How to Play Second Life

A whole life, lived one year at a time, entirely by voice. Here is every command you can say, what it does — and how your first life begins.

Getting started: your first life

Be born. Say “Alexa, open Second Life.” A new life begins — you are born, and the story starts telling itself from your first year.
See what a year holds. Say “do something.” The game tells you what you can do at this age — as a child, things like study; later, work, love, travel, and more. Say it again to hear more options.
Make your choices. Life offers choices as numbered menus. Answer with the number, with the choice itself, or say “surprise me” and let life decide. Every choice shapes your stats and your story.
Check in on yourself. Say “my stats” for your happiness, health, smarts, looks, and fame — and “my money” once you are old enough to have any.
Grow up. Say “age up” to live another year. Events happen, choices follow, and your story builds, year by year.
Hear your story. Say “recap” for the one-sentence version, or “my story” for the year-by-year highlights so far.
Suggested first goal: in your school years, choose to study whenever you can. Smarts unlock degrees, and degrees unlock the best-paid careers — your future self will thank you.

Your life saves after every year. Just stop talking, and your life waits for you exactly where you left it.

“age up”: Live another year. Events happen, and choices follow — this is the heartbeat of the game.
“do something”: Hear what you can do at this age — study, work, love, travel, crime, and more as the years open up. Say it again for more options.
“my stats”: Your happiness, health, smarts, looks, and fame.
“my money”: Your cash, net worth, salary, debt, home, car, and stocks.
“my family”: Your people, and how close you are to each of them.
“my job”: Your work or study status.
“recap”: A one-sentence summary of your life so far.
“my story”: The story so far — the year-by-year highlights of your life.
“help”: The full guide, spoken.

When life offers you a choice, answer in whichever way comes naturally:

The number: Say “two” — the number of the choice, as it was read to you.
The choice itself: Say the choice in its own words — “study harder,” “hand it in.”
“surprise me”: Life chooses for you.
“never mind”: Set the choice aside.

And if Alexa misses you twice, life picks for you and moves on — you will never be stuck in a loop.

“study harder”: Put the work in. Smarts built in school and university unlock degrees — and degrees unlock the best-paid careers.
“hit the gym”: Work on your health and looks.
“see a doctor”: Get checked out. Go when symptoms appear — ignoring them is a choice the story remembers.
“look for work”: Find a job.
“go to university”: Take the degree road — the gateway to the professional careers.
“weekly challenge”: This week’s challenge life goal, and your shot at completing it.
“my titles” · “my past lives”: Your hall of fame across generations: the Life Titles you have earned and the lives you have lived.
“what else”: Hear anything else that happened this year.

“new life”: Be born again. If a life is still living, the game asks first.
“delete my life”: Erase this life. The game asks first — nothing is deleted until you confirm.
When a life ends: Your obituary is performed, and your Life Title is awarded. And the story need not end there: if you have a grown child, you can “continue as my child” — playing on as the next generation, inheriting the family fortune after estate costs.

Study in school and university — smarts unlock degrees, degrees unlock the best-paid careers.
Go to the doctor when symptoms appear. Ignoring them is a choice the story remembers.
Spend time with your kids (you’ll find it in “do something”) — decades later, it matters.
Crime pays until it doesn’t: arrest means prison years, and a record that closes professional doors.
Everything saves after every year. Just stop talking and your life waits for you.