MOUSE: P.I. For Hire: How to Clear Jack Squat – Full Walkthrough

The reason Jack Squat trips up completionists in MOUSE: P.I. For Hire is that it loads its collectibles around two hard lock-out points, and the level renames itself Office Ruins in most external guides. Miss the windows and you cannot go back: once you finish the chapter, you are locked out of Office Ruins entirely.

The short version

• Jack Squat (a.k.a. Office Ruins) has 5 collectibles: 1 Comic Book and 4 Schematics.
• Grab the two opening-area Schematics before you enter the Little & Big cellar — entering it locks them out.
• Pick up the Comic Book and the safe Schematic at the second typewriter before you drop from the ledge — the drop triggers the escape sequence and blocks the room.
• The Hitman fights after the cellar escape. He teleports between the pipes on the wall, fires, then repositions — hold a pillar for cover and shoot in the gaps.
• There is no return trip. After you complete Jack Squat you cannot re-enter Office Ruins for missed items.

All 5 Jack Squat collectibles, in order

Jack Squat tracks exactly five pickups. Grab them in route order so the lock-outs never catch you:

1. Schematic #1 – pinned to the wall of Tammy’s Bearings, right after you fall through the hole in the floor.
2. Schematic #2 – in a small room in the northwest corner of the Little & Big.
3. Schematic #3 – on the wall just past the first typewriter, after you clear the first wave.
4. Comic Book #1 – on a pallet just before the second typewriter, after the second wave. It is partly hidden by bricks, so it is easy to walk straight past.
5. Schematic #4 – inside a safe on the scaffolding across from the second typewriter. Tailpick it before you leave.

The two lock-outs that cost you collectibles

Jack Squat has two points of no return, and both sit right where the level wants to rush you forward. Treat them as checkpoints, not transitions.

• Entering the Little & Big cellar locks out the opening-area Schematics. Clear Schematic #1 (Tammy’s Bearings) and Schematic #2 (northwest Little & Big) before you head down.
• Dropping from the ledge after the second cellar typewriter triggers the escape sequence and blocks access to that room. So before you drop, you must already have Schematic #3, the Comic Book on the pallet, and Schematic #4 from the scaffolding safe.

Once the chapter ends, that is it: you cannot return to Office Ruins for anything you skipped. If you are going for 100%, do the cleanup live, not on a second visit — there is no second visit.

Carrying that same room-by-room discipline into the next chapter pays off: see our The House Of The Empty Mouse walkthrough for its lock-outs and secrets.

How to fight the Hitman assassin

The Hitman shows up after you escape the cellar, and he does not stand still. He constantly changes position between the pipes hanging on the wall — he pops out, fires, then teleports to a new pipe and fires again. Standing in the open and trying to out-DPS him is how the fight goes wrong.

• Track which pipe he surfaces at, then break line of sight before he fires.
• Use the pillars in the arena for cover. Sit behind one and let him commit to a shot.
• Shoot him only in the opening right after he fires, then re-cover before he repositions.
• If you have it, the Devarnisher applies damage over time, so a single clean hit keeps chipping him while you reset cover.

Patience wins this one. Because he relocates after every burst, you are never racing a health bar — you are waiting for the half-second he is exposed and punishing it.

The water platforming section

Jack Squat runs you through water platforming twice, and both times the level is rushing you. The rule here is the opposite of exploration: keep up the pace and do not let the water catch you, and do not try to kill the enemies along the way. Fighting mid-traversal is what gets you swept or cornered. Move, reset on solid footing, and only slow down once you are clear of the water.

Common mistakes

• Heading into the Little & Big cellar early — you lose Schematics #1 and #2 the moment you do.
• Dropping from the second typewriter ledge before looting — the escape sequence fires and you forfeit Schematic #3, the Comic Book, and the scaffolding-safe Schematic #4.
• Walking past the pallet by the second typewriter — the Comic Book is tucked behind bricks and blends into the rubble.
• Standing in the open against the Hitman — he teleports between wall pipes, so any static position gives him a free angle.
• Fighting through the water platforming — stopping to shoot enemies there is how runs end.

Practical takeaway

Jack Squat is a five-collectible chapter (1 Comic Book, 4 Schematics) gated by two lock-outs and capped by the Hitman. Sweep both opening Schematics before the Little & Big cellar, grab Schematic #3, the pallet Comic Book, and the scaffolding-safe Schematic #4 before you drop the ledge, then beat the Hitman by playing pillars and shooting only in his reposition gaps. Do it in one pass — Office Ruins does not open back up.