Prison Life Guide: Choosing your side
About
OverviewPrison Life is a Roblox roleplaying game set inside a prison, where you either play as an Inmate trying to break out or a Guard trying to stop them. This guide covers how both sides work, where to go, and what to do when you get stuck.
What is on this page
Contents
Choosing your side
Table
When you join, you pick between Inmate and Guard from the team selection screen. Inmates are the most common team and have no player cap, so you can always get in.
| Inmates | escape the prison by any means, avoiding arrest along the way |
| Guards | patrol the prison, arrest aggressive Inmates, and stop breakouts |
| Inmate goal | reach outside the prison boundary to become a Criminal and roam free |
| Inmate cap | none, always joinable |
| Guard advantage | spawn with weapons; Inmates start with nothing |
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Getting started as an Inmate
Step
Inmates spawn with no items at all. You can punch with F, crawl with C, and sprint with Shift. Your status matters: you cannot be arrested while you are innocent, only once you turn aggressive or try to escape. Pick up anything dropped on the ground, since Guards who get killed drop their weapons and keycards.
- Stay innocent avoid attacking anyone until you have a plan, since innocent Inmates cannot be arrested
- Search for drops check the floor in the guard area and elsewhere for weapons or keycards left behind
- Use crawl pressing C lets you fit through vents and low gaps, which opens up escape routes
- Pick an escape route the cafeteria kitchen vents, sewers, and climbing are all options open to Inmates
Escape routes and key locations
TipsThe prison has several distinct areas and each one plays a different role in an escape attempt.
- The cafeteria kitchen has vents that lead out — one of the escape paths
- The entrance windows break when shot and stay open for 30 seconds before regenerating, giving you a short window to move through
- The car park sits between the prison entrance and the gate — you have to cross it to reach the gate
- The gate is the last barrier; it is bulletproof and its electrified top bars deal damage
- Guard towers let Guards see clearly both inside and outside the prison
Playing as a Guard
Check
Guards spawn in the guard area and have access to weapons from the start. The armory is the most contested spot in the prison, so expect Inmates and Criminals to attack it. After the Sniper update, Guards can also dispose of dropped keycards and guns.
- Pick up and dispose of dropped keycards and guns so Inmates cannot grab them
- Watch the cafeteria kitchen the vents there are a common escape route
- Use guard towers for sightlines over both the interior and the outside of the prison
The prison schedule
SummaryThe prison runs on a daily schedule with seven periods. Spawn locations for Inmates shift depending on the current period, and some areas like the cell block are mainly populated during Lockdown and Lights Out.
- Periods seven in total, cycling through the day
- Cell block population peaks during Lockdown and Lights Out periods
- Inmate spawns location varies with the active schedule period
When things go wrong
Warn
If you keep failing to escape, there are a few common causes worth checking before you try the same route again.
Gamepasses and free play
SummaryThe Sniper pass, added in the January 2024 update, gives Guards a long-range option. Keycard disposal was also added for all Guards after the Sniper update.
- Free play full escape and arrest gameplay available without any purchase
- Sniper pass Guard-side gamepass adding a long-range weapon
- Keycard disposal unlocked for all Guards after the Sniper update, no purchase needed
Glossary
Glossary- Inmate
- The prisoner team, whose goal is to escape the prison by any available route.
- Guard
- The team that patrols the prison, arrests aggressive Inmates, and fends off Criminal raids.
- Criminal
- What an Inmate becomes automatically once they cross outside the prison boundary.
- Keycard
- An item that opens restricted doors inside the prison, dropped by Guards when they are killed.
- Nexus
- One of the areas where Inmates may spawn, and a frequent flashpoint for early conflicts.
- Arrestable
- The status an Inmate gets when they turn aggressive or attempt to escape, allowing Guards to arrest them.
- Riot
- When Inmates overrun the guard area to take weapons and keycards.
- Sniper pass
- A paid Guard gamepass added in January 2024 that provides a long-range weapon for surveillance and combat.
Common questions
FAQHow do I open the prison gate as an Inmate?
The gate has a button inside that triggers it, and some players use the camera to interact with it from outside. The gate is bulletproof and its electrified top bars deal damage.
As a Guard, how do I stop Inmates from getting weapons?
After the Sniper update, Guards can dispose of dropped keycards and guns directly, so pick them up whenever you see them on the ground.
Can Inmates and Criminals hurt each other even though they are on the same side?
Yes — Inmates can be killed by Criminals and can kill Criminals in return if they have a weapon. This sometimes leads to Inmates and Guards briefly cooperating to end a firefight, even though they are opponents.
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