How to play TDot Life
Canada, but you get ahead. A free life game on real Toronto streets.
TDot Life is a life simulator that runs in your browser. Everyone plays on the same map of Toronto at the same time, on real Toronto time, in real Toronto weather. You get a job, find your people, buy a place and maybe run the city. The one thing that is not real: here, showing up actually gets you somewhere.
Your first ten minutes
Tap Play now. You walk in as a guest with a character already made, and you can change the look for free. A text comes in from Gord at The Dented Puck: your first pint is on the house. One tap takes the subway there. The pub never closes, so there is always somebody to have a pint with.
After ten minutes of play the game asks you to pick a username, or to sign in with Google. That keeps your character, your money and your friends. The first hundred residents get a numbered Founding Resident badge for good.
Getting a job
There are 57 careers: barista, Bay Street, snow plow, TTC operator, comedian, the zoo, condo concierge and plenty more. Open Jobs on your phone, apply, and work your first shift the same minute. Shifts get you promoted. Side gigs and tips add up on top. Every job pays about two and a half times the real Toronto rate, which is the whole trick: in TDot Life every career can buy a home.
Keeping your character happy
Your character gets hungry, tired, cold, grubby and bored, and wants company. Those needs add up to a mood, and mood moves your pay: very happy works for ten percent more, miserable for twenty percent less. The Needs screen on your phone tells you what is low and has a button to fix it. Eat something. Have a shower. Go out.
Getting around
Ride the TTC, bike or drive. The map is the real city: the neighbourhoods, the streets, the landmarks. There are 77 places to go, from the coffee shop on Queen to the Eaton Centre, the gym, a pool hall, the arena and the top of the tower. Many places have something to do that can go either way. Dine and dash at the pub if you like. You might get away with it.
Buying a home
Prices, down payments, land transfer tax, mortgage insurance and the stress test follow the real rules. Save up, get approved at the bank and buy. Couples buy together, and the bank counts both incomes. Decorate the place, hire another player as your interior designer, rent out a room, or list it with a player who works as a real estate agent.
Running a business
Buy a commercial plot and open one of 32 kinds of business: a cafe, a shawarma spot, a craft brewery, a hockey shop and more. Hire and let go of staff, set the hours, put your own name and colours on the sign, make the calls when something goes wrong, and sell it to another player when you are ready to move on.
People
The people in the city are real players. Say hi in any place, send a message, add friends, start a group chat. Challenge someone to an arm wrestle or a staring contest, dare them to do something silly, or swipe in the dating app. Date, marry, adopt a pet. Invite a friend with your link and you both get a welcome gift when they pick a username.
The city
Players run Toronto. Every week residents elect a mayor, who passes one law, and each ward elects a councillor who votes on the budget and the tax rate. Anyone can run. The economy moves every week too: prices, pay, rates. There is a hockey pool with play money, and trivia in the bars. Real politicians and parties are left out on purpose.
Questions
Is it free? Yes. No download, works on phones and computers. Money in the game is play money with no cash value.
Do I need an account? No. Start as a guest. After ten minutes, pick a username or use Google to keep your character.
Is it like BitLife or The Sims? It is a life simulator like those, except everyone shares one live Toronto, so the people you meet are real.
Who can play? Adults 18 and older.
Only Toronto? For now. Ottawa is next, then your city.
Made in Ontario by Clouthier Simulation Labs. What is real and what is invented · Terms of play · Privacy · hello@tdotlife.app