Manila Life is a free browser game. You live one week in Manila as an ordinary Filipino. Each day you commute, work, eat, spend your evening and sleep, while stretching your pera until Sunday. Everything runs in your browser, and there is nothing to download or sign up for.
Pick who you are
Call center agent: night shift in BGC with night-differential pay, but low energy.
Jeepney driver: the Baclaran to Quiapo route. Fuel and boundary eat into your earnings.
Sari-sari store owner: you work from home, restock at Divisoria and deal with neighbors who ask for utang.
College student: a family allowance, a long commute to Taft and a thesis deadline.
OFW in waiting: a part-time job plus paperwork runs for your documents.
Nurse: twelve-hour shifts, modest pay and a dream of working abroad.
A day in the game
Morning: check the weather and your clock, eat, then choose how to commute: walk, jeepney, tricycle, UV Express, MRT/LRT, EDSA bus, a ride-hailing car or the Pasig River ferry. Cheaper is slower and more tiring. Rain and floods add delays.
Travel scene: you can watch your character wait, board and ride through a Manila street. Tap Skip any time, or turn the scenes off from the title screen.
Work: make a few quick decisions that change your pay. Arriving late, being tired or being hungry cuts it.
Evening: eat, call family, pay your utang, send padala or open the map and visit districts such as Makati, BGC, Intramuros, Binondo, Quiapo, Divisoria, Cubao and Mall of Asia.
Sleep: gossip spreads, bills come due and a new day begins.
Minigames
Bayad po! Pass your fare along the jeepney without dropping coins.
Para po! Stop the jeepney in the green zone to get off at the right place.
Tawad: haggle at Divisoria as a buyer. Each tindera has her own personality (mabait, matigas, mahilig makipagbiruan). Make an offer, listen to her counter-offer, accept it or walk away. Walking away works if your offer was close. Buy pasalubong, clothes, handaan ingredients for Sunday or a regalo for someone special.
Videoke: time your notes at barkada gatherings.
What can go wrong (and right)
On a flooded morning you choose: wade through (basa ang sapatos), wait about an hour for the water to go down (you may be late), or go home and skip work. The MRT and the Pasig ferry skip the flooded streets. Expect EDSA gridlock, MRT breakdowns, floods, brownouts, typhoons that cancel work, gossip that moves your reputation, and a Sunday handaan that your family hopes you will attend. Keep an eye on energy, hunger, mood, family, reputation and your utang.
Goals and rewards
Finish the week with as much money and reputation as you can. Your score is saved under Records.
Build your lot fund across weeks.
Unlock badges in the Collection.
Come back daily for a pasalubong bonus and keep your streak going.
Send a friend a virtual balikbayan box with a gift link.
Tips
Eat before you work. Hunger and tiredness cut your pay.
Do not be late. Leave earlier when it rains or floods.
Pay your utang before the week ends, because tubo adds up.
Save time on Sunday for family. It is worth more than you think.