FAQ
The questions players ask before the first life.
Thirty-three answers about the game, the draw, the controls, money, death and classroom mode. Each answer is short; the linked guides go deeper.
What is 1 in 8 Billion?
It is a free browser life simulation by Jin’s Earth, first released on 5 October 2026. You are born as one of the babies arriving on Earth now, in a country and family drawn from real statistics, and you live that life year by year to its end.
Where is the official 1 in 8 Billion site?
The developer says the only official address is 1in8b.life. This guide is at 1-in-8b.com and is not affiliated with the game.
Is 1 in 8 Billion free?
Yes. The life, the death record, the archive and the share card are free. The optional keepsake pass is $3, buy once, with a 30-day refund, and it does not change the simulation.
Do I need an account or an app?
No. The game runs in the browser with no sign-up and no app-store download. Lives are stored in the browser. Add to Home Screen makes the site work like an app on a phone.
What age is the game for?
The developer sets a 15+ guideline for the normal game and a 12+ guideline for classroom mode. The classroom figure is the developer’s own conservative standard, not a formal age rating.
Who makes 1 in 8 Billion?
Jin’s Earth, a solo operator, makes it with AI assistance and checks the content by hand. The game is still in beta; the version we checked on 27 October 2026 was v0.8.47.
Can I choose my country?
No. The country is drawn before the life starts. You can choose the world, the draw mode and the pace, but not the country.
Is the country draw random?
It is random with weights. By default each country’s chance is its share of annual births in the game’s 172-country table. The other mode weights by population.
Why do I keep getting India?
India is 17.60% of the game’s birth table, about one in six. In a weighted draw, the largest share appears most often. Repeats are normal because the draw has no memory.
Does 1 in 8 billion mean a 1 in 8 billion chance for a country?
No. The phrase is the scale of one life among about eight billion people. The country probability comes from the 172 weighted shares. The literal value of 1 in 8 billion is 0.0000000125%, but that is not the draw.
What is the difference between Babies born now and The 8 billion alive now?
Babies born now weights by annual births. The 8 billion alive now weights by population. India is large in both; China is much larger by population, and Nigeria is much larger by births.
Does the game avoid repeating a country?
No. Each draw is independent. A repeat does not reduce the country’s chance next time.
Does entering my real country change the draw?
No. The optional “where you were actually born” field is a comparison only. It is saved on the device and does not affect the country, family or outcome.
How long does one life take?
You choose about 30 minutes, 1 hour (the default) or 1.5 hours to reach the country’s life expectancy. At one hour, a game year takes about 40–60 seconds. You can pause and speed up to 16×.
When do I start choosing a focus?
The baby years run automatically. From about age six, you choose one focus per year: study, friends and play, help at home, exercise, hobby, and later work, family, health, learning and rest.
What do the four stats mean?
Health affects death risk and the ability to work. Happiness is life satisfaction. Knowledge affects exams, job offers and pay. Relationships affect marriage, children, bullying and old-age loneliness.
Does a high health score prevent an early death?
No. Health lowers the risk, but the death age is drawn year by year from the country’s life table. A healthy character can die early; an unhealthy one can live a long time.
What is Auto mode?
A control that makes decisions for you so you can watch the life. It is a viewing mode, not a strategy mode. For a run you care about, leave it off.
What are the pauses at 5, 15, 30, 50 and 70?
Reflective stops where the game asks one question and lets you leave a line. They do not change stats, money or the death draw. You can turn them off.
Can I change the speed without changing the outcome?
Yes. Speed changes how fast a game year passes. It does not change the draw, the family, the decisions or the death draw.
Does the game save my life if I close the tab?
Yes, in the same browser. Lives are stored locally, not in an account. Use Move my lives if you need to carry them to another device.
How do I make money?
The main path is work: take job offers, build knowledge and experience, and use the work focus when income matters. A business or property can add income later, but both carry risk.
What are the investment options?
The game describes bank deposits, bonds, a balanced fund, a stock index, a world index, a property fund, and picking shares yourself. Each has a different average return and risk. All returns are described as after inflation.
Does money change the draw or the outcome?
No. The developer says money never changes how a life goes. The keepsake pass does not change the simulation, and there is no paid re-roll.
Is this financial advice?
No. The returns and risks on this site describe a game. They are not recommendations for real investments, property or debt.
What happens when the character dies?
The game shows a death record with the life map, survival curve, country statistics, life record, family and same-second peers. You can save or share the card, keep the life in the browser or start a new one.
Can I bring back a deleted life?
No. A deleted life cannot be restored. A life placed in a memorial stays in the memorial.
What is the keepsake pass?
A one-time $3 purchase that makes films, albums and record books from a finished life and opens memorials. It has a 30-day refund, is not offered in South Korea, and does not change the simulation.
Can I share or stream a life?
Yes. The game can share the death card, and the developer permits streaming and videos, including monetized channels, with credit to 1 in 8 Billion, 1in8b.life.
Is there a classroom mode?
Yes. It holds back a list of heavier themes, disables posting and payments, restricts lives to today’s world, and adds a teacher lab, lesson guide, class code and worksheet. It is intended for ages 12 and up by the developer’s own guideline.
Does classroom mode collect pupil data?
The developer says no identifying pupil data is collected. Names, contact details and written notes stay on the device. Only anonymous statistics are sent, and not if Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control is on.
Is the game a prediction of my real life?
No. It is a simulation built from country statistics. The character is fictional, the story is fictional, and the outcome is not a forecast of your health, income or lifespan.
Are the lives in the game real people?
No. Every life is generated by the simulation. Shared lives are player-posted stories about simulated characters, not real biographies.