The patients and staff of the hospital in Wayward Strand each carry out their daily activities without any interference from the player. Catching characters at different points in their routine will unlock new conversations and reveal new secrets about everyone's lives. It's impossible to see everything in a single playthrough, so changing up how Casey spends her weekend at the hospital will result in some very different interactions.
The game begins on Friday, January 27, 1978. Use this guide to know where each character goes and when, and catch events you might have missed!
Characters can be delayed slightly in going from place to place based on their interactions with Casey. As a result, all times in this guide are approximate and may change depending on your actions in-game.
This guide contains minor spoilers.
Morning
The first few minutes of Day One are set in stone - Casey steps off the elevator, has a brief interaction with Esther, then receives a fob watch at the nurses' station. Lily's briefing ends at around 8:45, at which point you can freely explore. The morning is pretty quiet, with most of the patients staying put in their rooms. The hospital becomes much more active from lunchtime forward, so that's when you'll have to start making decisions about where you'll spend your time.
At the start of the day:
- Ida, Tomi, Dr. Bouchard, and Esther are in their rooms. Visit them to introduce yourself.
- Lily is at the nurses' station. She can answer questions that come up as a result of your interactions with the patients.
- Ted and Mr. Pruess are in the cafeteria. You can listen in as Ted reads the newspaper out loud to Mr. Pruess
9:15
- Ted finishes reading to Mr. Pruess and leaves the ship after setting Mr. Pruess by the cafeteria window.
- Mr. Avery arrives via the elevator and speaks with Devin at the cafeteria dumbwaiter.
- Lily overhears Mr. Avery ordering coffee in the cafeteria.
9:30
- Mr. Avery returns to his room, where Lily catches him drinking coffee against doctor's orders. After she leaves, Mr. Avery begins dictating a new piece of writing on his cassette recorder.
9:45
- Joe arrives at the nurses' station, checks in with Lily, then goes to the cafeteria to bring Mr. Pruess back to his room.
10:00
- Mr. Pruess arrives back at his room, and Esther comes to visit shortly after.
- Lily and Joe head toward the break room.
10:15
- Dr. Shen arrives in Dr. Bouchard's room to discuss palliative care options.
- Esther wraps up her conversation with Mr. Pruess and returns to her room.
- In the break room, Lily and Joe start composing a letter to Joni.
10:30
- Joe finishes his break and heads toward Ida's room. Lily leaves the break room shortly afterward to return to the nurses' station.
10:45
- Joe arrives back at the nurses' station after checking in with Ida.
11:00
- Joe heads toward the cafeteria to collect Mr. Pruess's lunch.
- Esther presses her call button, and Lily goes to check on her.
- Dr. Shen leaves Dr. Bouchard's room and returns to the General Ward for the rest of the day.
11:15
- Joe helps Mr. Pruess eat his lunch in the patient's room.
- Lily goes from Esther's room to the cafeteria to get Esther some orange juice, then returns.
11:30
- Mr. Avery visits Ida in her room.
- Ted arrives via the elevator and orders lunch in the cafeteria, then sits down to eat.
11:45
- Esther, Joe, and Mr. Pruess arrive in the cafeteria. Esther orders lunch at the dumbwaiter then sits down, while Joe drops Mr. Pruess off by the window.
- Tomi leaves her room and looks at the cafeteria from the balcony above.
- Mr. Avery leaves Ida's room and goes to the cafeteria to order lunch.
- Ida closes her door. You won't be able to visit her until she re-opens it later in the day.
Afternoon
Lunch is often the busiest time in the hospital, but most of the characters congregate in one place, making it easier to interact with all of them. However, there are secrets to discover outside the cafeteria as well, when nobody's looking.
12:00
- Lily finds Tomi on the balcony and takes her to the cafeteria for lunch.
- Joe arrives back at the nurses' station.
- Mr. Avery and Esther start gossiping over lunch.
12:15
- Lily orders Tomi's lunch, and shows Casey how to use the intercom if you speak to her.
- Dr. Bouchard falls asleep.
- Ted hangs out for a few minutes near the elevator on the bottom floor. If you speak to him, he shows you his hiding place where he spends his breaks.
Ted's hiding place is inaccessible unless he shows it to you, so be sure not to miss him here!
12:30
- Lily sits down with Tomi for lunch in the cafeteria.
- Ruth returns from the General Ward to check on Casey. She'll arrive at a different time depending on your location and interrupt whatever you're doing when she finds you. She only checks the nurses' station and the cafeteria, so you can avoid speaking to her if you stay away from those rooms.
1:00
- Joe arrives in the cafeteria to bring Mr. Pruess back to his room.
1:15
- Esther finishes her lunch and goes to visit Mr. Pruess in his room. After a brief conversation, she goes to her own room.
- Mr. Avery visits Lily and Tomi at their cafeteria table.
- Ted leaves to do a shuttle run.
1:30
- Lily brings Tomi back to her room, then returns to the nurses' station where she has a brief conversation with Joe.
- Mr. Avery returns to his room.
1:45
- Lily checks in on Ida in her room, re-opening the door.
- Joe punches out early for the day, leaving via the elevator.
2:00
- Mr. Avery travels from his room to Tomi's, to read to her.
2:30
- Mr. Avery finishes the first part of his reading in Tomi's room. He starts the second part several minutes later.
- In her room, Esther consults her astrological charts.
2:45
- Tomi interrupts Mr. Avery to relocate a plant in her room.
- Lily orders Mr. Pruess's dinner from the cafeteria intercom.
- Esther leaves her room to visit Ida in hers.
3:00
- In Tomi's room, Mr. Avery comes up with the idea for his next book.
- Esther has a short conversation in Ida's room, then returns to her own.
- Lily collects Mr. Pruess's dinner from the cafeteria, then brings it to him in his room.
3:15
- Mr. Avery leaves Tomi's room and goes to visit Esther in hers.
- Lily helps Mr. Pruess eat dinner in his room, then brings him to the lounge, where he remains for the rest of the day.
3:30
- Mr. Avery leaves Esther's room and goes to his own. Lily checks in on him briefly once he arrives.
3:45
- Lily checks in with Ida in her room, briefly returns to the nurses' station, then visits Dr. Bouchard.
4:00
- Lily leaves Dr. Bouchard's room then goes to the sink in the hallway nearby.
- Esther starts lighting some candles in her room.
4:15
- Lily catches Esther with lit candles in her room and confiscates them.
- Tomi moves her watering can to a different part of her room. She sits back down on her bed shortly afterward.
4:30
- Esther starts placing crystals around her room in another attempt to contact the late Mr. Falk.
5:00
- Esther lies down for a nap, and cannot be spoken to for the rest of the day.
5:15
- Ruth calls Lily at the nurses' station and asks her to get Casey ready to leave. She arrives at the nurses' station to pick you up at 5:38, ending the day. If you're somewhere else, Ruth pages you at 5:42, forcing you to stop what you're doing and leave for the day.