13 Days to Escape Beginner Guide

Reach the first escape setup

Your first useful target in 13 Days to Escape is not the final prison exit. It is a prepared Cell 13 route: earn enough cash for a Saw and Screwdriver, use them in your cell, then leave through the window during lockdown and reach the workshop for the free Power Drill. That preparation turns the daytime prison routine into a practical escape attempt.

You can play alone or with up to three friends. In either case, keep your early plan narrow: learn the schedule, build cash, buy the two paid tools, and avoid raising suspicion while you prepare. The available evidence supports this Cell 13 route; it does not establish every route on every map or the exact consequence of reaching Day 13.

From prison jobs to a night escape

The game moves through a day-and-night prison schedule rather than one uninterrupted dungeon run. During daytime activities, the HUD directs you to jobs such as Library, Potato, or Litter. When the activity ends, follow the RETURN TO CELLS instruction instead of lingering in the work area. Later, a LOCKDOWN phase gives you the opportunity to use an already-prepared cell window.

That structure makes preparation more important than rushing. Jobs create cash, and the money guide explains the safest ways to fund the run. OJ's Deals converts cash into tools, and Cell 13 is where you complete the Saw and Screwdriver interactions. Only after those steps should you treat lockdown as the movement window for the escape route. Guards, CCTV, and suspicion apply pressure throughout the schedule, so keep normal-looking movements separate from your suspicious escape actions.

A successful first session therefore has four states: earn, buy, prepare, and move. If a job ends before you have enough money, return to the routine and earn again rather than attempting the tunnel with missing tools.

Tools, places, and warning systems

These are the elements that matter most for a first Cell 13 attempt:

• Prison routine: The daytime schedule provides the jobs and return prompts that organize each day. Follow the current HUD activity and head back when RETURN TO CELLS appears.
• Days: The run has a limited preparation window, with the game presenting Day 1, Day 2, and later stages. Treat each day as time to improve your setup; the exact failure effect at Day 13 is not established here.
• Library job: During the Library activity, find the requested numbered book and return it before the activity timer ends. It is a useful early way to build cash, but the large area makes route familiarity important.
• Potato and Litter jobs: Potato work pays when the required potatoes are processed; one recorded example uses five potatoes. Litter work can pay $25 after collecting eight pieces. Job rewards can vary with the current version, so use the active in-game result as the authority.
• Money and OJ's Deals: OJ's Deals is the shop for the two paid tools used in this basic route. The documented prices are 110 cash for the Saw and 25 cash for the Screwdriver.
• Saw: Use it at your own cell window to complete the Saw bars progress. It does not merely need to be in your inventory: the bars must actually be cut before the lockdown departure.
• Screwdriver and toilet: Use the Screwdriver from the bottom of your cell toilet. Choose Unscrew, then Move aside, to expose the vertical tunnel opening.
• Power Drill, workshop, and tunnel: During lockdown, leave through the prepared window, reach the workshop workbench, and take the free Power Drill. In the tunnel, hold the mouse button to drill through dirt walls.

Guards and CCTV are the main risks while you perform unusual actions. Suspicion measures how exposed your behavior is, but the available evidence does not establish exact detection ranges. Avoid treating a patrol or camera as harmless just because a particular route worked once.

Your first Cell 13 run

1. Enter Cell 13 and read the HUD. Choose solo or a group, identify your cell, and note the current activity and the next return instruction. Do not begin by searching for the tunnel; you still need the tools.
2. Complete the first available job. Follow the activity marker for Library, Potato, or Litter. In Library, prioritize the requested book number; in Potato, follow the processing prompt; in Litter, collect the pieces before the activity ends. Check the payment or cash total afterward.
3. Return when ordered. When the HUD says RETURN TO CELLS, go back to your cell and let the schedule advance. This checkpoint confirms that you are ready for the next activity and prevents an early escape action from replacing the required routine.
4. Build the tool budget. Repeat jobs until you can afford both required purchases: 110 cash for the Saw and 25 cash for the Screwdriver. Buying the Saw first is a practical priority because the window is the later movement gate, but the evidence does not require a single purchase order.
5. Buy the tools from OJ's Deals. Find OJ's shop, purchase the Saw, and then purchase the Screwdriver once you have enough cash. Confirm that each tool is actually available before leaving the shop; buying one does not automatically complete its cell interaction.
6. Prepare the window. Back in your own cell, equip or select the Saw and use it on the window bars. Continue until the Saw bars progress is complete. Stop and return to normal activity if guards or CCTV make the action unsafe.
7. Open the toilet route. Use the Screwdriver at the bottom of the toilet. Select Unscrew, then select Move aside. Check that the toilet has moved and the vertical opening is visible; if it has not, repeat the interaction rather than entering lockdown with an unprepared cell.

Prepare the Cell 13 window and toilet route

These moments show the Saw, Screwdriver, and drill setup before returning to the cell to unscrew the toilet, supporting the tool and toilet preparation steps.

Load 1:51 · Review the Saw and Screwdriver setupLoad 4:57 · Unscrew the toilet in the cell

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8. Wait for lockdown, then leave through the window. The open bars are useful during LOCKDOWN, not merely because the Saw is in your inventory. When the phase begins, exit the cell through the prepared window and move toward the workshop while keeping exposure low.
9. Take the free drill and enter the tunnel. At the workshop workbench, collect the Power Drill. Return to the toilet opening, descend into the tunnel, and hold the mouse button to drill through the dirt walls. The drill is obtained from the workshop for this route, so do not spend cash looking for a second paid drill.

Collect the Power Drill for the Cell 13 tunnel

This moment identifies the drill machine and shows taking it to the house to drill, supporting the workshop drill checkpoint and tunnel step.

Load 20:16 · Take the drill and start drilling

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10. Verify the route before pushing farther. Confirm that the dirt wall is actually breaking and that the tunnel remains your intended path. If guards, CCTV, or suspicion interrupt the attempt, prioritize surviving the current phase and use the next routine window to rebuild the setup rather than assuming the route is complete.

Priorities when the plan breaks

Use this order when deciding what to do next:

1. Stay alive and lower exposure. If suspicion rises or a guard or camera is nearby, stop the unusual interaction and return to the current schedule. Exact detection distances are not confirmed, so do not force a timing guess.
2. Secure the Saw and Screwdriver. If you are missing either tool, return to jobs and rebuild the 135-cash budget. The window and toilet interactions are separate requirements.
3. Finish, do not merely buy, each interaction. A purchased Saw still needs to cut the bars, and a purchased Screwdriver still needs to unscrew and move the toilet.
4. Use the correct phase. RETURN TO CELLS means go back for the schedule; LOCKDOWN is the phase used for the prepared window departure. Confusing them can waste the opportunity.
5. Treat the workshop as the drill checkpoint. The Power Drill is free at the workshop workbench in this route. If you cannot drill, verify that you collected it and reached the tunnel rather than buying another unverified item.

If you failed to earn enough money, repeat a job and use the current payment shown in-game. If you bought the tools but did not prepare the cell, complete the Saw and toilet interactions before the next lockdown. If the toilet did not move, return to the bottom interaction point and choose Unscrew followed by Move aside. If you reached the tunnel without a drill, go to the workshop workbench during the available movement phase and collect it. These recoveries preserve the supported route without assuming an exact guard reset, Day 13 penalty, or alternate map solution.

First-time Cell 13 questions

How much cash should I save before buying escape tools?

Save at least 135 cash for the documented Saw price of 110 and Screwdriver price of 25. Job rewards can change, so use the current cash total and shop prices shown in your game.

Do I need to buy the Power Drill?

No. For the supported Cell 13 route, take the Power Drill from the workshop workbench during the lockdown movement phase. The paid purchases are the Saw and Screwdriver.

What should I do if the toilet does not reveal the tunnel?

Return to the interaction point at the bottom of your cell toilet and choose Unscrew, followed by Move aside. The Screwdriver must be used to complete the interaction; owning it alone does not move the toilet.

Can I leave through the window as soon as I buy the Saw?

No. Use the Saw on your own cell window until the Saw bars progress is complete, then wait for LOCKDOWN to use that prepared opening. RETURN TO CELLS is a schedule instruction, not the same movement phase.