Cell Prison Architect Guide
Last update: 25 May 2016
Icon | Minimum size | Required objects |
3x2 | Bed Toilet |
The most basic and essential room in each prison. It's the only place where prisoners sleep. The amount of cells that you have defines how many prisoners you can take in (you get information regarding it at the top of the screen - see the Interface chapter). If you want to separate prisoners from each other, you can use the Bangup option available in the lower right part of the screen and therefore send them all to their cells. Note that they will stay there even if they aren't restrained by any walls or doors (!). However keep in mind that treating prisoners like that causes large dissatisfaction.
The optimum size for cells is in fact their minimum size as well, i.e. 3x2. By sticking to such parameters you can save up lots of useful space. Just keep in mind to supply each cell with water, as otherwise toilets won't work.
For rather obvious reasons, you should try to have as many of these as possible.
Guards automatically take newly arrived prisoners to their cells, therefore assigning them to a given room. Curiously, if you don't have any cells or holding cells and at the same time keep a constant inflow of prisoners, they will kindly stand in a queue by the main entrance to your prison and generate income (see: Budget). This works the same when you don't have any guards (as there is no one there to escort the prisoners). Using this tactic, you can easily earn lots of money without any costs. Creating a prison without any cells (or any security whatsoever, even buildings) is therefore completely possible. It's probably a bug in the game which will be fixes with upcoming updates.