Tool 02
How long will this life take in real time?
The pace setting is the time to reach the country’s life expectancy, not the age at death. This calculator turns the setting into seconds per game year and a realistic session length.
Pace calculator
Planning estimate| Pace | At 1× | At 4× | At 16× |
|---|
The estimate assumes the life ends at the country’s life expectancy. Actual deaths are drawn year by year, so an early death can end a session much sooner and a long life can run past the estimate. Pauses, decisions and reading time add real minutes.
The formula behind it
The pace setting is the real time to reach life expectancy. If the country’s life
expectancy is L years and the pace is P minutes, then:
seconds per game year at 1× = (P × 60) ÷ L
seconds per game year at speed s = ((P × 60) ÷ L) ÷ s
game years per real minute = 60 ÷ seconds per game year
real minutes to reach L = P ÷ sAt a 60-minute pace and a life expectancy of 72, a game year is 50 seconds at 1×. At 16×, it is about 3.1 seconds. The session to life expectancy is 3.75 minutes at 16×, before pauses.
The calculation targets the country’s average, not the character. A life can end at 0 or run past 90. The real session length is whatever the character’s life is, plus the time you spend reading and deciding.
The five reflective pauses, the money sheet and long decisions all stop or slow the clock. A “3.75 minute” run at 16× is a lower bound, not a promise.
A worked example: life expectancy 72
| Pace | At 1× | At 4× | At 16× | Session at 16× |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 25.0 s / year | 6.3 s / year | 1.6 s / year | 1.9 min |
| 60 min | 50.0 s / year | 12.5 s / year | 3.1 s / year | 3.8 min |
| 90 min | 75.0 s / year | 18.8 s / year | 4.7 s / year | 5.6 min |
Assumption The character reaches the country’s life expectancy and the
player never pauses. The session column is pace ÷ 16. The official page’s
“40–60 seconds per year at one hour” corresponds to life expectancies of about 60–90 years.
Questions about the pace
Does the pace setting change how long the character lives?
No. The 30, 60 and 90 minute options change the real time it takes to reach the country’s life expectancy. The age at death is drawn year by year from the country’s life table.
What does 16× speed do to the session length?
At 16×, a life that reaches life expectancy takes about one-sixteenth of the chosen pace, before pauses. A 60-minute pace becomes about 3.75 minutes of real time.
Why does the official page say 40–60 seconds per year at one hour?
One hour divided by a life expectancy of 60–90 years gives 40–60 seconds per year. A country with a lower life expectancy has a longer year at the same pace, because the same hour is spread over fewer years.
Is this exact?
It is a planning estimate to life expectancy. Actual deaths can happen earlier or later, pauses add time, and reading decisions adds more. The calculator is for planning a session, not predicting the ending.