Your sanity meter is very important, because if it goes to zero, you’ll suffer a nervous breakdown and be unable to control yourself for about ten to fifteen seconds in-game. That could get you into trouble for randomly attacking people, which often happens during breakdowns! In order to stay sane, there are many things you can do while in jail, such as working out in the exercise yard, interacting with your friends, or, if you can find one, having a smoke or a chug from a beer. Sleeping, however, is the best way to regain sanity, although it’ll be much better if you sleep on an actual bed.
While it’s obvious that fighting or having something taken from you will drop your sanity meter, there are other, random events that may also have an impact. For example, we discovered that picking up the phone only to receive a Simpsons-esque prank call (e.g. “I’m looking for Amanda Huggankiss”) could greatly reduce your sanity.
Another key way you can keep your sanity while locked down is by making friends. Some characters may ask you to deliver something or talk to someone, and if you accomplish the “mission,” you’ll be friends with both of them. You also make friends if someone says you did a good job by taking out their enemy. You may also find yourself having a prison girlfriend or boyfriend, though for some reason, this dings your Reputation, especially if your partner is of the same sex!
If you see your inmate walking around in a scrunched-up position, that means he or she has got to relieve himself/herself somewhere. Normally, this would be in the bathroom, though some cells have toilet bowls where you can go and prevent your sanity and reputation from going down if you end up crapping your pants. MDickie warns you in the game description that you may have to heed the call of nature, and this is something you should take seriously – aside from the embarrassment doing a number on your sanity, the wardens could bust you for relieving yourself in public!
In the real world, you’d be serving a life sentence if you kill someone in prison. But in Hard Time, you can get your sentence potentially extended from the usual 60-80 days to a good 120 days if you get caught killing anyone! If you do your best to behave yourself, you don’t need to worry about this, but as we said earlier, you may need to fight back if someone picks on you first.
You may be attacking someone or selling an item for money or snatching something from someone – it’s all good, as long as the wardens or security guards don’t catch you while at it. Even smoking a cigarette or drinking a beer (both of which increase your sanity meter, as mentioned earlier) could earn you the ire of those in control, so be sure to keep a low profile at all times!