Game Guide - What is the game about? Prison Architect Guide

Last update: 11 May 2016

Prison Architect is a game about running a prison. Your task is keeping the prisoners guarded while looking after their basic needs. You can achieve it by building proper rooms: dedicated to entertainment, bath, physical exercise, gastronomy etc. Of course no prison can do without proper staff - not only guards, but also cooks, doctors or bureaucratic officials. The specific of a prison requires you to not only look after the basic needs of your prisoners, but most of all make it impossible for them to escape. That's why proper fencing and stopping riots from breaking out are basic elements of the gameplay.

Creating a well-functioning, prosperous and self-sufficient structure is basically the only goal of the game, as it doesn't feature any definite ending or even scenarios apart from the tutorial. Therefore it's a type of a sandbox: the gameplay is mainly about creativity and efficient management - of course all decisions are up to you. Probably that's why there are so many elements enhancing the aesthetics of the prison without affecting the way it functions (like lawns, decorative tiles or expensive groundkeepers).

Nothing stands in the way of creating a nice, almost hotel-like prisons, but running a dark and obscure hell for recidivists is also possible. It's all up to you - the guide however contains an intermediate option: most of all functional and economical. Such an approach lets you create basics for a well-functioning institution despite its character. Firstly you have to construct an effective mechanism and only afterwards move to decorating it, right?

If you pursue some concrete challenges and goals, there are grants - easy missions which require you to develop the prison in a given way. Unfortunately, you can complete them starting from the second day, so they don't last for very long. After you complete them, the only measure of the "quality" of your prison is its value stated in the Reports (lower right corner of the screen), in the Valuation tab (screen above). Obtaining the highest possible result might be a challenge in itself for players paying attention to such grades.

Notice! If you choose to create a new prison in the main menu, you will be able to choose the continuous intake option (screen above). If you mark it, you will basically ruin all the fun, as assuring a place for all prisoners is virtually impossible, as the amount of new prisoners is very high and keeps refreshing infinitely. Such a race with time is impossible to win, as sooner or later you will run out of resources to build new cell blocks, buy objects or hire staff. It's therefore important to avoid this option!