How to Beat Hide & Seek
Hide & Seek is the main mode of Baldi’s Basics Plus: five generated levels in a row, each with more notebooks, more elevators and more ways to get caught. Beating it is less about fast reflexes and more about planning. This guide walks through a full run level by level and explains how to arrive at level 5 with lives, YTPs and items to spare.
The shape of a run
| Level | Notebooks | What is new |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | A small school, a 5-minute time limit, water fountains in every classroom |
| 2 | 7 | A bigger school, a 7-minute limit and a locked room with the Bus Pass |
| 3 | 9 | A 9-minute limit, vents and the field trip before it starts |
| 4 | 7 | Maintenance, Factory or Laboratory, and a more aggressive Baldi |
| 5 | 9 | The second special level type, different from level 4 |
Pick the Normal play style for your first full clears. It gives you three power tubes at the start of every level, so one bad level doesn’t end the run.
Level 1: build your bank
The first level is the easiest place to earn YTPs, so treat it as an investment. The school is small, Baldi is slow and there are only four notebooks.
- Solve every activity carefully. A failed activity makes Baldi faster and tells him where you are.
- Answer BONUS questions when you see the neon sign under a classroom sign.
- Return lost items to students: each one is worth YTPs.
- Pick up YTP pickups and check faculty rooms for items, but leave them only when the Principal is out of sight.
Every level 1 classroom has a water fountain. Drink when your stamina is low instead of spending an item on it.
Level 2: get the Bus Pass
Level 2 asks for seven notebooks and has a locked room that always contains the Bus Pass. You need it to board the bus to the field trip in the Pitstop before level 3. Find the key or another way in, take the pass and keep it in your inventory or the storage locker.
This is also the level where other characters start to cost you real time. Learn the school rules well: a single sprint in front of the Principal of the Thing sends you to detention, and the noise there draws Baldi to his office. Our guide to the Principal of the Thing explains every rule and how detention grows.
The field trip
Before level 3, click the bus door in the Pitstop with the Bus Pass to go camping. You choose between two minigames, Campfire Frenzy and Pick-Quick-Nic. Win, and eight items appear, of which you can take up to three. A perfect game adds a bonus of 250 YTPs. Choose items that solve problems you can’t buy your way out of, such as a Grappling Hook or a Portal Poster.
Level 3: the long school
Nine notebooks, a bigger school and a 9-minute timer make level 3 the real test of the school levels. Vents appear here: stepping into one pulls you through the ducts to an exit elsewhere, and the exit makes a noise Baldi can hear. Use them to cross the level quickly, but remember other characters can follow you in.
- Map the classrooms first. Open the map and plan a loop instead of crossing the school back and forth.
- Leave one notebook near an elevator. The last notebook brings Baldi to full speed for the level, so collect it close to your exit.
- Clear the elevators one by one. If there are several, each one you reach goes out of order, and only the last one takes you out.
Levels 4 and 5: the special floors
The last two levels use two different types out of Maintenance, Factory and Laboratory. The chalkboard in the Pitstop tells you which one is next, so buy for it:
| Type | What to know | Useful items |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Classrooms need power from levers before you can solve them, and too many levers blow a fuse | Items that help in the dark: Dirty Chalk Eraser, BSODA |
| Factory | Lockdown doors, roto-halls and conveyor belts change the routes | Grappling Hook, Portal Poster, Techno Boots |
| Laboratory | Four sections with faculty-only doors and teleporters with a 30-second cooldown | Faculty Nametag, Portal Poster |
On level 4 Baldi’s speed ramps up harder than on earlier levels. After all notebooks with no failed activities, he is slightly faster than he is on level 3, so plan the route to the elevators before you collect the last one.
Managing lives
When Baldi catches you, you lose a power tube, your inventory and storage locker go back to how they were, and the level restarts from the Pitstop. That reset is useful: you see the level type again, you know which characters were there, and you can shop differently. Don’t panic after a lost life. Think about what went wrong and change one thing.
With the Arcade play style you get no new power tubes between levels, and with Strict you have one for the whole run. Switch to them only once you can clear levels without dying.
Spending YTPs
Most players run out of items on the last two levels, not the first ones. A good rule is to spend little on levels 1 and 2 and buy heavily before levels 4 and 5. Sticker packs are worth it early, because a sticker like the Backpack (an extra inventory slot) or the YTP Multiplier (25% more YTPs) pays off over several levels if you protect its slot with a Glue Stick. For a full overview of what to buy, see our item ranking.
Checklist for a winning run
- Play style: Normal until you can clear levels without losing lives.
- Level 1: collect every YTP you can find.
- Level 2: take the Bus Pass from the locked room.
- Field trip: win a minigame and pick three strong items.
- Every level: watch the timer and leave before the lights go out.
- Pitstop: check the chalkboard and buy for the next level type.
- Storage locker: keep up to three items for levels 4 and 5.
FAQ
How long is a full run?
It depends on the layout and how often you get caught, but the time limits give an idea: 5, 7 and 9 minutes for the first three levels alone, plus the Pitstop, the field trip and two special levels.
Can I skip the field trip?
Yes. Without the Bus Pass you can’t board the bus, and the run simply continues to level 3. You only miss the extra items and YTPs.
Can I skip the Pitstop?
Yes. Turn around and press the button inside the elevator to load the next level directly.
Still learning the controls and rules? Start with the Beginner Guide, then read how Baldi finds you. When you are ready, start a run from the home page.