How to play
Everything the game does, in plain words. If something here doesn't match the game, the game is right and we'll fix this page.
The goal
Get the theatre 100% clean in one showing.
A bar on screen shows how clean the theatre is. It starts at 0% each showing and counts all the mess in the room, old and new. The moment it reaches 100%, the showing ends and you win the run.
Your score is the number of showings it took. Fewer is better. Your best score is kept on the board in the lobby.
There's no game over. If a showing ends before the room is clean, you just keep going.
A showing
- Walk into the theatre. The clock starts when you go in. You get 5:00, 4:00 or 3:00 depending on the difficulty.
- Clean. Pick up trash, then empty your load into a bin to get paid. Each kind of trash pays a different amount. Spills and sticky mess pay as soon as you wipe them up.
- Time's up. You get 5 more seconds, then you're sent back to the lobby. You can also leave early or press Finish to end the showing yourself.
- Back in the lobby. There's no clock out here. Hand back any lost items you found, pick a card, buy tools and hire a helper.
- The next crowd. They watch the next movie and leave their mess around whatever you didn't clean. Then you go back in.
You can step out to the lobby in the middle of a showing. The clock stops while you're out, and the mess waits for you.
Mess
Every crowd leaves popcorn, wrappers, napkins, cups and buckets. They also leave gum one showing and soda spills the next. Each movie adds a few things of its own.
Litter
Dry trash. Pick it up and put it in a bin.
Popcorn and tiny bits
Popcorn, rice and confetti. Small, and lots of it.
Spills
Soda spills. Wipe them up where they are.
Sticky mess
Gum, candy and cupcakes. Wipe them up like a spill.
Returns
Bar glasses and 3D glasses. They go in the bin with everything else.
Tools
You start with your hands. Everything else is in the supply closet in the lobby, and you can buy any of it from the first showing if you have the money. Most tools have three levels, and each level makes the tool faster or stronger. Anything you buy is yours for the rest of the run.
Hands
Pick up trash one piece at a time. Always free.
Litter
For dry trash on the floor and seats.
Gloved hands
Your hands grab more pieces at once.
Grabber
Reach trash a few seats away without leaving the aisle.
Push broom
Push loose trash into one big ball and roll it around.
Vacuum
Hold it and sweep the nozzle over the floor to suck up trash.
Spills
For soda spills and sticky mess.
Rag
Wipe up spills and sticky mess. Each one takes a few wipes.
Mop
Clean several spills at once.
Steam cleaner
Hold it and sweep the steam over spills and sticky mess to clean them.
Carrying
So you make fewer trips to the bin.
Bigger pockets
Carry twice as much before you need a bin.
Bag
Carry even more.
Big bag
Carry the most.
Rolling cart
A bin on wheels. It follows you and takes your load when you're full.
Movement
Shoes. Wear one pair at a time and swap them in the lobby.
Work shoes
Walk faster and run for longer.
Lucky shoes
Wear them when a showing ends and your pay goes up a little for the rest of the run.
Hurdlers
Jump over rows of seats.
Only from cards
You can't buy these. A card swaps one of your tools for them.
Leaf blower
Blow trash and glasses into big piles. Replaces the push broom.
Litter magnet
Nearby trash and glasses fly into your bag by themselves. Replaces the vacuum.
Lost items
One lost item is hidden in the theatre in each of the first six showings. If you leave one too long, it starts to glow so it's easier to spot. After the showing you hand it back in the lobby. You get a tip, a note from the owner and a card offer.
A well-loved plush fox
Left at Kids' Animated
He was very brave in the dark. Thank you for bringing him home.
A forgotten trench coat
Left at Date Night
Our first date went so well I forgot it was raining.
A dropped phone
Left at Horror
I only jumped once. My phone apparently jumped twice.
A purple handbag
Left at 3D Blockbuster
I held on to it through every explosion, then left it behind at the credits. Thank you for keeping it safe.
A well-loved toy car
Left at Arthouse
He drove it along the armrest the whole film without a sound. Thank you for finding his car.
A jangly bunch of keys
Left at Midnight Cult Classic
We sang every song, then stood by the car for an hour. Thank you for finding my keys.
Cards
Each lost item you return lets you pick one of up to three cards. The card changes the rules until the run ends. With six lost items, you can hold up to six cards in a run.
Cards have one, two or three stars. All the cards in one offer have the same number of stars. Some cards only show up once you own a certain tool.
Helpers
Pay at the podium in the lobby and a helper cleans with you for the next showing. Melissa and Javier take turns, and the price goes up a little each showing.
Helpers use the tools you've bought, except the cart. If you leave the theatre, your helper goes home and you're paid for what they were carrying.
Walter runs the snack bar. He's too busy keeping it clean to help in the theatre.
The lobby
- Theatre doors
- Go in to start or go back to cleaning. The sign shows the next movie.
- Supply closet
- Buy and upgrade tools.
- Bin
- Empty your load and get paid.
- Helper podium
- Hire Melissa or Javier for the next showing.
- Your stats
- Your best score, past showings, achievements and the leaderboard.
- Arcade
- Star Sweep and Reel Change, plus the Grab-a-Pal claw machine. They're free and just for fun. Your best scores are kept.
- Snack bar
- Walter's counter. Nice to look at.
Movies
Eight movies play in the same order, over and over. Before each showing you see the poster and the trash to expect.
The Last Paper Star
Kids' Animated
Love, Extra Butter
Date Night
Don't Look Under the Seats
Horror
Extra spills and popcorn, in bursts where people jumped.
Comet Runners
3D Blockbuster
The Lantern Express
Arthouse
The Great Cake Caper
Birthday Party
The Cardshark from Orbit
Midnight Cult Classic
Rice and confetti land in big bursts across the rows.
The Gilded Harbour
Premiere
Programs end up on seats all over the room.
Difficulty
You choose a difficulty when you start a new run, and it stays the same for the whole run. Every seat row has 20 seats.
| Mode | Rows | Seats | Time per showing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 5 | 100 | 5:00 |
| Standard | 8 | 160 | 4:00 |
| Hard | 10 | 200 | 4:00 |
| Impossible | 15 | 300 | 3:00 |
| Freeplay | 8 | 160 | No timer |
Hard and Impossible crowds also leave more trash per seat. In Freeplay a showing only ends when the theatre is clean, and the run never ends. Freeplay has no leaderboard, and cards about the clock aren't offered.
Controls
You can change any button in Settings. Settings also has look speed, field of view, brightness, an option to reduce camera motion, and four volume sliders.
| Action | Keyboard and mouse | Controller |
|---|---|---|
| Move | W A S D | Left stick |
| Look | Mouse | Right stick |
| Clean or use a tool (hold) | Left mouse | RT |
| Interact | E | A |
| Run (uses stamina) | Shift | Click left stick |
| Crouch | Ctrl or C | Click right stick |
| Jump (with Hurdlers) | Space | X |
| Change tool | Mouse wheel or 1–9 | LB / RB |
| Move or park the cart | Q | Y |
| Use a card, like Rewind (hold) | R | D-pad up |
| Throw (with Three-pointer) | Hold right mouse, let go | Hold LT, let go |
| Pause | Esc | Menu |