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Getting Started

Getting started

New to Woodchester? This page covers the essentials. For step-by-step help with a specific character, jump to their route guide in the sidebar.

18+ only

The game opens with an age gate — you must confirm you're 18+ (or 21+ where required) to play.

The basics

  • Explore from the map. Tap a location to travel there. Locations open up as you progress.
  • Watch the clock. The day runs Morning → Afternoon → Evening → Night → Late Night, across a Monday–Sunday week. Many events only happen at a specific time or day.
  • Mind your energy. Activities cost energy; sleep to restore it and advance to the next day.
  • Examine everything. Ethan's inner monologue is half the comedy — and sometimes a hint.
  • Save often, in any of the multiple save slots.

Your most important tool: the Guide

Every route has an in-phone Guide that tells you exactly what to do next. When in doubt, open the Guide. This wiki's route pages follow the same structure, so use them side by side.

Make money early

Cash unlocks a lot of content (Tara's late-night card games alone need hundreds of dollars). From the PC in your room, take freelance jobs — and raise your Intelligence so better-paying gigs unlock. Build a financial cushion before deep-diving a route.

You can pursue routes in parallel, but a few have prerequisites worth knowing:

  • Start at home

    Janice, Tara and Lily are all reachable from home early on. Janice's chore-based opening is the gentlest introduction.

  • Play Lily to meet the neighbors

    Cass and Molly are introduced in Lily Chapter 6. Their story progression shares Lily's chapter numbers; each guide tracks their own appearances, later milestones, and repeatable activities.

  • Build stats & cash for Tara

    Tara's route needs money for Blackjack and high Strength & Dexterity for a key fight. Prepare before chapter 14.

  • Side stories when ready

    Chloe runs through school game nights; Fiona starts in your bedroom after reaching Luck 10; Nina has a hospital storyline in v16.

Stuck? Run through this checklist

  1. Open the Guide for the route — what's the current hint?
  2. Change the time of day — the event may need Morning/Evening/Night.
  3. Sleep to the next day — many steps are gated to "tomorrow."
  4. Check your stats — a step may need more Intelligence, Strength, etc.
  5. Check your wallet and bag — some steps need money or specific items.
  6. Progress a prerequisite route — e.g., reach a certain chapter of Lily to advance Tara's job hunt.

Route guides

Each walkthrough now separates chapters and subchapters, with destinations, time windows, prerequisites, messages, and follow-up visits. Use the On this page contents to jump to the number shown in your Guide. Some numbers are deliberately skipped by the game; the relevant walkthrough explains those gaps.