Baldi's Basics
Baldi's Basics
The graphics look like they were made in Microsoft Paint in 1998. The audio sounds like it was recorded on a flip phone. The first math problem is 2+3. You type 5, Baldi smiles, and you think "okay, this is a joke game." Then the third problem in the second notebook is an impossible equation with garbled text. You get it wrong because there is no right answer. And Baldi stops smiling.
Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning is a horror game disguised as an educational game, and the disguise is deliberately terrible. Created by Micah McGonigal (mystman12) in 2018, it was originally a game jam entry that exploded in popularity because the concept is so perfectly unsettling. Everything about the presentation screams "low-budget edutainment from the mid-90s" — flat 2D sprites in a 3D hallway, crude character designs, stock sound effects, and a protagonist (Baldi) who looks like a bald man drawn by someone who has never drawn a person before. Then the horror elements kick in and the contrast between the childish aesthetic and the genuine tension is what makes the game work.
Your goal is simple
collect all 7 notebooks scattered throughout the school and escape. Each notebook contains three math problems. The first notebook is easy. The second is mostly easy. By the third notebook, impossible problems start appearing — unsolvable equations that guarantee wrong answers. And every wrong answer makes Baldi faster. He starts walking toward you, slapping a ruler against his palm, getting closer with every mistake. By the fifth notebook, he is practically sprinting.
How to Play Baldi's Basics
You move through a school hallway in first person — WASD to walk, mouse to look around. The school is a maze of corridors, classrooms, and dead ends. Seven notebooks are scattered throughout. Walk up to a notebook, click on it, and you get three math problems. Solve them (or fail them) and the notebook is collected.
Here is the catch
some problems are literally unsolvable. The third problem in most notebooks is a garbled equation with no correct answer. You will get it wrong. That is intentional. Every wrong answer increases Baldi's movement speed. He starts somewhere in the school and walks toward you, and with each wrong answer he walks a little faster. By the time you have collected 4-5 notebooks, Baldi is moving significantly faster than your walking speed.
Items are your survival tools. They spawn in hallways and classrooms, and each one does something different. The BSODA (a soda can) pushes Baldi backward when thrown at him, buying you precious seconds. The Alarm Clock creates a noise that distracts Baldi — he walks toward the clock instead of you until it stops ringing. Safety Scissors let you cut through Playtime's jump rope (more on her in a second). The Quarter lets you buy more items from vending machines. The Yellow Door Lock temporarily blocks a door so Baldi cannot pass through it. Energy Flavored Zesty Bar restores your stamina, letting you run longer.
Running
you can sprint, but only briefly. Your stamina drains fast when running and recharges slowly when walking. Sprint at the wrong time and you will be gasping in a hallway with Baldi right behind you. Save your sprint for emergencies.
Strategies & Tips
Notebook Collection Order
Do not collect notebooks randomly. The first two notebooks are safe — Baldi barely speeds up from early wrong answers. Use those first minutes to explore the school and memorize the layout. By notebook three and four, Baldi is noticeably faster. Collect the remaining notebooks in a route that minimizes backtracking and keeps you near exit doors.
Item Management
Do not use items the moment you find them. Hoard BSODA and Alarm Clocks for the final two notebooks when Baldi is at his fastest. The early game is manageable without items. The late game is nearly impossible without them. One BSODA at the right moment can be the difference between escaping and getting caught in the last hallway.
Other Characters
Baldi is not your only problem. Playtime is a girl who jumps rope in the hallways and forces you to play her jump rope minigame when she catches you — wasting precious time while Baldi approaches. Use Safety Scissors to cut her rope and skip the minigame entirely. The Principal of the Thing patrols the school and sends you to detention if he catches you running in the halls or entering faculty rooms — detention locks you in a room for 15 seconds, which is an eternity when Baldi is close. Walk (do not run) when the Principal is nearby. The Bully blocks hallways and takes one of your items to let you pass — have a spare junk item ready to sacrifice. Arts and Crafters teleports you and Baldi to a random location if he catches you after you have collected all 7 notebooks — terrifying in the endgame.
The Escape
After collecting all 7 notebooks, you need to reach one of the exit doors. The exits are marked but they are far apart, and Baldi is at maximum speed by now. This is where your saved items and mental map of the school pay off. Plan your route to the nearest exit before you collect the 7th notebook, use a BSODA or Alarm Clock to create distance, and sprint for the door. If Baldi is between you and the exit, take a longer route rather than trying to squeeze past him.
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