Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning

Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning is a 2018 horror game developed and published by Micah McGonigal, known by the pseudonym "mystman12". Set in a schoolhouse, 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 absurdist humour and simplicity.

The game satirizes 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 follows a student who enters a school known as the Schoolhouse. 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 two of 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 6 non-player characters, which are It's a Bully, Principal of the Thing, Playtime, Gotta Sweep, 1st Prize, and Arts and Crafters. Endless Mode is similar to Story Mode in terms of gameplay, except for the goal of collecting as many notebooks as possible.

In the expansion Baldi's Basics Plus, more content was added, including characters such as Cloudy Copter, Chalkles, Beans, Mrs. Pomp, The Test, & Dr. Reflex, 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 get them himself because he will be late for "eating practice", so 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, granting them access to a vending machine that distributes boosters 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 being interrupted by a character named NULL, who shouts at the player to get out while they 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 NULL from earlier, 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 an early access prototype, titled Baldi's Basics Plus, would be released in early 2020. 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. YouTubers such as DanTDM, Markiplier, jacksepticeye, PewDiePie and CoryxKenshin have made videos on the game, which have gained popularity on YouTube. The game sparked the attention of gameplays, memes and other fanmade content.