This Papers, Please guide is a practical route for players who want to finish the story, avoid costly citations, plan every major ending, and clean up the hidden achievements without turning every day into a copied script. It covers the rule changes, desk workflow, tokens, EZIC choices, Obristan escape, loyalist ending, and the awkward cases that usually ruin a clean run.
What This Guide Is For
Papers, Please is a document-checking thriller by Lucas Pope, published on Steam by 3909 and released on August 8, 2013. The campaign runs from Day 1 to Day 31, but it is not a normal linear walkthrough where every entrant is fixed. Some entrants are scripted, many are procedural, and the real skill is learning a fast inspection order that survives new rules, story interruptions, and moral decisions.
Use this page as a complete planning guide rather than a line-by-line transcript. It explains what each phase adds, which choices matter, how to target the main achievements, and how to set up the three useful endgame routes:
- Loyalist route: ignore EZIC, defend the checkpoint, unlock Endless Mode through Ending 20 and the Glory to Arstotzka achievement.
- EZIC route: complete at least four EZIC tasks, hold fire on Day 31, and unlock Ending 19 plus Member of the Order.
- Obristan route: save enough money and confiscated Obristan passports to escape with every living family member for Ending 18 and Snowier Pastures.
Best First-Run Plan
If this is your first serious completion run, do not try to get every ending in one pass. The cleanest plan is:
- Play mostly loyalist first. Ignore EZIC tasks, burn suspicious gift money, defend the wall on Day 31, and unlock Ending 20. This also teaches the document flow without juggling revolution tasks.
- Use chapter select for early bad endings and one-off achievements. The game lets you restart from reached days, so you can trigger an arrest, death, or token and then return to a safer branch.
- Do a second run for EZIC. Complete the named EZIC tasks and let the Day 31 attack succeed.
- Plan Obristan separately unless you are confident with money. Escaping with every living family member requires passports and credits; it is easy to under-save if you upgrade apartments casually.
Easy Mode adds a daily money buffer and still lets you learn the game. If you are chasing achievements and not a pure challenge run, it is a reasonable option. You must return to the main menu to change it.
Core Desk Workflow
The booth is stressful because it tempts you to react to the newest paper first. A stable order is faster than clever improvisation.
- Check required documents. Before reading tiny fields, confirm the entrant has every document required by today’s rules: passport, entry permit or access permit, ID card, work pass, diplomatic authorization, asylum grant, or special seizure slip.
- Check date and expiry. Compare every expiration or entry deadline against the current date beside the clock. Expired documents are among the fastest safe denials.
- Check identity. Compare name, photo, gender, date of birth, height, weight, fingerprints, alias records, and ID number where applicable.
- Check country data. Issuing cities, passport seals, districts, and diplomatic authorization countries are common forgery points. If you are slow here, keep the rulebook open to country pages until you memorize them.
- Check purpose and duration. The audio transcript matters when spoken purpose or stay length conflicts with the written permit. Interrogate first; many entrants correct themselves and can then be approved.
- Resolve discrepancies before stamping. The game usually wants you to prove the problem with inspection mode, then interrogate, fingerprint, search, deny, or detain.
The first two citations only cost the fee for those entrants, but penalties escalate after that. Treat two citations as your warning line. If you are already at three or four and the day still has time left, restarting the day is often cheaper than limping forward.
Rule Roadmap by Phase
The exact scripted entrants matter for tokens and endings, but the broader rule changes are what make or break normal days. Use this roadmap to know what the game is testing.
| Phase | What Changes | What to Watch |
|---|---|---|
| Days 1-3 | You learn passports, nationality restrictions, entry tickets, and basic discrepancy mode. | Do not overthink early days. Country, expiry, issuing city, and missing tickets are the lesson. |
| Days 4-6 | Foreigners move to entry permits; Arstotzkans use ID cards; work passes appear for laborers. | Purpose and duration must match the audio transcript. Fingerprint name or photo issues when prompted. |
| Days 7-10 | Searches, diplomats, wanted criminals, and ministry visits begin to crowd the desk. | Diplomats must be authorized for Arstotzka. Contraband after a search should usually become detainment. |
| Days 11-16 | EZIC pressure increases, gift money appears, inspections punish wall clutter, and weapons enter the story. | Burn EZIC money on a loyalist run. Remove unauthorized wall items before ministry inspectors reach the booth. |
| Days 17-23 | Access permits, wanted criminals, temporary instructions, poison, attacks, and the Man in Red decision matter. | Story favors can override ordinary profit logic. Touching poison or mishandling violence can end the run instantly. |
| Days 24-31 | Passport confiscation, asylum paperwork, Obristan escape, Shae Piersovska, and final wall-defense choices decide endings. | Confiscation is powerful but dangerous. Track every EZIC task and every Obristan passport before Day 31. |
Fast Checks That Save Runs
- Missing documents: compare the empty document tray with the relevant rule before assuming a denial is enough.
- Different names: interrogate, then compare fingerprints and alias records if the game offers them.
- Weight mismatch: search. It can reveal contraband even when every document looks fine.
- Diplomatic authorization: the listed countries must include Arstotzka. A valid passport alone is not enough.
- Confiscation: when passports can be seized, provide the seizure slip where required. Mishandling this can create avoidable citations.
- Detainment: when the detain button appears for a proven serious discrepancy, it is usually better than a simple denial because guards later pay for pairs of detainees.
Day-by-Day Progression Notes
This section focuses on the decisions and rule shifts that are most useful for a clean completion. Randomized entrants still need normal inspection.
Days 1-3: Learn the Border
Day 1 is a nationality filter: Arstotzkans with passports are approved, foreigners are denied. Day 2 allows foreigners with valid passports and introduces citations. Day 3 adds entry tickets for foreigners. These days are safe places to build your layout: put the rulebook on one side, keep the stamp panel accessible, and stop calling the next entrant until your desk is arranged.
Jorji Costava appears early with no useful papers. Enjoy the joke, but do not approve him yet if you want the Obristan token without a citation. He has a valid opportunity later.
Days 4-6: Permits, ID Cards, and Work Passes
Day 4 is the first real skill jump: foreigners use entry permits, Arstotzkans need ID cards, and spoken purpose/duration starts to matter. Day 5 introduces detainment. Day 6 adds work passes for entrants who say they are coming to work.
Two early tokens happen here and both require compassion after proving a discrepancy:
- Impor Token, Day 4: the woman visiting her son has invalid papers. Point out the issue, then approve her anyway.
- Antegria Token, Day 5: approve the husband with valid papers, then find the wife’s document issue and approve her too.
These choices cause citations. Save them for runs where you can afford the penalty, or use chapter select after you have reached the day.
Days 7-10: Searches, Diplomats, and Oversight
Searches become important after the Kolechian attack. If a rule says to search a category of entrant, search first and stamp only after the scan prints. If contraband appears, inspect the contraband against the no-contraband rule, then detain.
Diplomats are another common trap. Their authorization document must list Arstotzka as an approved destination, and the diplomatic seal must be valid. A real-looking passport does not save a bad authorization.
Ministry inspections begin to punish unauthorized booth decorations. If you keep family photos or pennants up, remove them before the official reaches your booth. Failing repeated inspections can trigger a bad ending later.
Days 11-16: EZIC Becomes a Real Branch
Jorji can be approved cleanly on Day 11 when his documents are finally valid; this is the best time to earn the Obristan Token. The same period also starts the serious EZIC route.
For a loyalist run, your rule is simple: do not complete EZIC tasks and burn suspicious gift money. For an EZIC run, begin tracking named agents. The key EZIC tasks are:
| Day | EZIC Task | Ending Impact |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Allow Mikhail Saratov. | Counts toward the EZIC task total. |
| 14 | Allow Stepheni Graire. | Counts toward the EZIC task total. |
| 17 | Allow Marie Escalli. | Counts toward the EZIC task total. |
| 20 | Poison Khaled Istom correctly. | Counts toward the EZIC task total; mishandling the poison can kill you. |
| 27 | Confiscate Kordon Kallo’s passport, allow him, and pass the passport to EZIC. | Counts toward the EZIC task total. |
To trigger Too Honest, hand EZIC documents to M. Vonel on Day 12. This is a deliberate arrest ending, so do it from chapter select or when you are ready to branch.
Days 17-23: Access Rules, Poison, and the Man in Red
By this stretch, the game tests memory and discipline. You will see more temporary instructions, more government notices, and more chances to be rushed into a mistake. Read the morning bulletin before calling the first entrant. If a new rule exists for only one day, put the rulebook where you can inspect against it immediately.
Day 20 poison warning: the poison is not a normal desk object. If you touch or use it incorrectly, the run can end immediately. On an EZIC route, follow the intended interaction carefully; on a loyalist route, do not engage with the assassination task.
Day 21 Republia Token: Danic Lorun asks to enter without proper papers and leaves his watch as collateral. Approve him, keep the watch, do not sell it, then return it when he comes back on Day 23. Return the money when he complains, then approve him to receive the token.
Day 23 Hired Rifle: EZIC asks you to shoot the Man in Red. Shooting him with the sniper rifle gives the achievement and a bad ending. This is not part of the clean EZIC victory route; use chapter select if you only want the achievement.
Days 24-31: Confiscation, Escape, and Final Endings
Late-game papers are slower because a legal-looking entrant can still be part of a story trap. Two cases deserve special attention:
- Day 25 Kolechia Token: one entrant gives a love note. Give it to the depressed later entrant to receive the token.
- Day 25 Shae Piersovska: detaining her triggers an arrest ending the next morning. Decide whether you are intentionally collecting that ending.
- Day 29-30 United Federation Token: accept the father’s request, confiscate Simon Wens’ passport on Day 30, let Wens enter, then give the passport and photo to the father when he returns.
- Obristan escape: from Day 29 onward, Jorji opens the escape path. You need one Obristan passport and 25 credits for each living family member who escapes with you.
On Day 31, your ending depends on three things: how many EZIC tasks you completed, whether you shoot the attackers, and whether you leave for Obristan afterward.
All Major Ending Routes
There are 20 numbered endings plus instant death states. Most players only need three planned routes for achievements, then can use chapter select for the rest.
| Target | How to Set It Up | Achievement |
|---|---|---|
| Ending 20: Loyalist | Complete no EZIC tasks, burn gift money, shoot both attackers on Day 31 before the wall falls, and do not escape. | Glory to Arstotzka; also unlocks Endless Mode code. |
| Ending 19: EZIC victory | Complete at least four EZIC tasks, then hold fire during the Day 31 attack and sleep afterward. | Member of the Order. |
| Ending 18: Full Obristan escape | Have enough Obristan passports and 25 credits per living family member, then leave with all living family members. | Snowier Pastures. |
| Ending 16: Partial escape | Escape to Obristan alone or leave at least one living family member behind. | No Snowier Pastures. |
| Ending 3: Too Honest | Give EZIC documents to M. Vonel on Day 12. | Too Honest. |
| Ending 9: Man in Red killed | On Day 23, shoot the Man in Red with the sniper rifle during the EZIC distraction. | Hired Rifle. |
| Ending 12: Shae Piersovska detained | Detain Shae on Day 25 after the earlier request involving her. | No separate Steam achievement, but it counts for ending collection. |
EZIC Task Count Rules
The endgame is often misunderstood because “””helping EZIC a little””” is worse than picking a side. Use this simple rule:
- 0 EZIC tasks: defend the wall for the loyalist route.
- 1-3 EZIC tasks: you are compromised but not trusted; several Day 31 outcomes punish you.
- 4-5 EZIC tasks: EZIC considers you useful. Hold fire on Day 31 for their victory, or betray them for bad endings.
The Man in Red request is best treated as a separate achievement branch. It is not required for the standard EZIC victory route and it ends the run.
Achievement and Token Checklist
Papers, Please has a compact achievement list, but several are hidden behind choices that feel financially or morally wrong. The table below gives the practical route.
| Achievement / Token | Day | Requirement | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Impor Token | 4 | Find the Imporian woman’s document issue, interrogate, then approve her so she can see her son. | Citation. |
| Antegria Token | 5 | Approve the husband, then approve his wife after proving her paperwork issue. | Citation. |
| Obristan Token | 11 | Approve Jorji Costava when his documents are finally valid. | No citation if done on Day 11. |
| Arstotzka Token | 12-16 | Take Messof Anegovych’s four business cards and give all four to engineers before he returns. | Missable if you waste cards. |
| Republia Token | 21-23 | Let Danic Lorun in, keep and return his watch, return his complaint money, then approve him. | Citation and delayed payoff. |
| Kolechia Token | 25 | Give the love note from the earlier entrant to the depressed later entrant. | Do not lose the note. |
| United Federation Token | 29-30 | Confiscate Simon Wens’ passport, let him enter, then hand the passport and photo to the father. | Citation; handle seizure slip carefully. |
| Too Honest | 12 | Give EZIC documents to the M.O.I. investigator. | Immediate arrest ending. |
| Worker’s Best | 22 earliest | Acquire a Class-5 apartment. | Requires strong income management. |
| Hired Rifle | 23 | Shoot the Man in Red with the sniper rifle. | Bad ending. |
| Glory to Arstotzka | 31 | Do no EZIC tasks, defend the wall, and stay. | Requires a clean loyalist route. |
| Snowier Pastures | 29-31 | Escape to Obristan with every living family member. | Requires passports and 25 credits per person. |
| Member of the Order | 31 | Complete at least four EZIC tasks and hold fire during the attack. | Locks you into the revolution route. |
Money and Family Strategy
Your income is based on processed entrants, then reduced by penalties and family costs. The more you restart days to remove citations, the easier late-game planning becomes. A few habits help:
- Buy early efficiency upgrades if you can afford them. Faster inspection mode and stamp shortcuts pay back through more processed entrants.
- Do not upgrade apartments casually if you are saving for Obristan. Better housing helps some routes, but escape needs liquid cash.
- Medicine is more urgent than heat in some planning routes, but family deaths affect escape requirements. For Snowier Pastures, the achievement checks every living family member, not necessarily every original family member.
- Do not accept EZIC gift money on a loyalist route. Burn it to avoid the bribery investigation branch.
- Detain when legally possible. Later guard payments for detainees can offset the time spent proving a serious discrepancy.
Common Mistakes
- Approving after a corrected statement too slowly: when purpose or duration conflicts, interrogate. If the entrant corrects the statement and the papers now match, you can often approve.
- Forgetting the daily bulletin: temporary rules, wanted criminals, and special instructions are often only in that day’s paper.
- Using an outside reference sheet as a crutch too early: it helps with issuing cities, but the game still expects you to prove discrepancies with inspection mode.
- Completing one EZIC task by accident: a single task can ruin a loyalist ending. If you are loyalist, deny or ignore every named EZIC favor.
- Trying to collect Hired Rifle during an EZIC victory run: shoot the Man in Red only on a disposable branch.
- Confiscating passports without a plan: only Obristan escape and certain story requests justify the risk. Track how many you need before Day 31.
- Leaving unauthorized wall items up: ministry inspections are slow enough that you can remove them, but only if you remember before the official reaches the booth.
Quick FAQ
How many playthroughs do I need for 100%?
Plan on two full routes plus chapter select cleanup. One loyalist route and one EZIC route cover the two biggest achievement paths. Obristan escape can be combined with some late-game planning, but many players find it cleaner to branch from a saved late-game day.
Should I always detain instead of deny?
If the game gives you a valid detain option after a serious proven discrepancy, detaining is usually best. Exceptions are story choices where detaining a named person triggers a specific ending or blocks a favor you are intentionally doing.
Can I get the Obristan token earlier?
Yes, but earlier Jorji visits tend to involve invalid or fake documents and cause citations. Day 11 is the clean way to get it.
Does Snowier Pastures require every original family member alive?
No. The requirement is escaping with every living family member. If fewer family members are alive, you need fewer passports and less money, though letting family members die may conflict with how you want to role-play the story.
What is the safest way to unlock Endless Mode?
Do a loyalist run: complete no EZIC tasks, burn their money, shoot both attackers before the wall falls on Day 31, and do not flee to Obristan afterward. That route leads to Ending 20 and the Endless Mode unlock code screen.
Sources & Credits
Official game and media information was checked against the Steam store page and the official Papers, Please website. Route, token, achievement, and ending details were cross-checked against readable community walkthrough and guide references. Some submitted reference pages returned access errors during research, so they were not treated as verified sources for this article.