THE FOUNDATION Guide: Before you start
About
OverviewThe Foundation is a fan-made horror puzzle game set beneath the hotel from DOORS, where you push through door after door in a mysterious underground facility. This guide covers how to approach the game, survive its threats, work with other players, and collect every badge.
What is on this page
Contents
Before you start
Check
The game contains flashing lights, loud sounds, and horror elements. If you are sensitive to flashing lights or have epilepsy, consider whether this game is right for you before pressing play.
- Wear headphones the audio design depends on it.
- Set graphics to the maximum the developers built the atmosphere around that setting.
- Skip any external guide on your first run finding things out yourself is the point of this game.
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Playing with others
Summary
Several badges make clear that other players factor into your run in meaningful ways — sometimes as allies, sometimes as obstacles.
- Call for Backup cooperating with another player to get help when you need it.
- Miserable Team-Up joining forces with someone even at an inconvenient moment.
- Out of my way! dealing with or being a player who is moving through others.
- Pulled Over / Full Force badges tied to speed and player interaction in the same space.
- Please Stay... / Attention Seeker moments where contact with other players matters to your progress.
Badge situations to watch for
Tips
There are 21 badges in total. Their descriptions point to various kinds of situations. Completing all 21 is the main long-term challenge the game sets.
- Negotiation moments are hinted at by Miserly and Insistent Bargaining — something in the facility involves a trade or exchange.
- Repetition is core to at least one badge: Again.. and Again... rewards you for attempting the same thing multiple times.
- Speed plays a role — Pulled Over and Full Force both reference moving fast or stopping someone who is.
- Eye-themed encounters appear in Eye for an Eye and Eyesore.
- Predictable hints that doing the obvious or expected thing earns its own recognition.
- Wits n' Brawns suggests some situations can be solved either cleverly or by force.
Community strategy ideas
CommunityThese ideas and tips come from people playing the game. Share your discoveries too!
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THE FOUNDATION 👁️ [PITSTOP]
Glossary
Glossary- The Foundation
- The underground facility beneath the hotel where the game takes place, reached after being stopped from falling into the mines below.
- Revive
- A mechanic that lets you continue your run after dying instead of starting over from the beginning.
- Trial and error
- The play style the developers designed the game around — you are expected to fail, learn, and try again.
- Badge
- An in-game achievement unlocked by meeting a specific condition; there are 21 in total and collecting all of them is the completion goal.
Common questions
FAQWhy do the developers tell you not to use a guide?
The game is built around discovering how things work on your own. Each death is designed to teach you something, so knowing the answers in advance removes the core experience the developers put together.
Can I complete the game without paying anything?
The Certified Camper badge gives you a free revive. Keep in mind that the developers have said many things are subject to change, so check in-game for any updates to how this works.
How do I get unstuck when I keep dying in the same place?
Stop repeating the same action and try something you have not attempted yet.
Game updates can change what is on this page. If you spot something, get in touch and let us know.
