Let me suggest a new challenge speedrun category: Minimal stamps.

• Primary goal: Achieve ending 18 (first possible good ending) in normal mode
• Secondary goal: Use as few stamps as possible throughout the run.

Rules:

• The run that achieves the primary goal with fewest stamps wins.
• In case of a tie, the run with fastest time wins.
• Any application of a stamp to a passport or to a denial/seizure slip counts. If you stamp the passport twice, it counts as two stamps. Therefore, deny with reason counts as at least two stamps, and detain without stamps counts as zero stamps. Note that the ending screen only counts stamps applied to passports and denial/seizure slips; for verification reasons, we may choose ignore e.g. stamping your rule book or the bomb.
• Family member deaths are permitted, as long as it does not deny the primary goal.
• Any participation in optional game tasks is up to the inspector, as long as it does not deny the primary goal.

Notes:

• You always start game with savings of 30 credits.
• The earliest that ending 18 can be triggered is day 29.
• To avoid triggering ending 1, you can never skip paying the rent. Rent costs 20 credits on first three days, and then 25 credits each day. This means a minimum of 710 credits spent throughout 29 days.
• To avoid triggering ending 2, at least 1 family member must be kept alive at all times.
• You must pay 50 credits for two fake passports to trigger ending 18 of the game. Paying only for your own passport triggers ending 16, which constitutes a failure in terms of this challenge.
• You can choose to adopt the niece. It nets you 60 credits, meaning fewer stamps you need to apply to stay alive. But if you choose to keep the niece alive, you must also pay an extra 25 credits for their passport. However, as soon as you have the niece, you can easily kill off the other family member and stay within budget.
• Each booth upgrade costs 5 credits. Can a minimal stamps run afford booth upgrades?
• You can afford two citations each day. Each citation means a stamp that accomplished nothing, so you might also want to aim for minimal citations. However, a wrongful detain also avoids the stamp, and gains you occasional extra money from Calensk, so not all citations are bad.
• On most days, there are fixed events that happen during the processing of a certain entrant. Those days, there is a minimum number of entrants you must process. As soon as the minimum number of entrants have been processed, you can close and wait for the end of the day.
• The cheapest way to survive until the niece arrives is to kill everyone except wife or mother-in-law. To do that, pay neither food nor heat for the first 4 days, but pay that family member’s medicine on days 3 and 4 (note that this formula does not work for the uncle or the son). Then, pay medicine on day 5, food+heat on day 6, and then alternate between food+heat and nothing on each day (begin by paying food+heat also on day 7). Continue alternating until day 24. On day 21, adopt niece. On day 24, pay niece's medicine + food, and keep alternating between doing that and paying nothing. The wife (or mil, whichever you chose) will be dead the very next day, but the niece barely survives. The total upkeep cost at the end of day 29 will be 135 credits excluding rents, or 895 credits including rents and passports.
• Because the number of stamps trumps time, you can and should accept bribes even if that costs extra time.
• You should detain whenever possible. A successful detain nets you five credits (+ occassional bonus) while consuming zero stamps.

Possible bribes and other nonstandard income:

• A reward of 10 credits always on day 15 (bomb).
• A reward of 20 credits (sharpshooter bonus) is possible on days 16, 18, 21, 23, 26, and 28.
• A reward of 100 credits (saved Sergiu and approved Elisa) is possible on day 26.
• A bribe of 10 credits on day 7 (Shaddy Safadi).
• A bribe of 10 credits on day 16.
• A bribe of 20 credits on day 17 (EZIC).
• A bribe of 20 credits on day 20 (EZIC).
• A bribe of 10 credits on day 21.
• A bribe of 10 credits on day 22 (Jorji).
• A bribe of 10 credits on day 22 (Filipe Hasse).
• A profit of 20 credits on day 23 (sell the watch).
• A bribe of 20 credits on day 27 (EZIC). Total bribes: 360 credits + detain bonuses. Therefore the total number of stamps you need to apply is at most (895-30-360)/5 = 101, or about 3,5 per day by average. Even less if you can detain people, but more if you get bad RNG and need to expend reason stamps.

In easy mode, you gain 20 credits of “easy mode crutch” at the end of each day, meaning that together with bribes, you never need to apply a single stamp, save for the game to progress. We don’t like easy mode.

Minimum number of entrants per day (day will never end before this entrant has been processed):

• Day 1: 5 (no stamp for #5; minimum stamps: 4)
• Day 2: 7 (no stamp for #7; minimum stamps: 6)
• Day 3: 8 (no stamp for #8; minimum stamps: 7)
• Day 4: 8 (?) (minimum stamps: 8 or 9)
• Day 5: 9 (?) (#1 and #3 can be detained; #5, #8 and #9 can not; minimum stamps: 3)
• Day 6: 9 (no stamp for #10 if #9 is approved; #7 can be detained; #1, #2 and #9 can not; minimum stamps: 3?)
• Day 7: 7 (?) (#7 can be detained (but bribe pays better); #1 and #4 can not; minimum stamps: 2?)
• Day 8: 9 (no stamp for #5; #1 and #9 can not be detained; minimum stamps: 2)
• Day 9: 9 (?) (no stamp for #1, #4)
• Day 10: 7 (no stamp for #1, #7)
• Day 11: 9 (?) (no stamp for #4)
• Day 12: 10 (no stamp for #1, #10)
• Day 13: 8 (?) (no stamp for #3)
• Day 14: 9 (?)
• Day 15: 7 (?) (no stamp for #2, #3, #7)
• Day 16: 8 (no stamp for #1, #8)
• Day 17: 9 (?) (no stamp for #1, #3)
• Day 18: 8 (no stamp for #8)
• Day 19: 8 (?) (no stamp for #1 if Sergiu is alive)
• Day 20: 4 (no stamp for #1, #3, or optionally last entrant)
• Day 21: 8 (?) (no stamp for #8)
• Day 22: 9 (no stamp for #1 if Sergiu is alive)
• Day 23: 8 (?) (no stamp for #2, #8)
• Day 24: 8 (?) (no stamp for #4)
• Day 25: 9 (no stamp for #1 if Sergiu is alive)
• Day 26: 8 (no stamp for #8)
• Day 27: 9 (?) (no stamp for #1 if Sergiu is alive)
• Day 28: 7 (no stamp for #7)
• Day 29: 8 (?) (no stamp for #1, #8)
• Day 30: 9 (no stamp for #1)
• Day 31: 8 (no stamp for #2, #5, #8) ? = unverified

Feedback?

I like the idea of this run, something New and very interesting. Also love that you already worked out the bribes etc. At the Moment I can not play that much but I'd give this a shot once I find the time. So, to summarize it, i like this concept very much.

In my calculations there may be mistakes though. In particular, I don't know whether

• If you refuse heat / food / medicine the same night you buy the passports, whether the family members can die before you can escape. ANSWER: Death does not matter
• If you kill off all family members the same night you adopt niece, whether you get game over (because niece will be OK). ANSWER: Yes you do

Damn I'll definitely give this a shot when I get back into this game, great idea!

Mandatory expenses and income based on my test run:

[section=Days 1—10] Day 1: 5 Entrants. Savings +30. Salary +25, rent −20 (Balance: +35) Day 2: 6 Entrants. Salary +30, rent −20 (Balance: +10) [small] Entrant 7 must be called in.[/small] Day 3: 8 Entrants. Salary +40, rent −20 (Balance: +20) Day 4: 9 Entrants. Salary +45, rent −20 (Balance: +25) Day 5A: 9 Entrants. Salary +45, rent −25 (Balance: +20) Day 5B: 9 Entrants. Salary +45, rent −25, booth upgrade −5 (Balance: +15) Day 6: 9 Entrants. Salary +45, rent −25 (Balance: +20) Day 7A: 9 Entrants. Salary +45, rent −25 (Balance: +20) (Deny/Detain Shaddy Salafi) Day 7B: 9 Entrants, Salary +40, bribes +10, rent −25 (Balance: +25) (Accept Shaddy bribe) [small] Detaining is cheaper in terms of stamps than accepting the bribe.[/small] Day 8A: 9 Entrants. Salary +45, rent −25 (Balance: +20) Day 8B: 9 Entrants. Salary +45, rent −25, booth upgrade −5 (Balance: +15) [small] I accidentally did 10 entrants here.[/small] Day 9: 9 Entrants. Bribes +10, salary +45, rent −25 (Balance: +30) [small] I did 10 entrants here to try my luck at smugglers (no luck), and got 1 citation too.[/small] [small] The bribe is mandatory (mating habits of lesser Kolechian waterfowl).[/small] Day 10: 9 Entrants. Salary +45, rent −25 (Balance: +20)

Up until this point, your average daily earnings are 21.5 credits assuming you do everything by the book and do not get citations.

If you fast−click through every day, not worrying about family, here is what is going to happen: Day 1: Food−20, Heat−10, Balance: +35−30=5 ; Everyone is OK Day 2: Balance: 5+10 = 15 ; Everyone is both cold and hungry and son is also sick Day 3: Food−20, Heat−10, Med−5, Balance: 15+20−20−10−5 = 0 ; Everyone is OK Day 4: Balance: 0+25 = 25 ; Everyone is both cold and hungry and son is also sick Day 5: Food−20, Heat−10, Med−5, Balance: 25+20−20−10−5 = 10 ; Everyone is OK Day 6: Food−20, Heat−10, Balance: 10+20−20−10 = 0 *; Everyone is OK * Day 7: Balance: 0+20 = 20 *; Everyone is both cold and hungry and son is also sick * Day 8: Food−20, Heat−10, Balance: 20+20−20−10 = 10 ; Everyone is OK Day 9: Food−20, Heat−10, Balance: 10+30−20−10 = 10 ; Everyone is OK Day 10: Food−20, Heat−10, Balance: 10+20−20−10 = 0 ; Everyone is OK

Of course you might want to get some booth upgrades. But in terms of a speedrun, they are not necessary.

[section=Days 11—12] Day 11A: 9 Entrants. Salary +45, bribes +1000, booth ugprade −5, rent −25 (Balance: +1015) Day 11B: 9 Entrants. Salary +45, bribes +1000, rent −25 (Balance: +1020) Day 11C: 9 Entrants. Salary +45, booth upgrade −5, rent −25 (Balance: +15) Day 11D: 9 Entrants. Salary +45, rent −25 (Balance: +20) [small] I did 10 entrants here to try my luck at smugglers (no luck), and got 2 citations too.[/small] [small] You can burn the money.[/small] Day 12A: 9 Entrants. Salary +45, rent −25 (Balance: +20) Day 12B: 9 Entrants. Salary +45, bribes +2000, rent −25 (Balance: +2020) [small] I got lucky and got no citations despite auto−judging everyone.[/small] [small] You get +2000 here if you burnt the +1000 yesterday.[/small] [small] You can burn the money.[/small]

You don’t need to burn the money, if you do the EZIC task on day 14. However, you will start out day 13 without any savings if you do.

Not worrying about burning the money makes it possible to fast−click through days 11 and 12. Also, you don’t need to care about citations in the slightest if you choose to keep the ZIC money.

If you just fast−click through both days, you will miss booth upgrades, and all four family members will be OK.

[section=Days 13—17] If you accepted the huge money gifts on days 11 or 12, you will lose all savings here, starting from zero.

Day 13: 9 Entrants. Salary +45, bribes +5, rent −25 (Balance: +25) [small] I did 10 entrants here to try my luck at smugglers, and got one. Because I let the smuggler in, I didn’t get salary for it. I also got 3 citations.[/small] [small] I did not burn money, so I lost all savings here.[/small] [small] I had detained two people and got an extra bribe of +5 credits.[/small] Day 14A: 9 Entrants. Salary +45, rent −25 (Balance: +20) (Normal process) Day 14B: 9 Entrants. Salary +40, rent −25 (Balance: +15) (Do EZIC task to clear out the problem with the gift money) [small] Whether or not you do the EZIC task, the same number of stamps is expended.[/small] [small] I did 10 entrants here to try my luck at smugglers (no luck).[/small] Day 15: 9 Entrants. Salary +45, rent −25 (Balance +20) [small] I did 10 entrants here to try my luck at smugglers (no luck).[/small] Day 16: 7 Entrants. Salary +35, bribes +40, sharpshooter bonus +20, rent −25 (Balance: +75) [small] I had detained at least 4 people and got 15 credits from Calensk. Entrant 4 always gives +10. I got +15 from Messof, for distributing three business cards. I got 2 citations this day.[/small] [small] Entrant 8 must be called in.[/small] Day 17A: 9 Entrants. Salary +40, bribes +20, rent −25 (Balance: +35) (allow EZIC person) Day 17B: 9 Entrants. Salary +45, rent −25 (Balance: +20) (don’t allow EZIC person) [small] Whether or not you do the EZIC task, the same number of stamps is expended.[/small]

This is the last day where deny and allow are worth the same number of stamps. The last day where you can technically avoid any citations. Starting from day 18, you will need to supply the Reason stamp with every denial to avoid citation, and because we don’t want to do that in a minimal−stamps run, we will begin to accumulate citations.

If you fast−click through every day, not worrying about family, here is what is going to happen: Day 13: Balance: 0+25 = 25 ; Everyone is both cold and hungry and son is also sick Day 14: Food−20, Heat−10, Med−5, Balance: 25+15−20−10−5 = 5 ; Everyone is OK Day 15: Balance: 5+20 = 25 ; Everyone is both cold and hungry and son is also sick Day 16: Food−20, Heat−10, Med−5, Balance: 25+75−35 = 65 ; Everyone is OK Day 17: Food−20, Heat−10, Balance: 65+35−30 = 70 ; Everyone is OK

[section=Days 18—21] Day 18A: 7 Entrants. Salary +35, sharpshooter bonus +20, rent −25 (Balance: +30) (If you do everything by book, or you deny+reason entrant 1 and then get lucky) Day 18B: 7 Entrants. Salary +10, Penalties −20, sharpshooter bonus +20, rent −25 (Balance: −15) (If never use the reason stamp, but get lucky with entrants 3 and 6) Day 18C: 7 Entrants. Penalties −55, sharpshooter bonus +20, rent −25 (Balance: −60) (If you are very unlucky) [small] Entrant 8 must be called in.[/small] Day 19A: 9 Entrants. Salary +45, rent −25 (Balance: +20) (If you are lucky) Day 19B: 9 Entrants. Salary +15, penalties −35, rent −25 (Balance: −45) (If you are quite unlucky) [small] Note that three entrants are a guaranteed no−reason−stamp, if you saved Sergiu.[/small] [small] I did 10 entrants here to try my luck at smugglers (no luck).[/small] Day 20A: 4 Entrants. Salary +20, detain bonus +10, rent −25 (Balance: +5) Day 20B: 4 Entrants. Salary +10, detain bonus +10, rent −25 (Balance: −5) (If you get unlucky) [small] I am not sure if you can get a citation about the person you allow if you poison them.[/small] [small] I did 5 entrants because I got a free detain for entrant 4.[/small] Day 21A: 7 Entrants. Salary +30, bribes +5, sharpshooter bonus +20, rent −25, adopt niece −40 (Balance −10) (1 intentional citation) Day 21B: 7 Entrants. Salary +25, bribes +15, sharpshooter bonus +20, rent −25, adopt niece −40 (Balance −5) (2 intentional citations) Day 21C: 7 Entrants. Salary +10, penalties −20, bribes +5, sharpshooter bonus +20, rent −25, adopt niece −40 (Balance −50) (1 intentional + 4 unintentional citations) Day 21D: 7 Entrants. Salary +5, penalties −35, bribes +15, sharpshooter bonus +20, rent −25, adopt niece −40 (Balance −60) (2 intentional + 4 unintentional citations) Day 21E: 7 Entrants. Salary +30, bribes +5, sharpshooter bonus +20, rent −25 (Balance +30) (1 intentional citation) Day 21F: 7 Entrants. Salary +25, bribes +15, sharpshooter bonus +20, rent −25 (Balance +35) (2 intentional citations) Day 21G: 7 Entrants. Salary +10, penalties −20, bribes +5, sharpshooter bonus +20, rent −25 (Balance −10) (1 intentional + 4 unintentional citations) Day 21H: 7 Entrants. Salary +5, penalties −35, bribes +15, sharpshooter bonus +20, rent −25 (Balance −20) (2 intentional + 4 unintentional citations) [small] Entrant 4 gives you a bribe of +5 and the watch. Unless you do two stamps, you will always get a citation, so it’s best to allow him.[/small] [small] Entrant 10 gives you a bribe of +10 if denied, but doing so will get you a citation.[/small] [small] You can choose whether to adopt the niece or not.[/small]

If you fast−click through every day, not worrying about family, here is what is going to happen assuming worst possible luck: Day 18: Balance: 70−60 = 10 ; Everyone is both cold and hungry and son is also sick Day 19: Balance: 10−45 = −35 ; Game over

To prevent this outcome, we should revise days 13—17: Day 13: Deny all Balance: 0+25 = 25 ; Everyone is both cold and hungry and son is also sick Day 14: Deny all Balance: 25+15 = 40 ; Everyone is cold and hungry, and everyone except uncle is sick Day 15: Deny all but Wifemed=−5 Balance: 40+20−5 = 55 ; Everyone is both cold, hungry and sick; son is dead Day 16: Deny all but Wifemed=−5 Balance: 55+75−5 = 125 ; Wife is cold, hungry and sick; everyone else is dead Day 17: Deny heat. Food=−5, wifemed=−5 Balance: 125+35−10 = 150 ; Wife is cold, hungry and sick; everyone else is dead (Note that if you follow this plan, it is totally irrelevant what you did on days 1—10; and whether any family members besides wife are alive or not.)

And now what happens if we just click through, assuming worst possible luck: Day 18: Heat=−10, food=−5, med=−5 Balance: 150−60−20 = 70 ; Wife is cold and sick Day 19: Heat=−10, food=−5, med=−5 Balance: 70−45−20 = 5 ; Wife is cold and sick Day 20: Balance: 5−5 = 0 ; Wife is hungry, cold and sick Day 21: Balance: 0−10 = −10 ; Game over

Uh−oh. Let’s revise days 18—21: Day 18: Deny heat. Food=−5, wifemed=−5 Balance: 150−60−10 = 80 ; Wife is cold, hungry and sick Day 19: Deny food+heat. Wifemed=−5 Balance: 80−45−5 = 30 ; Wife is cold, hungry and sick Day 20: Deny heat. Food=−5, wifemed=−5 Balance: 30−5−10 = 15 ; Wife is cold, hungry and sick Day 21: Deny food+heat. Wifemed=−5 Balance: 15−10−5 = 0 ; Wife is cold, hungry and sick

Yay. But we didn’t get the niece. Let us still see what happens from now on.

[section=Days 22—29] Day 22A: 9 Entrants. Salary +45, detain bonus +10, bribes +10, rent −25, sister’s savings +100 (Balance +140) (best case, saved niece) Day 22B: 9 Entrants. Salary +45, detain bonus +10, bribes +10, rent −25 (Balance +40) (best case, didn’t save niece) Day 22C: 9 Entrants. Salary +15, penalties −35, detain bonus +10, bribes +10, rent −25, sister’s savings +100 (Balance +75) (worst case, saved niece) Day 22D: 9 Entrants. Salary +15, penalties −35, detain bonus +10, bribes +10, rent −25 (Balance −25) (worst case, didn’t save niece) [small] If Sergiu is alive, he is a guaranteed +5 salary at entrant #1.[/small] [small] Hasse is a guaranteed +5 salary at entrant #4. He also gives +10 bribe.[/small] [small] Jorji is a guaranteed +5 salary at entrant #7. Plus some detain bonus.[/small] [small] I did 10 entrants here to try my luck at smugglers (no luck).[/small] Day 23A: 7 Entrants. Salary +35, bribes +20, sharpshooter bonus +20, rent −25 (Balance: +50) (best luck) Day 23B: 7 Entrants. Salary +10, penalties −20, bribes +20, sharpshooter bonus +20, rent −25 (Balance: +5) (worst luck) [small] Entrants #2 and #6 are guaranteed +5 salaries each.[/small] [small] Selling the watch to entrant #5 gives you +20 credits.[/small] [small] Entrant 8 must be called in.[/small] Day 24A: 8 Entrants. Salary +40, detain bonus +10, rent −25 (Balance: +25) (best luck) Day 24B: 8 Entrants. Salary +20, penalties −10, detain bonus +10, rent −25 (Balance: −5) (worst luck) [small] Entrants #1, #4 and #8 are guaranteed +5 salaries each. I assume #6 is as well.[/small] [small] I did 9 entrants here to try my luck at smugglers (no luck).[/small] Day 25A: 9 Entrants. Salary +40, rent −25 (Balance: +15) (best luck) Day 25B: 9 Entrants. Salary +10, penalties −55, rent −25 (Balance: −70) (worst luck) [small] Entrants #1 and #5 are guaranteed +5 salaries each. Detain #5 after allowing do without citations.[/small] [small] Entrant #9 (Shae) is practically a forced citation.[/small] Day 26A: 7 Entrants. Salary +25, detain bonus +10, sharpshooter bonus +20, rent −25 (Balance: +30) (best luck) Day 26B: 7 Entrants. Penalties −55, detain bonus +10, sharpshooter bonus +20, rent −25 (Balance: −50) (worst luck) [small] If Sergiu is alive: Allow entrant #3 to get +100 gift on day 27. You will get a citation no matter what you do, unless you deny with reason.[/small] [small] If Sergiu is dead: You will not get a citation for entrant #3, no matter what you do. You still have to expend 1 stamp. This is quicker.[/small] [small] Entrant #4 is a guaranteed citation, unless you do two stamps.[/small] [small] Entrant 8 must be called in.[/small] Day 27A: 9 Entrants. Salary +45, rent −25, Elisa’s gift +100 (Balance: +120) (best case, Sergiu&Elisa survived) Day 27B: 9 Entrants. Salary +20, penalties −10, rent −25, Elisa’s gift +100 (Balance: +85) (worst case, but Sergiu&Elisa survived) [small] Entrants #1 (if Sergiu survived), #3, #7 and #9 are guaranteed +5 credit wins.[/small] [small] Do not do the EZIC task, or you will not get a guaranteed +5 credit win on #9, and you will get a citation on #7.[/small] Day 28A: 6 Entrants. Salary +20, sharpshooter bonus +20, rent −25 (Balance: +15) (best case) Day 28B: 6 Entrants. Salary +5, penalties −20, sharpshooter bonus +20, rent −25 (Balance: −20) (worst case) [small] Entrant #1 is guaranteed +5, provided you remember to confiscate their passport.[/small] [small] Entrants #3, #4 are basically forced citations (unless you do reason stamps).[/small] [small] Entrant 7 must be called in.[/small] Day 29A: 8 Entrants. +30 credits, rent −25, escape = −50 (Balance: −45) (best case) Day 29B: 8 Entrants. +10 credits, penalties −35, rent −25, escape = −50 (Balance: −100) (bad−luck case) Day 29C: 24 Entrants. +10 credits, penalties −955, rent −25, escape −50 (Balance: −1020) (worst−luck case) [small] Entrants #1 and #8 are guaranteed +5 credits each.[/small] [small] Entrants #3 and #6 are guaranteed citations (Obristan passport confiscations).[/small] [small] It is actually possible the scripted Obristan entrant #6 has no passport, and you need to play until you get one, as long as it takes.[/small]

Going by our worst−case rule, we can see that no matter what we do, we get a game−over on day 22 assuming we never burnt the EZIC money.

Let’s check out the best luck instead (assuming every day has been fast-clicked through so far, i.e. EZIC gifts were not burned): Day 18: Food−20, Heat−10, Balance: 70−15−30 = 25 ; Everyone is OK Day 19: Food−20, Heat−10, Balance: 25+20−30 = 15 ; Everyone is OK Day 20: Balance: 15+5 = 20 ; Everyone is both cold and hungry and son is also sick Day 21: Food−20, Heat−10, Med−5 Balance: 20+35−35 = 20 ; Everyone is OK; niece was not adopted Day 22: Food−20, Heat−10 Balance: 20+40−30 = 30 ; Everyone is OK Day 23: Food−20, Heat−10 Balance: 30+50−30 = 50 ; Everyone is OK Day 24: Food−20, Heat−10 Balance: 50+25−30 = 45 ; Everyone is OK Day 25: Food−20, Heat−10 Balance: 45+15−30 = 30 ; Everyone is OK Day 26: Food−20, Heat−10 Balance: 30+30−30 = 30 ; Everyone is OK Day 27: Food−20, Heat−10 Balance: 30+120−30 = 120 ; Everyone is OK Day 28: Balance: 120+15 = 135 ; Everyone is both cold and hungry and son is also sick Day 29: Son’s medicine Balance: 135−130−5 = 0 ; Successfully escape with four shivering family members

In the best−luck case, you only need to manually adjust the budget on days 28 and 29, and still manage to escape with all four family members (assuming entrants #9 and #10 are both Obristan guys netting two citations worth 10 credits total). The niece will have to live on the streets, and the booth was never upgraded.

Is it actually possible to escape with all five family members, given best possible luck, even in a situation where we had to start from zero on day 13? Let’s find out: Day 18: Deny all Balance: 70-15 = 55 Day 19: Food-20, Heat-10, Med-5 Balance: 55+20-35 = 40 Day 20: Deny all Balance: 40+5 = 45 Day 21: Food-20, Heat-10, Med-5 Balance: 45-5-35 = 5 ; Niece was adopted Day 22: Deny all Balance: 5+40 = 45 Day 23: Food-25, Heat-10, Med-5 Balance: 45+50-40 = 55 Day 24: Deny all Balance: 55+25 = 80 Day 25: Food-25, Heat-10, Med-5 Balance: 80+15-40 = 55 Day 26: Deny all Balance: 55+30 = 85 Day 27: Food-25, Heat-10, Med-5 Balance: 85+120-40 = 165 Day 28: Deny all Balance: 165+15 = 180 Day 29: Heat-10, Med-5 Balance: 180-145-15 = 20 ; Escape to Obristan with five hungry family members Conclusion: Yes.

[section=Worst-luck route (a.k.a. marathon−safe path)] As an alternative, let’s see a money−saving path, assuming the worst possible luck, and never buying booth upgrades:

Day 1: Deny all Balance: 35 ; Everyone is both cold and hungry and son is also sick Day 2: Deny all Balance: 35+10 = 45 ; Everyone is cold and hungry, and everyone except uncle is sick Day 3: Deny all but Wifemed=−5 Balance: 45+20−5 = 60 ; Everyone is both cold, hungry and sick; son is dead Day 4: Deny all but Wifemed=−5 Balance: 60+25−5 = 80 ; Wife is cold, hungry and sick; everyone else is dead Day 5: Deny heat. Food=−5, wifemed=−5 Balance: 80+20−10 = 90 ; Wife is cold, hungry and sick; everyone else is dead Day 6: Deny heat. Food=−5, wifemed=−5 Balance: 90+20−10 = 100 Day 7: Deny food+heat. Wifemed=−5 Balance: 100+20−5 = 115 Day 8: Deny heat. Food=−5, wifemed=−5 Balance: 115+30−10 = 135 Day 9: Deny food+heat. Wifemed=−5 Balance: 135+20−5 = 150 Day 10: Deny heat. Food=−5, wifemed=−5 Balance: 150+10−10 = 150 So far so good Day 11: Deny food+heat. Wifemed=−5 Balance: 150+20−5 = 165 (gift burned) Day 12: Deny heat. Food=−5, wifemed=−5 Balance: 165+20−10 = 175 (gift burned) Day 13: Deny food+heat. Wifemed=−5 Balance: 175+25−5 = 195 Day 14: Deny heat. Food=−5, wifemed=−5 Balance: 195+20−10 = 205 (did not deal with EZIC person) Day 15: Deny food+heat. Wifemed=−5 Balance: 205+20−5 = 220 Day 16: Deny heat. Food=−5, wifemed=−5 Balance: 220+75−10 = 285 Day 17: Deny food+heat. Wifemed=−5 Balance: 285+35−5 = 315 Okay. Now let’s dive into the land of worst luck. Day 18: Deny heat. Food=−5, wifemed=−5 Balance: 315−60−10 = 245 Day 19: Deny food+heat. Wifemed=−5 Balance: 245−45−5 = 195 Day 20: Deny heat. Food=−5, wifemed=−5 Balance: 195−5−10 = 180 Day 21: Deny food+heat. Wifemed=−5 Balance: 180−50−5 = 125 ; we have niece now! Day 22: Deny all Balance: 125+75 = 200 ; wife is dead, niece is cold+hungry Day 23: Deny heat. Food=−5, niecemed=−5 Balance: 200+5−10 = 195 ; niece is just cold Day 24: Deny food+heat. Niecemed=−5 Balance: 195−5−5 = 185 ; niece is cold, hungry and sick Day 25: Deny heat. Food=−5, niecemed=−5 Balance: 185−70−10 = 105 ; niece is cold and sick Day 26: Deny all Balance: 105−25 = 80 ; niece is cold, hungry and sick Day 27: Deny heat. Food=−5, niecemed=−5 Balance: 80+85−10 = 155 ; niece is cold and sick Day 28: Deny all Balance: 155−20 = 135 ; niece is cold, hungry and sick Day 29: Deny all Balance: 135−100 = 35 ; escape to Obristan with niece’s corpse¤

It seems that with this strict diet, we can still survive no matter what the game throws at us. Even if you cannot detain as many people as I did, or you miss some of the sharpshooter bonuses, there is still some money left for booth upgrades. You must still save Sergiu every time and approve Elisa for this to work.

¤) The game does not mind that the family member dies the very night we escape.

Note that the niece is pretty much mandatory in this route. See what happens without adopting the niece: Day 21: Deny food+heat. Wifemed=−5 Balance: 180−10−5 = 165 Day 22: Deny heat. Food=−5, wifemed=−5 Balance: 165−25−10 = 130 Day 23: Deny food+heat. Wifemed=−5 Balance: 130+5−5 = 130 Day 24: Deny heat. Food=−5, wifemed=−5 Balance: 130−5−10 = 115 Day 25: Deny food+heat. Wifemed=−5 Balance: 115−70−5 = 40 Day 26: Deny food. Food=-5, wifemed=-5 Balance: 40−25−10 = 5 Day 27: Deny food+heat. Wifemed=-5 Balance: 5+85−5 = 85 Day 28: Deny food. food=-5, wifemed=-5 Balance: 85−20−10 = 55 Day 29: Deny all Balance: 55−100 = −45 ; Wife is dead, no money for a single passport, let alone two. Game over.

If there is a lesson to be learned from all this, it might be this: Procrastination does pay… barely.