About Life Counters

Life Counters is a free MTG life counter that runs in your browser. We built it for the table: one phone or tablet laid flat between the players, with every panel turned to face its seat.

What the counter does

It tracks life for 2 to 6 players, with commander damage from each opponent, poison, and the extra counters Commander games use. It has dice, a coin, a fair start player picker, undo and a history of every change.

A Yu-Gi-Oh mode gives two duelists 8000 life points (or 4000 for a Speed Duel), quick buttons and a keypad for exact amounts.

The rules it follows

Commander games start at 40 life. A player who takes 21 combat damage from one commander loses, and so does a player with 10 poison counters, as the official Commander page and the Magic rules set out. Two-player formats start at 20. A Yu-Gi-Oh duel starts at 8000 life points, as the official rulebook says.

Adding commander damage takes the same amount off that player's life in the same tap, so the two numbers never drift apart.

How the site makes money

It does not, today. The counter is free, there is nothing to buy, nothing is locked and there are no ads at launch. Magic fan content has to stay free to use, and we like it that way.

If we ever add ads to cover hosting, they will sit in the text below the counter, never over the play area, and the privacy page will say so first.

Your game stays on your device

Life totals, names and history are kept in your own browser so a refresh does not lose the game. There are no accounts. The privacy policy has the details.

Contact us

Found a bug, or want a feature for your playgroup? Write to us at [email protected]. We read every message.

Life Counters is an independent fan site. It is not made by, approved by or connected to Wizards of the Coast or Konami.