The escapists is a game that put your puzzle-solving and strategizing skills to work. Player plays as an inmate in a prison. Finding the way to escape is the main task in the game, though other tasks are needed to be completed in order for such goal to be possible.
Player’s goal is to escape, but achieving it tasks like crafting items from different materials, raising stats by various activities(such as exercising or looking at cats pictures on the internet to increase character’s intellect, yeah that is no joke, your character increases his intellect by looking at cat pictures on the internet), building good profile among other inmates and guards are essential parts of the escape plan. There are different prisons in the game and every one of them will present different challenges.
Daily schedule
Prison and routine are like synonyms, therefore just like in real prison the main character here needs to follow daily schedule that is very specific. Schedule includes meal time, roll call, jobs, free time and lights out(sleep time). To find out when any of these event take time you can look at the bottom of the screen.
Not abiding to the daily routine will put guards eyes on you and you don’t want that. Missing roll call will get prison on lockdown and your character will get sent to the solitary, which will cost you some time and will reduce your stats. Solitary is to be avoided, however sometimes it has to be part of the plan to get an item.
During roll call, which happens throughout the day, all the inmates must stand at the space near the front entrance to a prison. This is a good time to talk to other inmates, ask for favors or buy items from them.
Attending breakfast, lunch or dinner everyday is a must, but don’t worry it’s not just a waste of time, meals help your character to restore health and reduce fatigue.
Work time can earn you money, which you can use to buy items from other inmates, however you only earn money if you are able to complete job quota in given time period.
And finally free time, it allows the character to explore the prison. It is mostly used to gain stats by performing various activities, such as exercising in workout room or reading in the library.
Escaping
Ultimately the goal is to escape, so back to it. Using your free time to find the escape route is key, as during free time character can explore the prison freely and plan the escape. Once you have planned the escape route you will need to get the right items to put your plan to work and there is another piece of planning that has to be made - where you get the needed materials for crafting the items you need and the ways to get them. You cannot buy everything and you might not have enough money to buy items you need from other inmates at once.
Prisons are of different difficulties to escape from, but it should take from few days to few weeks of time within the game to escape. Plan your escapes wisely and do not forget to have fun!