To whoever is reading this note,
Have you ever felt that life is like an open-ended game? As players of this vast sandbox, we have so much to explore, experiment with and execute. While everything seems simple and fun at the beginning, things shift a little as we notice there are rewards for some achievements we make and some limitations we have to learn to cope with. The level of difficulty and sophistication of this game seems to scale as we grow.
However, this magazine is not here to tell you that life is hard. Instead, it invites you to reimagine the gamification of life as earthlings. Our writers share some of the experiences they have collected while unlocking branching paths of this considerably free game: how to visit a gallery, watch a sports game, start bouldering or write your first food review. They also look back on how they determine the side quests of their lives, where success is not always measured by external standards but often by oneself, and such self-defined success brings one an equal if not greater sense of self-actualization.
There is no unified way to define what a life should be like, and everyone has their own quest to fulfill. But as co-players of this huge and richly packed game, our paths sometimes intersect. As you read through this game strategy guide, authored by our writers for each fellow earth dweller, we hope you are able to find some inspiration for your next mission or adventure.
All the best,
Linda Huang & Yuyu Huang
Magazine Editors 2025–2026