Entropy · Board game rules
Do lifeform symbols on life cards count towards total lifeforms?
Quick answer
Yes — Lifeform tokens gained from a Life card are physical wooden Lifeforms placed on the chosen Planet, and they count fully toward that Planet's 5-per-type Lifeform limit and toward Objectives.
Details
When you play a Life card, you add the indicated Lifeform tokens to the chosen Planet tile, placing them next to it (indicated by the Local symbol) [p.8 — Create Life]. These are the same wooden Bacteria/Plant/Animal tokens used elsewhere in the game, so they are treated identically to Lifeforms gained through any other means.
Each Planet is capped at a maximum of 5 Lifeforms of each type, and this limit applies regardless of how the Lifeforms were gained — whether from a Life card's reward, a Traffic Bonus, or an Advance Lifeforms effect [p.9 — Actions]. So Lifeforms added by a played Life card do count against this cap.
Since they are ordinary Lifeform tokens on your Planets, they also count normally for anything that checks Lifeform totals, such as Lifeform Objectives or Mission requirements referencing Lifeforms in your play area [p.11-12 — Objectives, Missions].
Watch out: Effects on a card that grant Lifeforms without a Local (⚙) marker are not tied to a specific Planet — you choose where to place them, but they must still respect the 5-per-type limit on whichever Planet you place them on [p.7 — Actions].