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What kind of game is it?
Solo Living Diary is a simulation game where you run the finances of someone who has just started work and moved out to live on their own, one year at a time. First you set your gender, the age you move out (22–28), your savings (¥0–3M), and your annual income. The income starts at the median for that age, and if you just want to jump in, press "Randomize all and start".
The years go by on their own. At the end of each year, living costs, rent, food and your other spending come out of your take-home pay, and your savings go up or down. When a life event comes along, such as finding a place, socializing, hobbies, a car, or a partner search, the game pauses and you choose: buy or skip, and High, Mid or Low. Once you have a partner, are 30 or older and have been together for 2 years or more, or when you turn 35, you choose "What comes next" and the game ends. Your net worth decides your rank (S to D), and whether you marry or go on solo, together with your Fulfillment at the end, decides your ending.
It's the prequel to the sister game Newlywed Diary. From the results screen, you can start Newlywed Diary with your savings, income and car carried over.
Features
Save too hard and your Fulfillment drops
Separate from your savings, there's "Fulfillment" (0–100), which shows how satisfied you are with your life. It goes up each year with the room, eating habits, socializing and hobbies you chose, and slowly drops if you do nothing. At 30 or below you become "Listless": no more promotions, your age-based raises stop, you get sick more easily, and you're less likely to meet someone. Fulfillment doesn't count toward your rank, but it changes the name of your ending. A life spent only saving money ends in "Only Money to Talk To".
12 life events, plus something new every year
There are 12 events: Finding a place, Appliances & furniture, Eating habits, Socializing, Lease renewal, Hobbies & fandom, Investing in yourself, Car, Travel, Dating, Partner search, and What comes next. You rethink your eating habits, socializing and hobbies every 3 years, and every 2 years you decide whether to renew your lease or move. On top of the yearly checks for a promotion or an illness, there's a 20% chance each year of one of these: a job offer, a bonus cut, a windfall, or a friend's wedding. Appliances and cars can break down, and you might end up with noisy neighbors, too.
Cheap choices catch up with you
An "Older place far from the station" costs only ¥550K a year in rent, but you're more likely to get noisy neighbors. "Secondhand / hand-me-downs" appliances cost just ¥80K, but they only last 5 years and have a 25% chance of breaking every year. A "Cheap used car" breaks down often, with repairs of ¥200K–800K. On the other hand, spending on socializing helps you meet more people, and taking classes after work makes promotions more likely for 2 years.
Titles, achievements and carrying over to Newlywed Diary
Besides your rank and ending, the results screen shows a title based on how you tended to choose (9 in all, such as "Fandom Is Life", "Self-Improver" and "Master of Thrift"), 12 achievements, a breakdown of your lifetime spending, and a life timeline. It also shows the difference compared with picking "Mid" for everything from the same starting point. With a married ending, the "Continue in Newlywed Diary" button lets you start married life right away.
An example of the first few years
Here's one example: moved out at 22 with ¥1M in savings and an income of ¥2.5M, and "Mid" picked for every choice.
| Age | What happened |
|---|---|
| 22 | You move into a "Standard studio" 10 minutes' walk from the station (rent ¥800K a year, move-in costs ¥400K) and get new, standard appliances and furniture (¥250K). Half cooking, half eating out, and socializing in moderation. Savings at year end: ¥450K |
| 23 | After a trip in Japan, you get sick and end up in the hospital (medical bills ¥480K). Savings at year end: −¥120K, and card loan interest kicks in |
| 24 | You renew your lease (renewal fee ¥70K). You earn a certification through a correspondence course, and your income rises 5% |
| 25 | You don't have enough saved for a car, so you pass. Savings at year end are back in the black at ¥260K |
| 28 | You start a partner search with a paid dating app and meet someone that same year |
| 31 | After 2 years together, you decide to get married |
In this example, the game ended with marriage at 31, with a net worth of ¥2.69M, rank C, the ending "An Ordinary Marriage", and the title "Self-Improver". Because of the random events, results change every time you play, even with the same choices. When the game played itself 1,000 times with these settings and "Mid" for everything, the median net worth was about ¥2.8M (rank C).
Tips
- Picking "High" only where it pays you back later, like socializing and investing in yourself, raised the median net worth in automatic play with the same settings to about ¥3.3M (rank B), above "Mid" for everything
- Picking "Low" or skipping everything grows your savings the most, but your Fulfillment drops, you'll hardly ever find a partner, and you'll almost always end up with "Only Money to Talk To"
- Picking "High" for everything means your take-home pay in your 20s can't cover each year's spending, and you'll almost certainly go bankrupt
- Negative savings are charged 10% interest a year, and dropping below −¥3M brings the "Bankrupt Ending". Buying a car while your savings are low can hurt when a breakdown or a pay cut from switching jobs comes along at the same time
For full instructions, see "How to play" on the game's site. It also lists the cost of every event and explains how Fulfillment and meeting someone work.
FAQ
- Does it cost anything?
- No, it's free. There's no sign-up and nothing to install.
- How long does a game take?
- About 5–10 minutes from moving out to the end. You can make the years go by twice as fast, and if you stop partway through, you can pick up where you left off next time you open it.
- Can I use it to plan my real budget for living alone?
- The game uses estimates based on public statistics and typical prices, such as median incomes, rent, and living costs for single-person households, but it's simplified for the game. It doesn't include detailed tax calculations. For real household budgets or savings plans, talk to a financial planner or other professional.
- How does it connect to Newlywed Diary?
- Solo Living Diary is set in the years before Newlywed Diary. Press "Continue in Newlywed Diary" on the results screen to start Newlywed Diary with your gender, age, savings, income and car carried over. Even after a solo ending, you can start it as "What if you'd married?".
- Which languages can I play in?
- You can play in Japanese, English, Traditional Chinese, Spanish, and Korean. In every language the game is set in Japan, and all amounts are in Japanese yen.
- Is my data sent anywhere?
- No. Your save in progress, your endings collection and achievements, and your settings are stored only in your browser.