PIPES Guide: What you start with and what you need to do
About
OverviewPIPES is a horror co-op survival game by Lampshade & Co. where you take the night shift at PIPE CO., crawling through pitch-black pipe mazes to turn valves, fix pipes, and clock out before something catches you. The game has three chapters, thirty nights, and more than thirty monsters — each with exactly one rule to learn. This guide covers how to survive your shifts, handle the monsters, work with teammates, and push into harder content.
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PIPES 🔧
What you start with and what you need to do
Step
You begin each shift carrying a heat lamp, a map, and a radio. The pipe layout changes every night, so the route you memorized last time will not save you. Finish your jobs — turning valves and fixing pipes — then return to the safe room and clock out.
- Check your map the maze is different every night, so look at it before you move far from the start.
- Keep the heat lamp ready it is your main light source in the dark corridors.
- Use the radio it is your only source of information during a shift.
- Turn the valves and fix the pipes these are the jobs you must complete before you can leave.
- Head back to the safe room the shift is not over until you clock out there.
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Monster rules you need to know first
Tips
With more than thirty monsters in the game, each one behaves by a single rule. The badges make those rules clear.
- The red-faced monster on your map moves slower than you, so stay calm and keep walking rather than panicking.
- If a monster stares at you and locks you in place, paper nearby can pull its gaze away.
- Wings in the vents mean a creature is hunting light — turn your lamp off and give it the dark.
- When you hear a bucket squeak, freeze immediately, because the blind night janitor tracks sound.
- If the floor starts breathing under you, keep moving — stopping is what gets you pulled down.
- A creature that smiles and crawls on its hands stays out of sight in the vents, so out of sight is out of mind.
Co-op survival and rescuing frozen teammates
Check
The game supports one to four players, or up to eight with a pass. When someone is frozen in the dark, the rescue window is sixty seconds.
- Track your teammates on the map so you always know where they are.
- If a crewmate is frozen, go to them within sixty seconds do not wait.
- Make sure every player knows where the safe room is, since it is the only place monsters cannot follow.
- On Chapter 1 Night 10, keeping every crew member alive earns the Untouched badge, so staying together the whole run matters.
The safe room between shifts
Summary
Monsters cannot enter the safe room, which makes it the one guaranteed safe space in the game. Between shifts you can furnish it and adopt pets.
- Clock out the safe room is where a shift officially ends.
- Furnish it you can decorate the room with furniture collected between shifts.
- Adopt pets pets can be taken in and kept in the safe room.
- Escape route the safe room is the one location no monster can enter, so it doubles as a last resort.
- Contempt of Court one monster stops smiling if you refuse her, but she still cannot follow you inside.
Unlocking Custom Night and pushing into hard mode
Step
Chapter 1 has ten nights. Clearing Night 10 unlocks Custom Night. If you clear all ten nights on hard mode, you earn the Overtime badge. Doing Night 10 solo earns Lone Shift. These are the late-game targets once you are comfortable with the core loop.
- Clear Chapter 1 Night 10 this unlocks Custom Night and earns the Head Office badge.
- Attempt Night 10 solo no crew, just you, to earn the Lone Shift badge.
- Clear all ten nights on hard mode completing every hard-mode night earns Overtime.
- Know the three chapters before hard mode the game moves through the pipes, the vents, and whatever grew past the top floor, each with different hazards.
Special encounters worth knowing about
TipsSome monsters and moments in PIPES reward you for doing something that feels wrong or risky.
- When the grandmotherly figure wants a hug, go to her instead of crawling away.
- When you meet the toll collector at a junction, pay three caps every time — never short him and never try to crawl through him.
- When rats start running, run with them — the yellow air spreading through the corridor is slower than you, but do not hang around to test that.
- If you have a light tool and encounter the creature that cannot stand brightness, use it directly on him.
Glossary
Glossary- Heat lamp
- Your starting light source for navigating the dark pipe corridors during a shift.
- Safe room
- The one location monsters cannot enter, where you clock out at the end of a shift and spend time between runs.
- Caps
- The in-game currency used to pay the toll collector at junctions — three caps per crossing.
- Custom Night
- A special mode unlocked by clearing Chapter 1 Night 10.
- Chapter
- One of the three major sections of the game: the pipes, the vents, and the floors above the top.
Common questions
FAQDoes the map really change every night?
Yes, the pipe layout is different every single night. A route that worked last shift will not be there the next time you play, so check your map at the start of every run.
How many players can join one session?
The base game supports one to four players in co-op. If someone in the group has a pass, the room can hold up to eight players.
Can you play the whole game solo?
Yes, the game supports solo play. Clearing Chapter 1 Night 10 alone earns you the Lone Shift badge.
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