Escaping the Office

Escaping the Office is the situation in which a character in Problem Sleuth needs to overcome a certain amount of Weird puzzle shit in order to leave their office and continue with the game.

The more discreet part of this, however, is that with all the characters that need to escape their "office", certain conditions and situations are present and are done in a particular order. There are a few exceptions, but the majority of these conditions do follow some kind of order. It's fair to assume that these characters are doing these things while we are not aware of their existence, as some of these conditions are met before we meet the character in some cases. However we can not fully ascertain if they followed the progression expected.

The list shown here does not show the expected progression, but shows the similarities between the characters and the things they do as they attempt to escape their offices.


 * The Door to leave the office is locked, blocked, or otherwise impossible to get pass or go through.
 * Problem Sleuth has a bust blocking his door.
 * Ace Dick initially is free to leave, but when he attempts to do so scaffolding slides in the way of his door, blocking him in.
 * Pickle Inspector has a trombone from 2nd Hand Hornography preventing his door from being opened.
 * Mobster Kingpin's door is blocked by the Dreaded Bowen Stilson Dogg, and there's no way in hell anyone is going to move that thing.
 * The sign on the door is not as it is to be expected.
 * Problem Sleuth's sign is actually a piece of paper with a sequence of numerals on it.
 * Ace Dick's sign is actually a window, like normal, although it was expected to be a piece of paper like Problem Sleuth's.
 * Pickle Inspector's sign is actually another room with a switch and an Elf.
 * Mobster Kingpin's sign is actually leading to the exit of the hull of the Chicago Overcoat and falling out of it most likely leads to a timely but untimely death.
 * A backroom has to be discovered.
 * Problem Sleuth has a backroom that he finds behinds his Window, which was covering a safe.
 * Ace Dick's safe leads to a backroom.
 * Pickle Inspector's painting of four elves playing cards is actually a backroom with four elves playing cards.
 * Mobster Kingpin's Dollhouse is his backroom, which can be entered through his miniature jacuzzi.
 * A container to hold liquid has to be found.
 * Problem Sleuth found a Whiskey Flask hiding under his desk.
 * Ace Dick found a Cruet of Brandy hiding under his desk.
 * Pickle Inspector had a Tea Set hiding in his fort, which was made out of his desk.
 * Mobster Kingpin has sugar free candy-liquor with him, which he most likely found in his desk before we got to him.
 * An Innocuous Double weapon has to be found.
 * Problem Sleuth has a Key on his desk.
 * Ace Dick has a Tommy Gun on his desk.
 * Pickle Inspector has a Hairpin on his floor.
 * Mobster Kingpin has the Brass Knuckles on his desk.
 * The Desk in the office has to break.
 * Problem Sleuth rams himself in the head with his flask, causing him to fall back and crash onto his desk, breaking it.
 * Ace Dick is surprised by Problem Sleuth's Candy Corn Vampire and falls back to crash onto his desk, breaking it.
 * Pickle Inspector is found with his desk already assembled into a Fort. He most likely broke it before we got to him as the other two had already broken their desks.
 * Mobster Kingpin's desk breaks because the Brass Knuckles became the Megaton Key and the Megaton Key is so heavy that it broke the desk.
 * Candy is available in the office.
 * Problem Sleuth has four pieces of precious Candy Corn, two in his pocket, and two in the coffee in the pot on the coffee machine.
 * Ace Dick finds his own Candy Corn, but then eats it.
 * Pickle Inspector is already in the possession of some Tootsie Rolls when we meet him.
 * Mobster Kingpin has Diabetes and most likely wouldn't carry candy on him.
 * A Business Card is found.
 * Problem Sleuth finds the card to the Whores on Whore Island, labeled as Busts-R-Us. He also finds a card to 2nd Hand Hornography and Madam Murel.
 * Ace Dick has a card to the Legitimate Establishment of Busts-R-Us, and gets several busts instead.
 * Pickle Inspector has a card to Glass Blowers Inc. on his Fan, which he appears to have purchased some fine merchandise from.
 * Mobster Kingpin is not seen to have a Business Card. However, by the time we get to him it is well past the point that the cards are useful and we never see his inventory.
 * There is a Window in the room that does not behave as expected.
 * Problem Sleuth's Window leads to the Imaginary City Streets.
 * Ace Dick's Window leads to the roof of the building above the Imaginary City Streets.
 * Pickle Inspector's Skylight is implanted on another roof of the Imaginary City Streets.
 * Mobster Kingpin's Portholes are connected to the Traffic Lights in the Imaginary City Streets.
 * A Fort is built, making the person inside it impervious to everything.
 * Problem Sleuth builds a fort after tooling around with his office a bit, and plays make believe where he gets out of his office and tries to spite Ace Dick, who is not in using his Imagination.
 * Ace Dick builds a fort with a Zoolander chimney, and goes off to fight some Beasts in the Realm of Imagination.
 * Pickle Inspector already has a fort, and has quite a good ol' time with his imagination in his own office.
 * Mobster Kingpin uses his fort to create DMK.