1 in 8 Billion

About 1 in 8 Billion

Imagine starting a game without choosing your character, home, or family. That's how 1 in 8 Billion begins. You're born somewhere in the world, picked at random, and have to make your way through life from that point on. You might grow up with plenty of money and good schools nearby, or find yourself in a place where even basic opportunities are harder to come by.

Where You Start Changes Everything

You can choose the year of your birth, with options such as 1990, 2024, and 2080. After that, the game decides your birthplace from more than 100 countries, using real population figures and birth rates to determine the odds.

Your family’s financial situation, gender, local health risks, and expected lifespan are also based on statistics for that place and time. The game uses public data from sources such as the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and the World Bank. As a result, being born in one country rather than another can give your character a very different start.

Life Doesn't Follow a Script

As the years pass, you'll make choices about school, work, money, and relationships. Staying in education may help you find better work later, while taking a job early could bring in money when your family needs it. You can marry, have children, help relatives, or move elsewhere in search of a different future.

Still, your decisions don't control everything. A sudden illness, an accident, or financial trouble can change the course of your life. Some problems are tied to the risks in your region, and there's no guarantee that careful planning will keep you out of trouble.

See Where Your Story Ends

Your run continues until your character dies, whether from old age or another cause reflected in the game's statistics. Then it's time to try again, perhaps with a different birth year or a completely different part of the world.

1 in 8 Billion doesn't let you design the life you want from the beginning. Instead, it asks you to make the best of the life you're given, and shows just how much your starting circumstances can shape what happens next.

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