How to play Screw Sort
- Press Start. Level 1 shows you the first screw to tap.
- Tap a screw that is not covered by a higher plate. Covered screws look dimmed and the plate on top wobbles if you try one.
- The screw goes into an open box of the same color and symbol. Three screws fill a box; it closes and the next box from the queue slides in.
- If no open box matches, the screw waits in the tray. When a box of its color opens, waiting screws jump into it on their own.
- When a plate has no screws left it falls away, uncovering the plates and screws beneath it.
- Sort every screw to win. If the tray fills up with nothing left to place, the level is lost; press Try again and it restarts in one tap.
About Screw Sort
Screw Sort is a calm workshop puzzle about taking things apart in the right order. A peg board holds a stack of tinted glass plates, and each plate is fastened with colored screws. Above the board wait two open boxes, each with three holes and a color of its own, and a short row of next boxes shows what is coming. Tap a screw that no higher plate covers and it spins out of the glass and flies into the box of its color. Three screws close a box, it slides away and the next one takes its place. When a plate loses its last screw it drops off the board, and whatever it was hiding becomes reachable. The catch is the tray. A screw whose color has no open box goes to a small holding tray of three spots instead, and it only leaves when a box of its color arrives. Fill the tray and the level is over. So the real game is reading the stack: which plate is on top, which screws it pins down, and which colors the next boxes will want. Early levels have a handful of screws on a single plate. Later chapters stack a dozen plates or more with over fifty screws, add a fourth tray spot and more colors, and ask you to plan several boxes ahead. Each color also carries a symbol, a circle, triangle, square, diamond, star or heart, so the game never relies on color alone. Every board is generated so that a careful order clears it, and the daily board is the same for every player that day.
Controls
| Input | What it does |
|---|---|
| Tap or click a screw | Unscrew it into its box, or into the tray |
| Arrow keys | Move between screws you can take |
| Enter or Space | Unscrew the highlighted screw |
| U or the undo button | Take back the last screw (3 per level) |
| H or the bulb | Highlight a good screw to take next (3 per level) |
| E or the plus button | Add one extra tray spot, once per level |
Tips and strategy
- Before your first tap, look at the two open boxes and the next boxes in the queue. Screws of those colors are the ones you can take for free; everything else costs a tray spot.
- Treat the tray as an emergency space, not storage. With three spots, two screws parked there already means the next wrong tap could end the level.
- Work from the top of the stack. A plate that only has one or two screws left is often worth finishing, because when it drops it can uncover several screws at once.
- When a box is one screw from closing, finish it. Closing a box brings in the next color and often pulls a waiting screw straight out of the tray.
- If two screws of the same color are free, take the one on the plate that is closest to falling. The other will still be there later.
- Hints and the extra tray spot are there to rescue a hard board, but each one caps the level at two stars. Undo is free, so use it to test an idea before you spend a hint.
Questions and answers
Can every level be cleared?
Yes. Each board is generated together with an order that sorts every screw without overfilling the tray, and the game checks that order before it hands you the board. Some boards leave very little room for a wrong tap, though.
Why can I not tap some screws?
They are pinned under a higher glass plate. A screw is free only when no plate above it overlaps that spot. Clear the plate on top and the dimmed screws beneath brighten up.
How do stars work?
Clear the level without a hint and without the extra tray spot for three stars. Using either one gives two stars, and using both gives one. Undo does not cost a star.
What happens when the tray is full?
A screw that has no open box cannot be taken, and the game tells you so. If the last tray spot fills and no free screw matches an open box, the level ends. The extra tray spot can save it once per level.
Do I need to tell colors apart?
No. Every color has its own symbol, printed on the screw heads and on the boxes, so you can match by shape alone.
Is Screw Sort free, and does it save my progress?
It is free with no sign-up. Stars, unlocked levels and your bench choice are saved in this browser, so you can close the tab and continue later.
