13 Days to Escape Full Walkthrough: How to Escape Cell 13

Quick answer

You escape Cell 13 by working prison jobs for cash, buying the Saw and the Screwdriver from OJ's Deals, sawing the window bars during RETURN TO CELLS, climbing out during LOCKDOWN to grab the free Power Drill from the workshop, and then unscrewing and moving the toilet so you can drill into the tunnel below — in the recorded run the screen cut to 'Day 2' right after the tunnel entry, and no tunnel exit or escape confirmation is shown. The objective panel in the top right of the HUD always names your next task.

• Saw: 110 cash from OJ at cell 13. The recorded run bought it during YARD TIME.
• Screwdriver: 25 cash from OJ, bought during RECREATION TIME; buying it sets the objective to Unscrew the toilet.
• At the RETURN TO CELLS alert, get back inside your cell before the countdown ends and saw the window bars.
• During LOCKDOWN, climb out through the window: cash stacks sit in an open prisoner transport and a free Power Drill is on a workshop workbench.
• Crouch at the toilet, unscrew the bolts, choose Move aside, jump in and hold the left mouse button to drill through the dirt.

Cell 13 has no release date, so the way out is the one you dig yourself. You play a prisoner who works jobs and acts normal by day while quietly turning the cell into an escape project by night — and the game's description puts real stakes on that: after lights out, prisoners are taken behind the STAFF ONLY door and "don't come back the same", so the goal is to escape before it's your turn.

The route below follows one complete run from wake-up to tunnel: how each day is structured, where the cash comes from, what to buy from OJ's Deals, how the window bars come off, and how the toilet hides the way down. You can play solo or team up with up to 3 friends (play with friends).

How a day in prison runs

The game opens with a cut-scene: your character steals a loaf of bread, gets arrested, and wakes up on a cell bunk with drill and knife posters on the wall. A guard NPC stands outside the cell, an orange-jumpsuit NPC with a cash bubble — that's OJ — stands nearby, the cell door opens, a ROLL CALL alert appears, and the objective panel shows up in the top right of the screen.

From there the day moves through alerts: ROLL CALL, jobs, LUNCH, YARD TIME, RECREATION TIME, RETURN TO CELLS and finally LOCKDOWN. The game's advice is to act normal by day and plan your escape by night, staying ready for roll call, avoiding guards and CCTV, and keeping your suspicion low. In the recorded route, daytime went to earning and shopping, and the escape work began at RETURN TO CELLS. The prison routine guide walks through the daily structure in detail.

Earn cash before you shop

OJ's prices are the reason to work: the Saw costs 110 cash, the Screwdriver 25, and the Power Drill you pick up later is free. Jobs and yard chores pay out steadily — the prison jobs page covers the work itself and the money guide collects the options:

• Library sorting. The guard at the desk asks for books by number (#106, #032 and #140 in the recorded run). Find each numbered book on the shelves, press E to pick it up, and deliver it to the desk for 10 cash per book.
• Potato peeling at lunch. Work the potato station and complete "Peel potatoes 5/5" with a drag gesture; each completion pays out. The counter read $72 on day 1 (the Saw was bought later that day) and reached 187 after another lunch shift on day 2.
• Yard litter. Picking up litter during yard time completes "Pick up litter 8/8" for 20 cash.
• A kill bounty, if you take it. One observed example: a KILL pop-up offering 35 cash with a countdown appeared near an inmate standing with her back turned; the recorded player attacked from a corner, looted the dropped cash, and the alert then changed to LUNCH.
• Loose cash stacks. If you reach OJ short, cash stacks are left on other inmates' beds in the cell block — that is how the recorded run topped up on day 2 — and more sit in the vehicle area you can reach during LOCKDOWN.

What to buy from OJ's Deals

OJ is the orange-jumpsuit NPC at cell 13. Press E on him to browse "OJ's DEALS", and keep the game's own advice in mind once you're carrying tools: hide them. Two purchases drive the escape:

The tools guide covers the rest of the toolkit.

Saw the window bars during RETURN TO CELLS

Earlier in the day you can stand at the bars with the saw equipped and nothing is cut yet — the sawing belongs to the evening alert. When RETURN TO CELLS appears, get back inside your cell before the countdown ends, then use the saw on the window bars: a "Saw bars" progress bar fills, the bars come off, and the cell door locks for LOCKDOWN.

Slip outside during LOCKDOWN

With the bars gone and LOCKDOWN underway, climb out through the window. Sneak into the vehicle area behind the cell block, where an open prisoner transport holds cash stacks you can grab. Then find the workshop with the yellow-black hazard markings: a free Power Drill sits on its workbench. Take it and head back into your cell.

Open the toilet tunnel

Crouch at the toilet base and use the Screwdriver to "Unscrew" the bolts. Select "Move aside" and the toilet shifts to reveal a vertical tunnel opening. Jump in with the Power Drill and hold the left mouse button to drill through the dirt walls. The move toilet guide, digging guide and tunnels guide each take one of those steps further.

If day 1 ends in the tunnel

In the recorded session, tunnelling on day 1 didn't finish the escape on the spot. The screen cut to black with typewriter text reading "Day 2", the player woke back in a cell, and ROLL CALL plus the library job repeated with a fresh set of numbers (such as #043). The recorded run simply continued into day 2, back to earning and back at OJ — it never shows a tunnel exit or an escape confirmation, so expect the escape to be a longer project rather than a day-1 finish.

What the HUD tells you

Whenever you're unsure what to do next, the objective panel is the walkthrough — it names the current task outright. Keeping that suspicion meter calm is a standing goal; the suspicion guide and the day/night cycle page cover how those systems behave.

Keep the objective panel in sight, keep your suspicion low, and remember the game's warning — escape before it's your turn behind the STAFF ONLY door. For planning the whole run, the escape plan guide is the natural next stop, and the Cell 13 guide and STAFF ONLY door page cover the prison's stranger side.