# Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning

Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning, also known as Baldi's Basics Classic, is a 2018 educational puzzle horror game developed and published by Micah McGonigal. Disguised only as an educational game, it is set in a schoolhouse, where the player must locate seven notebooks which each consists of math problems without being caught by Baldi, his students and other school staff members, while also avoiding various obstacles. The game became popular for its difficulty, nostalgic gameplay and graphics and elements of surreal humour and simplicity.
The game parodies 1990s educational games by deconstructing its elements into metafictional horror. This is enhanced in updates, such as in the conclusion of a package version called Baldi's Basics Classic Remastered.

## Gameplay

Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning centers on the seven non-player characters and one player character. It intentionally misleads first-time players into thinking it is a children's educational video game, with its main screen resembling a children's educational video game. Baldi's Basics follows a student who enters a school known as Here School. There are two modes available, Story Mode and Endless Mode. In Story Mode, the player has to locate seven notebooks scattered around a school without being caught by Baldi. The first notebook will be three simple arithmetic problems. However, each notebook second and onward typically contains only two of said simple arithmetic problems like the ones from the first notebook, but an unsolvable third one. As the player continues to fail the impossible problems, Baldi moves faster and becomes harder to avoid. Additionally, the player has to face six non-player characters: It's a Bully, Principal of the Thing, Playtime, Gotta Sweep, 1st Prize, and Arts and Crafters.
In Baldi's Basics Plus, more content was added, including characters such as Cloudy Copter, Chalkles, Beans, Mrs. Pomp, The Test, and Dr. Reflex, Johnny, multiple procedurally generated floors, a Challenge Mode, Field Trips, and more.

## Plot

A friend of the protagonist forgets seven notebooks at Baldi's schoolhouse but cannot retrieve them himself to avoid being late for "eating practice"; he asks the protagonist to fetch them. Once the player arrives, Baldi greets the player and upon the player's discovery of the first notebook, he quizzes the player with simple math problems, offering a chance of getting "something special" if they answer all of them correctly. Once the problems are all answered correctly, Baldi offers the protagonist a quarter, an item that grants them access to vending machines that distribute other items when they first get past the yellow swinging doors. He continues quizzing the player each time they find a notebook (three per book). Baldi is prone to getting angry when the player fails a problem, and after the player is met with a glitched problem that has no correct answer, he will start to chase them. From then on, all notebooks have the unsolvable problem. The protagonist has to continue to search for all the other notebooks while also avoiding other students and various obstacles. After collecting all seven notebooks, Baldi congratulates the player before shouting "Get out while you still can!" Baldi proceeds to keep chasing the player until they find the true exit and finally escape. If the player gets all of the math problems wrong, a secret ending will be triggered in which they meet with an unnamed figure (often referred to as "NULL"), who states that the game is corrupted and must be destroyed.

## Development and release

Baldi's Basics was created by Micah McGonigal, and it was initially made as an entry in the 2018 Meta-GameJam on Itch.io, where it received 2nd place. In an interview with Game Developer, McGonigal cited the 1996 game Sonic's Schoolhouse as his main inspiration. The game used the concept of using video games and other entertainment mediums of education for kids.
McGonigal launched a Kickstarter campaign, where he announced that a "full game," titled Baldi's Basics Plus, would be released in early 2020 as an early access title. In late 2019, the original game was ported to iOS and Android under the title Baldi's Basics Classic.

## Reception and legacy

The game became an online success for its absurdist humor, difficulty, and nostalgic gameplay. Several YouTubers such as DanTDM, Markiplier, jacksepticeye, PewDiePie and CoryxKenshin have made videos on the game, which have gained popularity on YouTube. Various other content created by fans of the game, including a song adaptation by video game musical group Random Encounters, further contributed to its popularity.