How a shift actually works
You patrol D-Wing from the prison map and tap an area node. Areas with a pending request show an amber exclamation badge, and halls hold a maximum of two cells so each inmate is visible at her bars. Tap a cell to open her dialogue. There is no forced assignment board — you patrol and react, then End Shift from the map to score the patrol and possibly promote.
The request-debt economy (there is no money)
Inmates send requests: a phone call, food, yard time, contraband. Granting one banks trust and she pays with an offer scaled to her current tier. Denying is free but drops her compliance. Because no cash exists anywhere in the economy, every granted request creates a debt rather than a transaction, and that debt is the only leverage you have.
The five tiers and how escalation works
Each inmate moves through Locked, Flirt, Hands, Sex and Depraved. Crossing a tier requires banked trust past that tier's unlock threshold plus a minimum compliance, and it happens automatically — there is no cash-in button. Escalation is organic, so the tier you see reflects the relationship you actually built rather than a purchase.
Intake: catching the lie
One new inmate is booked per day and routes to the booking desk before patrol. She answers your questions and some answers are lies that contradict her file. Cross-check an answer to catch it — Marin, the first arrival, claims her fraud charge was "just the once" when her file reads multiple counts. Catching a lie banks double trust and reputation, so she starts the shift already owing you. False-accusing a truth generates heat instead. Read the file before you start asking.
Walk happenings
Some requests need a placement in the yard, cafeteria or office. Granting one opens the placement board; confirming fires an INMATE PLACED stinger and may trigger a walk happening. She stops on the way, gets bold, and you pick an act from a menu capped by her tier. Picking one plays its authored scene. "Keep walking" declines and the favour still completes.
The rank ladder
You climb Night Guard, Senior Guard, Block Sergeant, Lieutenant and finally Warden. Early ranks come fast for the first slot unlocks, then the climb stretches out hard — reaching Warden takes roughly 60 to 70 shifts. Each rank grants more actions per day, more slots, more authority and new inmates on the roster.
Common mistakes
Granting every request early feels efficient and quietly removes all your leverage. Denial is a tool, not a failure state. The other common error is treating intake as a formality — an uncaught lie is trust you will spend several shifts earning back the slow way.