Papers, Please

Papers Please is a simulation game based on the life of a immigration inspector charged with checking passports at the border of a fictional communist state, Arztoska. The game is set after the conclusion of a six year war with neighboring Kolechia, the war has moved the combatants boarded and left the city of Greznin split. Kolechia controls the west and Arztoska the east. The game begins with the player being selected for border duty in Arztoska's monthly labor lottery. He (the player character is unnamed) and his family are relocated to the city of Greznin.

Gameplay takes the form of checking the documents of people wishing to cross the border. Initially this is a task of making sure that no documents are expired or that cities and countries where the documents come from are real. However, as events such as the deterioration of relations with neighboring powers and terrorist attacks on the border, take place the D.O.I. (Department of Immigration) require documents to become more complicated. The player will have to juggle checking, crosschecking and rechecking supplemental IDs, work permits, vaccination records, and more. Complications can include anything from simple misspellings to changing heights, or circumstances that require strip searches.