Five Nights at Freddy's: Complete Survival Guide

How to survive all five nights, Night 6, and the Custom Night (including the infamous 4/20 mode) in Scott Cawthon's original 2014 horror game, plus how each animatronic actually behaves and how to stop wasting power.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the Steam PC release (2014, Clickteam Fusion build; no content updates since). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

Power is your real enemy. Everything you use (camera, doors, lights) drains the same meter. If it hits 0% before 6 AM, the doors open and you lose. Most early deaths are power deaths, not jumpscares.
Doors cost a lot; lights are cheap checks. Flick a hall light, look at the doorway, then decide whether a door needs to close. Never leave a door shut "just in case".
Bonnie comes from the left, Chica from the right. Bonnie never uses the right door and Chica never uses the left. Learn that and half the game is solved.
Foxy lives in Pirate Cove (Cam 1C). Glance at him regularly. If the curtain is empty, close the left door immediately.
Freddy only moves when you are not watching him, and he hides in the dark. From about Night 3 onward he is the main reason you check the right side cameras.
Don't ignore the phone calls on Nights 1 to 4. Phone Guy explains most mechanics. On replays, press the mute button to save your nerves (it doesn't change power usage).
A night lasts only about 8 to 9 real minutes (12 AM to 6 AM). You don't have to "win" the building, only outlast the clock.
When an animatronic is in your doorway, shut that door. Don't check the camera first. Lifting the tablet while Bonnie or Chica is at an open door is how they get in.

The Office and Your Tools

You sit in a single office with two doorways. You never move; everything is done with buttons and the camera tablet.

Tool	Where	What it does	Cost
Left door	Left wall panel (top button)	Seals the west doorway	Heavy constant drain while closed
Left light	Left wall panel (bottom button)	Lights the left doorway so you can see Bonnie or Foxy	Small drain while held/on
Right door	Right wall panel (top button)	Seals the east doorway	Heavy constant drain while closed
Right light	Right wall panel (bottom button)	Lights the right doorway, check for Chica or Freddy	Small drain while on
Camera tablet	Hover the bar at the bottom of the screen	Opens the security feeds	Drain while open
Mute call	Top-left during a call	Skips Phone Guy's message	Free

The Usage indicator in the bottom left shows how many things are drawing power at once (1 bar is the baseline, and each active tool adds one). The more bars, the faster the percentage falls. On later nights the baseline drain also gets faster, so the same habits that were fine on Night 1 will run you dry on Night 5.

Camera map

Cam	Room	Why you care
1A	Show Stage	Starting point for Freddy, Bonnie and Chica. Check who is missing at the start of each hour.
1B	Dining Area	Everyone passes through here.
1C	Pirate Cove	Foxy's curtain. Your most important check.
2A	West Hall	Bonnie's approach, and where Foxy sprints toward your left door.
2B	West Hall Corner	Bonnie's last stop before the left door. Also home of the Golden Freddy poster easter egg.
3	Supply Closet	A Bonnie hiding spot.
4A	East Hall	Chica's and Freddy's approach.
4B	East Hall Corner	Chica's last camera stop. Freddy waits here in the dark.
5	Backstage	Bonnie sometimes stares straight into this camera.
6	Kitchen	Camera disabled, audio only. You'll hear Chica (clattering pots) or Freddy's music box.
7	Restrooms	Chica and Freddy both pass through.

Animatronic Behavior

Bonnie (left side)

Bonnie is the most active early on and teleports between rooms instead of walking in a strict line. His path runs through the Dining Area, Backstage, West Hall, Supply Closet, West Hall Corner, and finally your left door. When he's at the door, the left light shows him standing in the doorway. Close the left door and leave it shut until a later light check shows he's gone. If he gets in while the door is open, your left buttons stop working and he jumps you the next time you lower the camera.

Chica (right side)

Chica is slower and more predictable. She goes Dining Area, Restrooms or Kitchen, East Hall, East Hall Corner, then your right door window. When the right light shows her in the window, close the right door. Clattering pots on Cam 6 mean she's in the kitchen and not an immediate threat.

Foxy (left side, sprinter)

Foxy works in stages you can see on Cam 1C:

Stage	What you see	What to do
1	Curtain closed	Safe
2	Foxy peeking out	Keep checking regularly
3	Foxy stepping out	He's about to go. Watch closely
4	Curtain open, cove empty (only a sign left behind)	He's running. Close the left door now

Foxy advances when you don't look at the cameras enough, so brief, regular camera checks stall him. If you look at Cam 2A while he's running, you'll see him sprinting down the hall; shut the left door. If he hits the closed door he bangs on it and drains a chunk of your power, and the amount grows each time he does it. After knocking he returns to the cove and starts over.

Freddy (right side, sneaky)

Freddy is inactive for the first nights and gets aggressive later (roughly Night 3 onward, much more so on 4 and 5). He moves Show Stage, Dining Area, Restrooms, Kitchen, East Hall, East Hall Corner, then into your office from the right. He's hard to spot because he stays in dark areas; on Cam 4B you'll usually just see his eyes and outline. Two key rules:

He moves when you are not watching him. If you keep a camera on him, he tends to stay put.
He comes in from 4B while you're looking at a different camera and the right door is open. When you know he's at 4B, either close the right door or watch 4B instead of flipping around.

His laugh and the music box sound in the kitchen tell you he's moved. When the power runs out, it's Freddy who appears in the left doorway playing a jingle before the lights go out.

Golden Freddy (easter egg)

Rare. The poster on Cam 2B can change to show Golden Freddy's face. If you then lower the camera, he may be sitting slumped in your office. Raise the camera again immediately; staring at him causes a jumpscare that closes the game.

Night-by-Night Strategy

Night	Threat level	Plan
1	Very low	Learn the cameras, listen to the call. You can mostly just do light checks.
2	Low/medium	Bonnie and Chica start visiting doors. Foxy starts moving. Build the light-check rhythm.
3	Medium	Freddy may start moving. Check Pirate Cove more often.
4	High	Everyone is active. Freddy is a real threat on the right. Power discipline matters.
5	Very high	Fast baseline drain. Only close doors when you see someone. Keep camera checks short.
6	Extreme	Unlocked after Night 5. Same rules, tighter margins.
7 (Custom)	You choose	Unlocked after Night 6. Set each animatronic from 0 to 20.

A reliable loop for Nights 4 to 6

Tap the left light. Bonnie there? Close the left door. Foxy running? Close it.
Tap the right light. Chica there? Close the right door.
Quick camera check: 1C (Foxy stage), then 4B (is Freddy there?). Lower the tablet.
Open any door whose light check now shows an empty doorway.
Repeat, spending most of your time with nothing turned on.

The trick is that you're spending power in short bursts instead of holding things on. On Night 5 and 6, finishing with only a few percent left is normal.

When power runs out

The office goes dark, Freddy's face lights up in the left doorway, and a jingle plays. If 6 AM arrives first, you survive. You can't do anything to stop him, so it's pure luck at this point. The lesson is to budget better earlier in the night.

Custom Night and the Stars

Beating nights adds stars to the title screen:

Star	How to earn
1st	Beat Night 5
2nd	Beat Night 6
3rd	Beat Custom Night on 4/20 mode (all four animatronics set to 20)

The 4/20 mode is the game's hardest challenge. Everything above matters, but at full aggression you'll have almost no power to spare. Common community advice:

Close doors only on sight, and open them the moment the light shows an empty doorway.
Check Foxy on 1C briefly and often; a Foxy knock at 20 costs too much power.
Watch Freddy at 4B only when he's there, and keep camera time very short otherwise.
Expect dozens of attempts. It's partly luck, because animatronic movement is randomized.

Easter egg: entering 1/9/8/7 as the AI levels (Freddy/Bonnie/Chica/Foxy) in Custom Night triggers a Golden Freddy jumpscare and crashes the game. It's harmless, just don't be surprised.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Leaving a door closed "to be safe". A closed door costs a lot of power every second. Close on sight, open when clear.
Lifting the camera while an animatronic is at an open door. That's when Bonnie and Chica get in.
Forgetting Foxy for a whole hour. He'll be halfway down the hall before you notice. Check 1C every loop.
Flipping through every camera. You don't need to see all eleven. Stick to 1C, 4B and, if needed, 2A/2B.
Panicking when a door button won't respond. If a button stops working, someone is in the office. Don't raise the camera, which only speeds up the jumpscare. On early nights it may just be a flicker, but usually it's too late.
Watching Freddy with the right door open when he's not at 4B. Only guard 4B once he's actually there.

Advanced Tips

Use sound. The kitchen (Cam 6) is audio only, and footsteps/pot clatters tell you who's where. Headphones help a lot.
Once Bonnie or Chica leaves the camera feeds, trust the lights. The doorway itself has no camera, so a light check is the only way to confirm they're standing there.
Check the Show Stage at the top of each hour. If all three are still on stage, you can stretch the gap between light checks.
Freddy's laugh means he moved. Treat it as a cue to check 4A/4B soon.
Stall Foxy with camera time, but not too much. Quick taps on any camera count; you don't need to stare at 1C.
Plan for 5 AM. In the last hour you can afford to hold doors shut more if power allows, since the clock is almost done.
Save location. The game stores progress in a small file under your AppData folder (commonly %AppData%\MMFApplications). Deleting it resets progress, so back it up if you're troubleshooting.

FAQ

How long is a night in FNaF 1? Roughly 8 to 9 real minutes. Each in-game hour is a bit under a minute and a half.

Can I pause the game? No. Alt-tabbing does not stop the night, so don't leave it running.

What unlocks after Night 5? Night 6 unlocks after beating Night 5. Beating Night 6 unlocks the Custom Night (Night 7), where you set each animatronic's AI from 0 to 20.

Why did Freddy get me when my right door was open and I was on camera? He was waiting at Cam 4B and moved in while you watched a different camera. Once he's at 4B, close the right door or keep your camera on 4B.

How do I beat 4/20 mode? Tight power management, light checks over camera use, short Foxy checks, and close doors only on sight. It still involves luck, so expect many tries.

Does the Steam version have achievements? No. The Steam store page for the original game lists only Single-player and Family Sharing as features, with no Steam Achievements; progress is tracked with the stars on the title screen.

What should I play after this? The series continues with FNaF 2, 3, 4, Sister Location, Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator (free), Ultimate Custom Night (free) and later 3D entries. The franchise also has two feature films: the 2023 movie and its sequel released in December 2025.