How Lying Created the World of Purgatory

In the world of tabletop gaming, lore isn't always something that is written in a book—sometimes, it is born directly from the mechanics of the game itself. When we created A Life In Purgatory, we didn't start with characters or a setting; we started with a problem we wanted to solve.

Here is the story of how a simple mechanical fix blossomed into the game we know as A Life In Purgatory.

The Problem: The "I Don’t Know" Wall

Traditional trivia games have a shelf life. Once someone has memorized most of the cards, the challenge vanishes. Even worse, if you draw a card and simply don’t know the answer, you’re stuck. Your turn effectively ends before it begins.

We wanted to explore a different option. We asked ourselves: How do we make "not knowing" a playable route? The answer was deception. By allowing players to lie, we removed the limitation of knowledge. If you don't know the truth, you make one up. Suddenly, the game wasn't just about what was in your head—it was about what you could make your friends believe. After all, what is a fact, other than something we believe to be true?

The Birth of Purgatory

Once the lying mechanic was in place, the theme revealed itself. We asked: What kind of people lie, and where would they go? The concept of Purgatory was the perfect fit. It became the neutral ground where players are tested. The act of lying naturally pointed toward Hell, while telling the truth pointed toward Heaven. This wasn't just a theme; it was a moral compass for the gameplay loop.

Building the Divine and the Damned

With the foundation set, we tried to "break" the mechanic to see how far we could push it. This led to the creation of Buffs and DeBuffs. We wanted there to be a tangible weight to your choices.

• Hell cards became a gamble, randomly penalizing those who thrive on lies.

• Heaven cards became the reward for honesty, providing stability in a chaotic game.

The Path to Victory: Attacks and Characters

The next question was: How do you win? To create a sense of conflict, we introduced Attack and Defence cards. Following our theme, we placed the heavy-hitting Attack cards in the Hell deck and the shields in the Heaven deck.

However, we hit a snag: if the only way to attack was to lie, then truth-tellers had no way to win. To fix this and keep the game fair, we designed a few unique win conditions for the Heaven deck (like the Holy Grail), ensuring that while lying might be the "faster" path to power, the path of truth is just as viable.

Characters: Your Soul’s Starting Point

Finally, we added Character cards to ensure no two games ever felt the same. Whether you start as the Imp, Satan, or the Chosen One, your character dictates your starting health and unique abilities. These were designed to nudge you into different playstyles—sometimes forcing a habitual truth-teller to embrace their inner demon, or a master liar to seek redemption.

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