• I am 53 years old, have an ancient computer and poor eyesight coupled with slower reactions. I will never be able to reach any kind of time, that rivals the fastest players. But I do know about strategies, I have watched a lot of the fastest runs, and I have completed the Day 1 challenge 10 times now (fastest being 20:50). And I do like to go as fast as I am able, to try and test myself. If you enjoy that too, maybe this post is for you.
  
• The Day 1 run is very dependent upon the cruel mistress, rng. And while she can be nice and friendly and even give you a smile and a wink from time to time, rest assured: she is just waiting for the right opportunity to rip out your heart and feed it to teenage piranhas. For me the challenge lies in adapting to the rng given, and then trying my best to reach an acceptable time under those circumstances. Others may choose to reroll a lot to get good starts.
  
• If you are more into action without as much rng, there are several other BP runs available - for instance Antechamber% or Glitched Bequest% - those however require an insane skill-set and lightning fast reactions.

• Get into the antechamber, in one of 4 ways:
  
  • Great Hall (Unusual, free, not draftable along a border) has an East Lever.
    Pros: Regular draft candidate and pops up in most 20+ room houses at least once.
    Cons: Hefty key requirement and inconvenient Antechamber entry point.
    
  • Greenhouse (Standard, 1 gem, only draftable east wing going up or west wing going down) has a South Lever.
    Pros: Very convenient Antechamber entry point and typically contains a useful item.
    Cons: Inconvenient to find and draft with any regularity, and using the Broken Lever precludes crafting a Power Hammer. The higher chance of Green Rooms can skew the drafting.
    
  • Weight Room (Rare, free, not draftable along a border) has a South Lever.
    Pros: Very convenient Antechamber entry point, sometimes contains a Broken Handle, has many doors and is a regular draft candidate to find in even skinny houses.
    Cons: Hefty toll on steps, requires Power Hammer.
    
  • Secret Garden (Rare, Secret Garden key, only draftable west wing or east wing) has an East Lever [and West with Power Hammer].
    Pros: Spreads fruit, convenient Antechamber entry point.
    Cons: Key needs to be found, very slow to activate.
  
• You need to either move the Minecart (4) or gain access to the boat side of the lake in the underground (left of 5) to go behind the Minecart, in one of 2 ways:
  
  • Draft an outer Tomb (6) and solve the Angel puzzle.
    
  • Draft the Pool, followed by a Pump Room and drain the Fountain (5). Then use a Basement Key from Antechamber to access the Tunnel.
• You need to get into the area above the Reservoir (right of 4), in one of 3 ways:
  
  • Draft the Foundation, access the back wall of it to lower the Elevator and access the Basement (1) with a Basement Key from Antechamber.
    
  • Craft a Power Hammer contraption using Battery Pack, Broken Handle and Sledge Hammer in the Workshop to bash a way through the sealed tunnel (3) below the stairs.
    
  • Lower the Reservoir by 1 using Pool followed by Pump Room, gain access through Tomb (6) or Fountain (5) and take the boat across the lake.
• Once at the Cogwheel puzzle (8), you will need to move the wheel 4 places and either:
  
  • Go back to a place with access behind the Minecart (5) or (6).
    
  • Go directly across - having moved the Minecart beforehand.

Taiwon speedrun in ~11 mins.:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY32HFK2u5A
The strategy applied here is: Garage, 2 white dice and a Power Hammer => entry to 46 lever: go through Garage to the Entrance and down the stairs. Use Power Hammer to bash into the Basement through the wooden planks and the weak wall. Complete the cart/crate puzzle, go to the Cogwheel and turn it 4 places. Then go back out, roll an outer Tomb and complete the Angel puzzle. Then go over the Cogwheel to the alcove and roll the Cogwheel until you have access to the Tunnel entrance. The Weight Room is used for the Antechamber entry door.
One particular thing to notice, is the mastery of game mechanics at display here from 6:15. Where your typical player would spend some 2 mins. completing the puzzle, Taiwon found a way to complete it in ~30 secs.

Blackened speedrun in ~14 mins.:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fa6OSFBdwM
The strategy applied here is: Garage, 2 white dice and a Pump Room => entry to 46 lever: use Pump Room to lower reservoir by 1 (pump 3 [left] lever up, pump 2 [middle] lever up, press Greenhouse, wait for it to empty then press Reservoir). Go to outer room, roll Tomb and complete the Angel puzzle. Go past the Minecart until you reach the boat. Sail across and move the Cogwheel 4 places. Sail back across and go behind the Minecart through the Tunnel. Go over the Cogwheel to the alcove and roll the Cogwheel until you have access to the Tunnel entrance. The Great Hall is used for the Antechamber entry door.
Of particular interest here, is that Blackened never had to leave the underground until the 46 lever was pulled. Nor did he need to craft a Power Hammer or complete the cart/crate puzzle - making this a very fast strategy indeed, should you be able to draft Pool -> Pump Room early.

What do these speed-runners do, that set them apart from us normal casual players?

Well firstly they practice the game-mechanics a lot, and try to find the fastest path at every junction. We can do that as well - just not at the same level of course, but we can watch how they do it, and try our best to emulate their approach.

Secondly they theory-craft to find the quickest way to complete the objective at hand. And then iterate upon the rng until they find a game, that will allow them to complete that objective. We can do that as well. If we believe their reasoning, we can try our best to duplicate it, or we can make our own decision tree (If I get a Secret Garden key, I will...., if I get Power Hammer, I need to ...., etc.).


If only to try to improve our own best time from 20:50 to below 20 mins. (in my case).

• While a box in the Parlor is opening, you are free to open the door leading out. This may save a second or two.
  
• Some resources are expensive in terms of time. Especially gems in safes, and especially in Drawing Room and Office, since they require a long unskipable animation. Personally I always pick them up anyway, but if you aspire to compete at higher levels, you may not wish to.
  
• Not all items are worth picking up - things like Magnifying Glass and File Cabinet keys are better left. Items like Coin Purse or Compass may not be worth the time, it takes to pick them up. The Shovel can be a time waster that provides very little of real value and the Metal Detector can leave you searching desperately for that hidden one coin in a corner, that will have no bearing on your result at all. The more adept you become, the more valuable the Metal Detector can become though - eventually you will learn where to look.
  
• Develop a starting drafting strategy. Try to draft the first 6-10 rooms using the same basic room-templates (corner at this location, corridor at that location, etc.) - this will make it much easier for you to remember 'where you are' without having to consult the blueprint all the time. The ability to retain a mental map of the floor-plan, can save many seconds along the way. You will notice, that the pros both chose to draft a Closet north Entrance and then go east. I'll bet you almost anything, that they decide within those first 10 seconds of the run, if it has a chance to succeed. Note though, that you do not need to copy that - chose your own strategy, that befits your play-style, and develop a system from that.
  
• Make a habit out of building up 'fast and easy' resources within the first rows of draft. Draft rooms like Closet, Storeroom, Parlor and Billiard Room early to build up 'wealth' using rooms you never wish to revisit. This also allows you to make a chunk of house, that becomes closed as a block in your mind. No need to remember individual rooms - just a say 2x3 block of random rooms in that corner.
  
• Make a habit out of building up steps without having to think too much. For instance: I always try to save as many bedrooms, as I am able to, before I have drafted Nursery. Those 5 extra steps per bedroom can be enough to keep you going for a long time.
  
• Cheap is good! Make a habit out of using red rooms. They are all free and several have many exits. Plus they often contain security doors, which can be a great help if keys are scarce. Expect to need Weight Room in every single run. It is also a good idea to not draft Utility Closet too early, so you can use it to turn on Dark Room in a pinch - Dark Room always contains an item (typically gem/key, Lockpick Kit, Lever or Battery Pack).
  
• Use the game mechanics to your advantage - a typical player will spend about 2 minutes to solve the cart/crate puzzle in the basement, whereas an experienced speed runner will go through it in ~30 seconds. Try to learn the techniques needed to do the same (the video of Taiwon's run from 6:15 is a great inspiration to get better at the cart/crate puzzle). {I just did it myself :D. It just took 38 tries to get past the first big gap - the rest came in 1 try. If I can do it, you can do it.}

• Choosing which room lever to use is not at all an easy choice, and it may depend upon your findings:
  
  • The Weight Room is almost always the fastest choice, due to the convenience of the opened door, and the ease with which you can rely on drafting it. Requiring a Power Hammer may be a deal breaker in some games though.
    
  • With a Lockpick Kit, Picksound Amplifier or an experiment yielding keys (or just plain luck), the Great Hall can be a good choice.
    
  • The Greenhouse, while giving an excellent Antechamber entry door potentially very early game, is not that great to develop a strategy after, since it is not always easy to find. Though it is Standard and should be more common than Garage, the fact that it can only be found west wing up or east wing down makes it trickier. It will also use up your Broken Lever and likely force you to draft along the edges on both sides of the map. It has potential to be the fastest though, in my opinion.
    
  • The Secret Garden is difficult to build a strategy around. While it is possible to 'hunt' specifically for the key (chests, Billiard Room, Music Room, Key Shop), and while the fruit spreading can be a life-saver, it has a terribly slow Antechamber Door lever. I think the best approach is to have it in mind as a backup, if you find the key by happenstance.
• Choosing a Basement entry point is much easier:
  
  • Foundation entry: should never be considered unless playing casually. Drafting the Foundation and simultaneously reaching the back of it, is a rare occasion in a game. Furthermore it is incredibly slow. You will need to lower the elevator, get the key in the Antechamber and then take the elevator followed by solving a slow puzzle.
    
  • Power Hammer entry: is a great approach, but it requires the Power Hammer and the skills to beat the cart/crate puzzle rapidly to reach a decent time.
    
  • Boat entry: is another excellent approach, but it requires drafting Pool followed by Pump Room consistently. In my opinion, it is likely the fastest method, but it requires a lot of drafting luck. The difficult part is getting Pool though - often Pump Room follows very quickly afterwards.
• Choosing how to get around the Minecart (needs Garage or Pump Room):
  
  • The fastest is certainly to draft a Garage, followed by an outer Tomb (requires 2 white dice to be 100% certain to get it) and then use the entry behind the Minecart (without moving it) to go across the Cogwheel. After having accessed the Basement and moved the Cogwheel 4 places of course.
    
  • If you miss out on a Garage, the fastest option is to draft a powered Pump Room (Pool => Pump Room, power from Boiler Room) so you can simultaneously have the reservoir lowered by 1 and the Fountain drained. You can pick up the Basement key in the Antechamber before entering the Fountain and with a combination of boat there and back, you can get to the room 46 lever very fast. It is rare to draft a powered Pump Room though, and it is extremely slow to turn on the Boiler. So only use this method in extreme circumstances.
    
  • If you cannot draft Garage or a powered Pump Room, you are out of luck. There is not enough tank capacity to both drain the Fountain and the Reservoir by 1 at the same time. Which means, that there is no way to access the Minecart at the same time as the Cogwheel.

• Hold down shift at all times when moving.
  
• If you feel yourself becoming irritated by the rng, you may be using too narrow of a playstyle. Try expanding the range of mishaps you will allow to happen without abandoning the run.
  
• Take breaks and get fluid. Running 100% full steam game after game can be very taxing.
  
• When all things converge, and you are in a great run, it is easy to become stressed and anxious. To begin making mistakes and loosing track of where you are and what you're supposed to be doing. I find that, even if you're recording the run, it is better to just put up the map, take a couple of deep breaths and clear your head. The 10 seconds wasted doing that will be gained later.
  
• Remember that a game like Blue Prince has a lot going on, and a lot to remember. There is no shame in needing a couple of seconds to gather your thoughts and regain composure.

Feel free to post your best times here. Your near misses. Your good fortunes and your downfalls. We can laugh at them together and share some fond memories :).

Kind regards
Tom

By the way: If you ever draft the perfect 45 room house (no doors blocked by walls, no open spots in your house, all Antechamber doors opened), I'd very much like to see a screenshot. Somehow stuff like that - beauty with no purpose at all - just brings me joy :).