Death Penalty Controls Guide

Death Penalty uses a compact control scheme, but the wrong bind at the wrong time still ends runs. Crouch wins or loses Simon Says. Shoot timing wins or loses Duel. Reload and movement decide Handout chases and Showdown peeks. This page lists the PC defaults, explains when each input matters, and adds mobile tips so your thumbs are not hunting buttons mid-experiment.

New players should skim Getting Started first, then return here before a serious session.

PC controls table

Action	Default key	Where it matters
Move	W A S D	Every round, locker routes, pad stepping, bomb passes
Jump	Space	Simon Says jump orders, Challenge parkour, vaulting onto tables/lockers
Emote	F	Social fluff only — never a substitute for Simon compliance
Prevent / block	Q	Defensive interaction when the game offers prevention/block prompts
Crouch	C	Simon Says crouch orders, smaller silhouette while hiding
Reload	R	Prolonged gunfights, Showdown, Chaos, Finders Keepers weapons

Keep this table nearby until muscle memory sticks. The scheme matches widely documented Death Penalty manuals (WASD, Space, F, Q, C, R).

Movement and hiding

WASD precision matters more than raw sprint panic. Early survival from How to Survive depends on reaching locker height before Murderer darkness finishes settling. Practice a single path: room to crate to locker top. Jump (Space) is part of that path; mistimed jumps during Simon table/line transitions also kill.

Strafe while passing Timebombs so you remain a difficult collide target. On Water Tank rounds, stepping onto fill pads is a deliberate political choice — do not tap pads by accident while repositioning.

Crouch: the Simon Says key

Crouch on C is mandatory knowledge. When the host says Simon says crouch, you must be down. When the host says only crouch, you must stay standing. That binary is the entire skill. Players who “toggle crouch to be safe” on every audio blip will eventually obey a trap.

Technique tips:

• Bind awareness: know exactly where C sits relative to WASD so you are not looking at the keyboard.
• Hold versus tap: follow what the round seems to expect; if detection is sticky, stay crouched until the next clear order.
• Mobile: place crouch on a reachable thumb zone before the match, not after Simon starts.

Full trap logic lives on the Simon Says page, including the unprefixed “kill someone” finale.

Jump discipline

Jump is required for some Simon orders and for Challenge’s orange-path parkour. Community notes suggest spamming jump during authorized Simon jump windows because single taps can fail awkward detection. That advice is Simon-specific — do not bunny hop during Duel booths or you will misclick shoot.

On Challenge, only volunteer via orange if you can actually complete the jump map; blue safety platforms exist for a reason. See All Experiments for Challenge win/lose rules.

Emote (F) and Prevent/Block (Q)

Emote is social. Use it in lobby downtime if you want. Do not emote as a response to Simon, Duel, or Favorites timers.

Prevent/block on Q appears when the experience offers a prevention-style interaction. Keep Q in muscle memory so you are not confusing it with crouch under stress. If a prompt appears on screen, read it — do not assume Q is a generic shield you can mash for immunity to Random Execution.

Reload (R) and gun UI

Reload matters once firearms stay in play: Showdown, Chaos, Finders Keepers pickups, and prolonged chases. Disposable Handout revolvers are often one-and-done lethality tools; still know R for magazine weapons.

Duel shoot UI

Duel is special. The shoot control may appear before the light is green. Visibility is not permission. Wait for green, then fire. Early input causes delay punishment; mutual refusal kills both — details in the Duel guide. On PC, rest on the shoot control without clicking through red. On mobile, isolate shoot away from jump and look sticks.

Mobile tips

Death Penalty runs on phone and tablet as well as PC. Mobile disadvantages are mostly UI density:

1. Pre-place crouch and jump before rare experiments.
2. Increase shoot button separation if you Duel often.
3. Use headphones — Simon prefix audio is harder on speaker + street noise.
4. Lower graphics clutter if it helps you see the Duel light and Simon line markers.
5. Type short chat macros in notes app if Favorites diplomacy matters and typing on soft keyboard is slow.

Mobile players should lean harder on positioning from the survive guide because fine Duel timing is tougher on touch. Compensate with smarter Force spends documented in Volts and boosts when your bank allows.

Experiment-to-control cheat sheet

• Simon Says: ears + C + Space + freeze on traps.
• Duel: eyes on light + shoot only on green.
• Murderer / hides: WASD + Space to locker routes; optional crouch silhouette.
• Timebomb: WASD into pass range quickly.
• Challenge: Space timing on parkour; know blue versus orange roles.
• Showdown / Chaos: WASD peeks + R reloads + shoot composure.
• Favorites / Split: controls secondary; chat primary.

Practice routine (five minutes)

Before a grind session:

1. Confirm C, Q, F, R respond in the lobby.
2. Jump onto a table once to feel collision.
3. Open crouch and stand twice.
4. Mentally rehearse: Simon prefix rule, Duel green rule.
5. Open this wiki’s experiment pages on a second monitor if you have one.

Related guides

• Getting Started — first session plan.
• How to Survive — when to hide versus fight.
• All Experiments — why each bind matters per wheel icon.
• Simon Says — crouch/jump orders and finale trap.
• Duel guide — shoot UI timing.
• Volts and boosts — spend planning after controls feel natural.
• Guides Hub — index.

Controls will not remove Random Execution luck. They remove the embarrassing deaths: wrong crouch, early Duel shot, missed jump on a fair Simon order, empty magazine in Showdown. Learn the table, rehearse the two skill experiments, and let your hands stop being the reason the collar pops.