in "papers, please", the player takes on the role of a border-crossing immigration officer in the fictional dystopian eastern bloc-like country of arstotzka, which has been and continues to be at political hostilities with its neighboring countries. the game takes place at a migration checkpoint in grestin, a border city split between arstotzka and the neighboring country of kolechia, and a fictional parallel of the cold war-era division between east and west berlin. as the immigration officer, the player must review each immigrant and return citizen's passports and other supporting paperwork against an ever-growing list of rules using a number of tools and guides, allowing in only those with the proper paperwork while rejecting those without all proper forms, and at times detaining those with falsified information. the player is rewarded in their daily salary for how many people they have processed correctly in that day, while also being fined for making mistakes; the salary is used to help provide shelter, food and heat for the player's in-game family. in some cases, the player will be presented with moral decisions, such as approving entry of a pleading spouse of a citizen despite the lack of proper paperwork, knowing this will affect their salary. the game deals with the issues of keeping up with immigration policy in an ever-changing political environment. in addition to a story mode which follows several scripted events that occur within arstotzka, the game includes an endless mode that challenges the player to process as many immigrants as possible.