row refill: Slot A is refilled now that Shelter completed. New Slot A Project revealed:

Project (Layer)	Requires	Public Benefit
Stewardship Retrofit (Layer 10)	☀️E + ☀️E + 🔁R + 🧩M + 💎V + ❤️S + ❤️S	Reduce World Drift by 1

Player	Project Pts	Coherence	Social Standing
Alex	6	5	2
Brooke	3	4	3
Casey	1	4	6

---

Round 4

Phase A: World Event

Conflict, pending Drift +1. Places 1 local 🌀D. Mitigation requires ❤️S + ❤️S.

Phase C: Player Turns

Alex (2 actions)

1. Stabilize: spends ❤️S to remove 1 local 🌀D, Coherence +1 (now 6)
2. Contribute to Project B (Layer 8): pays 🔁R (1 credit)

Rationale (Alex): I’m keeping Drift off the board so the table stays in the fun loop: buy patterns, race Projects.

Brooke (2 actions)

1. Contribute to Project B: pays ☀️E + ❤️S (2 credit), Social Standing +1 (now 4)
2. Acquire: takes 🧩M + 🔁R

Rationale (Brooke): I want Repair Hub close to completion so we have room to focus on Layer 10 later.

Casey (2 actions)

1. Contribute to Project C (Layer 9): pays 🔁R (1 credit), Social Standing +1 (Layer 9 contribution, now 7)
2. Social Touchpoint (give): gives 1 token to Brooke, Social Standing +1 (now 8)

Rationale (Casey): I’m widening my Social Standing lead while staying invested in Layer 9 credit. I also keep Brooke’s engine running so the table can close faster.

Phase D: Stability Check

Mitigation pool:

• Alex contributes ❤️S
• Brooke contributes ❤️S

Mitigation met, pending Drift +1 canceled.

End of Round 4:

• World Drift = 5
• Local 🌀D = 0

Player	Project Pts	Coherence	Social Standing
Alex	6	6	2
Brooke	3	4	4
Casey	1	4	8

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Round 5

Phase A: World Event

Threat, pending Drift +2. Mitigation requires 🧩M + ❤️S + 🔁R.

Phase C: Player Turns

Alex (2 actions)

1. Acquire: takes ☀️E + ❤️S
2. Contribute to Project B: pays 🔁R (1 credit, total on Project B now 2 for Alex)

Rationale (Alex): I’m not winning Social Standing, so I protect my score by winning Project ranks and keeping Coherence high.

Brooke (2 actions)

1. Contribute to Project B: pays 🔁R + ❤️S (2 credit), Social Standing +1 (now 5)
2. Acquire: takes 💎V + ❤️S

Rationale (Brooke): Support keeps pushing Social Standing while also closing Projects. I’m stocking Value for Layer 10.

Casey (2 actions)

1. Contribute to Project B: pays ❤️S + ❤️S (2 credit), Social Standing +1 (now 9). Project B completes.
2. Stabilize: spends ❤️S to reduce World Drift by 1, Coherence +1 (now 5)

Rationale (Casey): I finish Projects to lock points, then I immediately spend Support to pull Drift down so the multiplier stays survivable.

Project B completion (Repair Hub):

• Public benefit: remove 2 local 🌀D (none currently)
• Contribution credits on Project B:
  • Alex: 2 credits (🔁R + 🔁R)
  • Brooke: 2 credits (🔁R + ❤️S)
  • Casey: 2 credits (❤️S + ❤️S)
• Tie-break order by earliest first mark on this Project:
  • Alex marked first (Round 4), so Alex is Top.
  • Brooke marked next (Round 4), so Brooke is Second.
• Award Project points:
  • Alex +6
  • Brooke +3
  • Casey +1

Phase D: Stability Check

The table meets Threat mitigation to avoid +2 Drift. Mitigation pool:

• Brooke contributes 🧩M
• Alex contributes 🔁R
• Casey contributes ❤️S

Mitigation met, pending Drift +2 canceled.

End of Round 5:

• World Drift = 4 (Casey reduced it by 1 during Phase C)
• Local 🌀D = 0

Player	Project Pts	Coherence	Social Standing
Alex	12	6	2
Brooke	6	4	5
Casey	2	5	9

---

Round 6

Phase A: World Event

Damage, pending Drift +1. Places 2 local 🌀D. Mitigation requires ❤️S + 🔁R.

Phase C: Player Turns

Alex (2 actions)

1. Stabilize: spends ❤️S to remove 1 local 🌀D, Coherence +1 (now 7)
2. Contribute to Project A (Layer 10): pays ☀️E + 🔁R (2 credit), Social Standing +1 (Layer 10 contribution, now 3)

Rationale (Alex): I stabilize first, then I start the Layer 10 race. I’m aiming to win rank on the finisher.

Brooke (2 actions)

1. Buy Pattern: Reinforcement Pattern (pays ☀️E + 💎V, gains 💎V + ❤️S)
2. Contribute to Project A (Layer 10): pays 💎V (1 credit), Social Standing +1 (Layer 10 contribution, now 6)

Rationale (Brooke): Reinforcement gives me a steady Support stream. Then I convert Value into Layer 10 progress without slowing down.

Casey (2 actions)

1. Contribute to Project C (Layer 9): pays ❤️S (1 credit)

• Social Standing +1 (contributed ❤️S, now 10, cap)
• Social Standing +1 (Layer 9 contribution, stays 10 due to cap)

1. Stabilize: spends ❤️S to remove the remaining 1 local 🌀D, Coherence +1 (now 6)

Rationale (Casey): I cap Social Standing and keep Drift clean. If I can’t win Layer 10 rank, I’ll win the total profile.

Phase D: Stability Check

The table does NOT meet mitigation this round (tokens were spent racing Projects). Pending Drift +1 applies.

End of Round 6:

• World Drift = 5
• Local 🌀D = 0

Player	Project Pts	Coherence	Social Standing
Alex	12	7	3
Brooke	6	4	6
Casey	2	6	10

---

Round 7

Phase A: World Event

Uncertainty, pending Drift +2. Mitigation requires 🧩M + 🔁R.

Phase C: Player Turns

Alex (2 actions)

1. Acquire: takes 🧩M + 🔁R
2. Contribute to Project C (Layer 9): pays 🔁R (1 credit), Social Standing +1 (Layer 9 contribution, now 4)

Rationale (Alex): I’m using this round to keep my Social Standing from collapsing while also holding the mitigation set for Uncertainty.

Brooke (2 actions)

1. Contribute to Project C (Layer 9): pays 🧩M + 💎V (2 credit), Social Standing +1 (Layer 9 contribution, now 7)
2. Social Touchpoint (request): requests 1 token from Casey (Casey agrees), Social Standing +1 (now 8)

Rationale (Brooke): I’m closing Layer 9 while also stacking Social Standing so my endgame subtotal stays competitive.

Casey (2 actions)

1. Contribute to Project C (Layer 9): pays ❤️S (1 credit). Project C completes.

• Social Standing +1 (contributed ❤️S, stays 10 due to cap)
• Social Standing +1 (Layer 9 contribution, stays 10 due to cap)

1. Contribute to Project A (Layer 10): pays ☀️E + ❤️S + ❤️S (3 credit)

• Social Standing +1 (contributed ❤️S, stays 10 due to cap)
• Social Standing +1 (Layer 10 contribution, stays 10 due to cap)

Rationale (Casey): I lock the Layer 9 points, then I surge into Layer 10 with a big credit drop so I can win rank even if I’m not finishing it.

Project C completion (Mentorship Archive, Layer 9):

• Public benefit: reduce World Drift by 1 (World Drift 5 → 4)
• Contribution credits on Project C:
  • Alex: 2 credits (🔁R + 🔁R)
  • Brooke: 2 credits (🧩M + 💎V)
  • Casey: 3 credits (❤️S + ❤️S + ❤️S across Round 3, Round 6, Round 7 combined in this example’s timeline)
• Award Project points:
  • Top: Casey +6
  • Second: Alex +3 (tie with Brooke by credits, Alex marked earlier than Brooke on this Project in this walkthrough)
  • Other: Brooke +1

Phase D: Stability Check

The table does NOT meet Uncertainty mitigation this round (resources were spent closing Projects and racing Layer 10). Pending Drift +2 applies.

End of Round 7:

• World Drift = 6
• Local 🌀D = 0

Project points updated:

• Alex: 12 + 3 = 15
• Brooke: 6 + 1 = 7
• Casey: 2 + 6 = 8

Player	Project Pts	Coherence	Social Standing
Alex	15	7	4
Brooke	7	4	8
Casey	8	6	10

---

Round 8 (Final Round)

Phase A: World Event

Scarcity, pending Drift +2. Mitigation requires ☀️E + ☀️E + 🔁R.

Phase C: Player Turns

Alex (2 actions)

1. Contribute to Project A (Layer 10): pays ❤️S (1 credit)

• Social Standing +1 (contributed ❤️S, now 5)
• Social Standing +1 (Layer 10 contribution, now 6)

1. Stabilize: spends ❤️S to reduce World Drift by 1, Coherence +1 (now 8)

Rationale (Alex): I’m adding credit to stay in the rank race, and I’m pulling Drift down so the final multiplier hurts less.

Brooke (2 actions)

1. Acquire: takes 🧩M + ☀️E
2. Contribute to Project A (Layer 10): pays 🧩M (1 credit), Social Standing +1 (Layer 10 contribution, now 9). Project A completes and triggers game end.

Rationale (Brooke): I’m finishing the game now to prevent an even worse Drift multiplier. Ending timing matters.

Casey Because the Layer 10 Project completed during Brooke’s turn, Casey does not take a turn in Round 8.

Project A completion (Stewardship Retrofit, Layer 10):

• Public benefit: reduce World Drift by 1 (World Drift 5 → 4)
• Contribution credits on Project A:
  • Alex: 3 credits (☀️E + 🔁R in Round 6, plus ❤️S in Round 8)
  • Brooke: 2 credits (💎V in Round 6, plus 🧩M in Round 8)
  • Casey: 3 credits (☀️E + ❤️S + ❤️S in Round 7)
• Rank and tie-break:
  • Top: Casey and Alex tie at 3 credits. Casey placed the earliest mark on this Project in this walkthrough’s Layer 10 race (Casey’s big drop happened before Alex’s extra credit in the finale), so Casey is Top.
  • Second: Alex
  • Other: Brooke
• Award Project points:
  • Casey +6
  • Alex +3
  • Brooke +1

Phase D: Stability Check (Final)

The table does not meet Scarcity mitigation (the game ended mid-round and tokens were spent finishing Layer 10). Pending Drift +2 applies.

End of Game:

• World Drift = 6

Final Project points:

• Alex: 15 + 3 = 18
• Brooke: 7 + 1 = 8
• Casey: 8 + 6 = 14

---

Endgame Scoring (Full)

Compute:

Track Sub-total Score = Project + Coherence + Social

Then:

Final Score = Track Sub-total Score × World Drift Multiplier

World Drift ended at 6, so the multiplier is ×0.8.

Player	Project	Coherence	Social	Track Sub-total	Drift Multiplier	Final Score
Alex	18	8	6	32	×0.8	floor(25.6) = 25
Brooke	8	4	9	21	×0.8	floor(16.8) = 16
Casey	14	6	10	30	×0.8	floor(24.0) = 24

Winner: Alex (25)

Why this outcome makes sense (design intent):

• Alex wins by combining high Project rank performance with repeated Stabilize actions that raised Coherence and protected the multiplier. That is the “hold together” skill paying off in points.
• Casey builds the strongest Social Standing profile and wins key long-horizon Projects, but loses by a narrow margin because Alex’s Coherence and Project points edge survives the Drift multiplier.
• Brooke has a strong engine and smart end timing, but falls behind because she took fewer Stabilize actions and secured fewer top ranks on Projects.

Meaning Profile (from the bands):

• Alex (25): Stabilizing
• Casey (24): Stabilizing
• Brooke (16): Barely Holding