The one rule: look, verify, then close
Most failed runs are not caused by missing a maid. They are caused by using the right tool for the wrong question. The camera answers where was she? The door light answers is she there now? The shutter answers can she get in? Doing them in the wrong order costs power and time.
| Tool | Question it answers | Cost | Correct moment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cameras | Where is she moving? | Power while the monitor is up | Between approaches, on a short fixed route |
| Lights | Who is at this door right now? | Power per flash | After a camera cue or an audio cue |
| Shutters | Can she enter? | Power while held down | Only once the threat is confirmed at that side |
Treat every action as a purchase. If a camera check will not change your next move, do not buy it. If a shutter is closed but the maid has already left, you are paying rent on an empty room.
Build a power budget before the first camera check
The office starts at 100% power and the shift runs from midnight to 6 AM. The game does not publish a per-action cost table, and the drain is continuous while a camera or shutter is active. That makes the meter a countdown you influence, not a puzzle with a published answer key.
A practical budget is behavioural rather than numerical:
- First half of the night: learn the positions. Spend a little more on cameras, but still return to the office between checks.
- Middle hours: reduce the route to the cameras that actually predict an approach.
- Last two hours: cameras become shorter, lights become rarer, shutters become single-purpose. Preserve enough power for one final confirmed defence.
- Never: run a full camera sweep because you are bored. That is the most expensive way to learn nothing.
You can survive a difficult maid with 15% power left. You cannot survive two confirmed approaches with 0%. Late-night power is worth more than early-night information, because late-night mistakes are the ones that end the run.
Keep a compact camera loop, not a full sweep
The camera map is larger than a survival loop needs. You do not need to check every room. You need the four or five positions that sit on the approach paths, plus a return to the office view so you can act on what you saw.
A loop reported by players in the launch build:
- CAM10 — the curtain room associated with Leona.
- CAM02 — the right-side cue associated with Nell.
- CAM05 — the right-side direct-entry cue associated with Clarice.
- CAM04 — the left-side cue associated with Irene.
- Office — close the monitor and check the door lights.
The order matters less than the discipline. Pick a loop, repeat it, and note the last known position of each maid. If a camera that should show a maid is empty, that is the information — not a reason to re-check the same room three times.
Camera discipline
- Open the monitor with a purpose, not as a default state.
- Check movement between feeds, not the scenery in each room.
- Return to the office after every short loop. The monitor is not a safe place to think.
- If you lose track of a maid, favour the door light on the side she last used.
Use lights as a yes/no check
The door light is a confirmation tool. It is not a searchlight and it is not a second camera. Flash it when a cue suggests someone is close, read the result, and switch it off.
| Light result | Meaning | Next move |
|---|---|---|
| Empty doorway | The cue was old, or the maid moved elsewhere | Reopen any shutter on that side; return to cameras |
| Silhouette at the glass | Confirmed approach | Close that shutter until the window is clear |
| Movement but no clear shape | Possible Nameless or a fast mover | Keep the shutter down and re-check the camera |
Leaving a light on while you browse another camera is one of the most common power leaks. It also tells you nothing new: the doorway is either occupied or it is not.
Time shutters to the cue, then reopen
Shutters are the only direct defence, and the only tool that can cost power continuously while doing nothing. The skill is not closing them; it is reopening them at the right moment.
| Maid | Reported cue | Shutter response | When to reopen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Irene | CAM04 disappears; left window | Left | When the left window is clear |
| Nell | CAM02; right window | Right | When she leaves the window |
| Leona | CAM10 curtain open; knocking | Left | After the knocking sequence ends |
| Clarice | CAM05 sighting | Right | After the direct-entry threat passes |
| Nameless | Music cue; camera sighting | None | Shutters do not stop her; use the camera |
Closing both shutters is a panic response, not a defence. It doubles the drain and blinds you to the side that is actually safe. If both sides are threatened, close the confirmed side first, then confirm the second with a light.
The knock is a sequence
Leona’s reported knock is not a single sound cue. Closing for the first knock and reopening immediately can let her through. Hold the left shutter until the knocking stops, then check the window before reopening.
Clarice is the exception
The usual order is camera, then light, then shutter. Clarice reportedly moves from CAM05 straight to entry, so the camera sighting is the confirmation. Close the right shutter immediately and ask questions afterward.
Handle the Nameless maid with the camera, not the door
The Nameless maid is the one enemy that invalidates the shutter reflex. The reported pattern is an audio cue followed by an approach that a closed shutter does not stop. The counter is to find her on a camera and keep the view until she disappears.
- Hear the cue: stop the normal route and search the feeds.
- Find her: hold the camera on her, even if the office feels exposed.
- Wait for the vanish: do not tab away early.
- Then reset: return to the office and re-check both doors for the other four.
This is the one time the camera deserves extra power. The alternative — hiding behind a shutter — is not a defence at all.
Adjust to the night, not to a fixed script
The roster expands across the week. Players report two maids on Night 1, three on Night 2, four on Nights 3 and 4, and all five on Night 5. Night 6 is the bonus challenge and assumes you already know every cue.
| Stage | Pressure | What changes | What to protect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Night 1 | Introductory | Two approach sides | Learn the camera-to-door timing |
| Night 2 | Expanding | A third maid joins | Keep the short route, add one camera |
| Nights 3–4 | Dense | Four maids, faster cues | Cut unnecessary checks; preserve late power |
| Night 5 | Peak | All five, including Nameless | Camera discipline and single-side shutters |
| Night 6 | Bonus | Harsher version of everything | Every habit above, with less margin |
This is not a night-by-night walkthrough. It is a description of how the pressure curve should change your spending: earlier nights are for learning, later nights are for executing.
Five mistakes that end runs
- Rapid-fire camera flipping. You lose the last known position and burn power doing it.
- Leaving a light on. A light is a question, not a state.
- Closing both shutters. You double the drain and learn nothing.
- Reopening Leona’s shutter too early. The knock is a sequence; wait it out.
- Playing muted. The Nameless cue and the approach sounds are part of the information set.
Several players report that the door and light buttons have small or offset hitboxes. If a click does nothing, do not spam it — the power may still be draining while you fight the UI. Aim slightly above the button and click once. A future patch may fix this; until then, it is a launch-build quirk worth knowing.
A 60-second pre-shift checklist
- Remind yourself which maid uses each side: Irene and Leona left; Nell and Clarice right; Nameless on camera.
- Set the first camera route in your head before the monitor opens.
- Decide what counts as a confirmed threat for each side.
- Check the power meter and set a mental reserve for the last two hours.
- Turn the volume up enough to hear knocks and music cues.
- Commit to reopening every shutter as soon as its cue passes.
When to ignore this guide
Behaviour can change with a patch. If a maid appears on a different camera, skips a cue or stops responding to a shutter, trust the build in front of you and note the change. The patch notes page records verified updates, and the characters page holds the per-maid reference if you need to re-learn a route.