Overview
The Young Adult life stage is the third stage in a Zoi's life cycle, following the Teenager stage and preceding the Adult stage. It lasts for 9 in-game days (approximately 14.4 real-time hours at the default day length of 48 minutes). This is the pivotal turning point where every major gameplay system becomes available for the first time.
Up until this point, a Zoi's life is largely guided by school attendance, homework, and limited social options. Once a Zoi ages into young adulthood, the restrictions fall away. Ambitions, Desired Life selection, university enrollment, full-time careers, romance, marriage, pregnancy, and business ownership all become accessible. The combination of a generous day count and unrestricted access to every system makes this the stage where most players accomplish their biggest milestones.
Duration and Aging
Young Adults remain in this stage for 9 in-game days before automatically aging into the Adult stage. At the default setting of 48 real-world minutes per in-game day, this translates to roughly 14.4 hours of real-time gameplay. Players can adjust the day length in the game settings to make the stage pass more quickly or more slowly, giving themselves additional breathing room to complete goals.
When a Zoi transitions into young adulthood, their physical appearance updates immediately to reflect the new age bracket. Height, facial features, and posture shift to look more mature compared to their teenage form. The same instant change happens again when the Zoi ages into the Adult stage at the end of the 9-day window.
If you want to pause the aging clock entirely, you can disable aging in the game options. This lets you keep a Zoi as a Young Adult indefinitely, which is useful if you want to finish every career track, degree program, or ambition without time pressure.
Careers and Employment
The full career system opens during the Young Adult stage. This is the earliest life stage at which a Zoi can hold a job; only Young Adults, Adults, and Middle-Aged Zois are eligible for employment (Seniors are forced into retirement). To find a job, open the Smartphone and navigate to the Career App, where available positions are listed.
Careers fall into two categories:
Active Careers let you follow the Zoi inside their workplace and directly perform tasks during each shift. Completing the task list consistently leads to promotions in roughly 3 to 4 working days (about one in-game week). Active careers are more hands-on but reward faster advancement.
Rabbit Hole Careers send the Zoi into a building whose interior you cannot view. The Zoi works autonomously, and you receive periodic notification updates about their progress. Rabbit hole positions schedule only 3 workdays per week, so promotions take longer, typically 8 to 10 working days (around 3 in-game weeks). Keeping the Zoi well-rested, happy, and punctual is the main lever for advancement in these roles.
Career progression depends on job performance, relevant skill levels, and relationships with coworkers. Missing three shifts without an excuse results in termination, so staying on top of the schedule is essential. Active careers are generally recommended for Young Adults because the faster promotion pace makes the most of the limited time before aging up.
University
Young Adults can optionally enroll in university, an entirely separate track from the mandatory schooling that Children and Teenagers attend. Enrollment is done through the Smartphone's School tab. There are no admission requirements and no tuition fees; you simply choose a degree program and apply.
Two campus locations are available, and both offer the same three degree programs:
Campus | City |
|---|---|
Youngsung School | |
Bliss Bay Public School | Bliss Bay |
The three available degree programs are:
Business Administration
Computer Science
Multimedia Arts
Classes are held three days per week from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. During class hours, the university functions as a rabbit hole, and the Zoi cannot be directly controlled. After each university day, your Zoi receives two homework tasks with tight deadlines of only a few hours. A computer and a bookshelf in the home are essential for completing these tasks on time. Meeting deadlines improves academic performance, while missing them causes it to drop.
Graduation typically takes between 7 and 10 in-game days of enrollment. Upon graduating, a diploma appears on the Zoi's profile. One important limitation is that a Zoi cannot hold a job and attend university at the same time; enrolling in one automatically removes them from the other. Dropping out of university resets all academic progress, so commit to the decision before enrolling.
As of the current Early Access build, the practical career benefits of a university degree are still unclear. No career path requires a specific degree to enter. Future updates may tie degree programs more closely to career opportunities, but for now the main advantages are the profile diploma and the structured routine the university schedule provides.
Romance and Relationships
While Teenagers can engage in basic romantic interactions, the Young Adult stage unlocks the complete romance progression system. Building a romantic relationship follows a defined sequence of stages:
Build Friendship: Start by chatting frequently using positive social actions like Humor, Affection, and Chitchat. Fill the friendship bar to at least halfway before attempting romantic interactions.
Flirt and Build Romance: Once the friendship threshold is met, Romance actions become available in the social menu. Use these to accumulate romance points and move through the Mutual Crush stage.
Confess Love: When romance points are high enough, selecting Confess Love advances the relationship to the Sweetheart (dating) stage.
Deepen the Bond: Continue romantic interactions to progress through relationship levels, eventually reaching True Love.
Propose: At the True Love level, the Ask Them to Marry You option appears. Proposals can be rejected if the relationship is not strong enough, so maximizing both friendship and romance bars beforehand gives the best chance of acceptance.
Same-sex romance and marriage are fully supported. Married Zois who experience sustained conflict may eventually reach the Distant relationship level, at which point a Divorce option becomes available.
Marriage and Weddings
After a successful proposal, you can plan a wedding through the Schedule system. Open the Schedule, choose to plan an event, and select the Wedding option. From there, you can customize the ceremony duration, set a dress code, choose an officiant, assign wedding party members, and invite guests.
During the wedding event, certain scripted actions need to be completed for the ceremony to proceed properly. Additional optional actions are available for both the newlyweds and the guests, letting you create a more personalized and lively celebration. After the wedding, the spouse can be asked to move in to the household.
Having Children
Young Adults can start a family through three different paths. All three require the household to have fewer than 8 members, and at least one parent must be a Young Adult or older.
Method | Details |
|---|---|
Natural Pregnancy | Available to couples with a strong romantic bond. As of v0.2.0, marriage is no longer required. Pregnancy lasts 3 in-game days and progresses through three visible stages. Only female Zois can carry a pregnancy in the current build. |
Adoption | Adoption was added in v0.2.0. It is accessed through the computer or laptop interface and allows any Zoi (single, same-sex couple, or otherwise) to bring a child into the household without pregnancy. |
Medical Birth | Costs 1,000 Meow and works for all gender combinations, providing an inclusive path to parenthood regardless of a Zoi's biological sex. |
After a baby arrives, it enters the household as an Infant. The newborn requires frequent attention and care, so plan around the 3-day pregnancy window and the demands of infant care when scheduling career shifts and university classes.
Business Ownership
The business management system, introduced in v0.5.0, allows Young Adults to purchase, furnish, and operate their own commercial enterprises. To get started, open the Business App on the Smartphone, fill out the business registration, and select a business type. Each type comes with a preset configuration, but you can customize the setup to suit your preferences.
Available business types include:
Cafe
Bakery
Restaurant
Bar
Florist Shop
Confectionery
Gym
School
Open Lot (custom layout)
Running a business involves setting operating hours, hiring employees, configuring which products or services to offer, and managing pricing. For food-based businesses (Cafes, Bakeries, Restaurants), you select which recipes appear on your menu through the Business App. Moderate pricing tends to attract higher customer volume and better satisfaction scores than maximum pricing, which translates into more revenue over time.
Successful businesses generate steady Meow income and can reach higher business ranks through positive customer reviews and efficient operations. For a first business, Cafes and Gyms are popular choices: Cafes have low setup requirements, and Gyms generate consistent income with no crafting costs. Keep in mind that business ownership requires a significant upfront Meow investment, so it is best to build up savings through a career first.
Ambitions and Desired Life
The Ambitions system activates when a Zoi reaches the Young Adult stage. Ambitions are long-term personal goals that guide a Zoi's direction in life and shape their autonomous behavior. Each ambition is structured in three levels with escalating requirements:
Level 1: Introductory tasks such as purchasing equipment or starting an activity.
Level 2: Sustained effort requirements like reaching mid-range skill levels or completing actions multiple times.
Level 3: Mastery goals that demand high skill levels, large Meow accumulation, or high-count action completion.
Completing each level rewards Meow, and finishing all three levels unlocks a unique interaction tied to that specific ambition. Ambitions also influence a Zoi's urges (the spontaneous desires that drive autonomous behavior). A Zoi pursuing a fitness-focused ambition will naturally feel the urge to exercise, while one chasing knowledge will gravitate toward reading and studying.
The Desired Life system works alongside ambitions. When reaching young adulthood, you select from 16 available Desired Lives. Each one pre-selects a combination of traits, values, skill affinities, and a default ambition that match the chosen lifestyle. However, a Desired Life is only a starting template. You can change any of its components, including the ambition, at any point during gameplay, giving you full flexibility to adjust your Zoi's direction as priorities shift.
Skills
All 13 adult skills continue to be available and can be leveled freely. Without the mandatory school schedule that consumes a Teenager's weekdays, Young Adults have significantly more free time to dedicate to skill development. The only time constraint comes from career shifts or university classes, both of which are optional.
Skill levels directly affect career performance and business success. For example, a Zoi with high Cooking skill will produce better dishes in a restaurant business, while high Charisma helps with workplace relationships and faster promotions. Most Zois reach their highest skill levels during the Young Adult or subsequent Adult stage, so starting skill training early in young adulthood pays dividends throughout the rest of their life.
Tips
Start your career early. The sooner you secure a job, the more promotions you can earn before aging into the Adult stage. Active careers promote faster, so consider those if you want to climb the ladder quickly.
Choose university or career, not both. Since you cannot hold a job and attend university simultaneously, pick one to focus on first. If you want the diploma, enroll right away; if you need income, start working and consider university in a later life stage.
Plan around pregnancy. A 3-day pregnancy plus infant care demands take a noticeable chunk out of your 9-day window. If you want children as a Young Adult, start the process early so you have time to recover your routine.
Save before opening a business. Business setup costs are steep. Work a career first to build a financial cushion, then transition to business ownership once you have enough Meow to invest.
Set your Desired Life and Ambition quickly. These systems influence urge behavior, meaning your Zoi will naturally gravitate toward helpful activities when the right ambition is active. Delaying the choice wastes autonomous time that could be spent building relevant skills.
Build relationships now. The friendships and professional connections you form as a Young Adult carry through every remaining life stage. Invest in social interactions with coworkers, neighbors, and romantic interests.
Disable aging if you need more time. If you want to experience everything without time pressure, turn off aging in the game settings. You can always re-enable it once you are satisfied with your progress.