Papers, Please

After being assigned to a border checkpoint in Grestin, you serve as an immigration inspector for Arstotzka. Travelers arrive seeking entry from neighboring Kolechia, while smugglers, spies, and other threats may be hidden among them.

During each shift, inspect travelers’ documents and compare their details with current regulations. Use the available inspection tools, including searches and fingerprint checks, to decide whether to approve entry, deny it, or make an arrest.

Rules and paperwork grow more demanding as events unfold. Your pay depends on processing travelers, while mistakes bring penalties and your family needs money for essentials. Decisions about following regulations or helping people affect the story and can lead to different endings.

Players often praise how document inspection turns into an engaging, increasingly demanding routine, and how each decision can pit official rules against compassion and family security. Reviews also highlight the bleak setting, memorable encounters, and range of endings. Some players find the paperwork repetitive or the time pressure and growing workload stressful.