Water Sort Puzzle
Tap a tube, then another, to pour the top colour across. Sort every colour into its own tube.
How to play water sort puzzle online
- Open Mode and choose Levels to start at level 1, or choose a Random mode.
- Look at the board. Tubes are numbered under the board, left to right.
- Tap or click a source tube. It lifts up to show it is selected.
- Tap a target tube to pour. If the pour is not allowed, a “Can’t pour there…” message appears and nothing moves.
- Repeat until every tube is empty or holds four units of one colour. The “Solved!” dialog shows your move count.
- Press Undo to step back, Hint if you are stuck, or Restart level to return to the start.
- Use ◀ and ▶ to move between levels. ▶ works only up to the highest level you have reached.
- Stuck with every tube blocked? Press Add tube once per level for an extra empty tube.
Switch View between Water and Balls, and turn Symbols on to draw a shape on every unit, so colours can be told apart without relying on colour. Your View and Symbols settings are remembered. On a keyboard, keys 1–9 select tubes 1–9, 0 selects tube 10, arrow keys move between tubes, and Enter or Space selects or pours. Press U to undo, H for a hint, N for a new game, and F for fullscreen.
How to play water sort
Every tube holds exactly four units, where one unit is one layer of liquid or one ball. A pour moves liquid from a source tube to a target tube, and the puzzle is solved when every tube is empty or holds four units of one colour. The game starts with N colours × 4 units shuffled into N tubes, plus 2 empty tubes, so N+2 tubes in total.
A pour is allowed only if the source is not empty, the target is not full, and the target is either empty or has a top unit of the same colour as the source’s top unit. When you pour, the top run of same-coloured units moves as far as it fits. For example, a run of three cannot fully move into a tube with only two free slots, so only two units go across.
What does a legal pour look like in water sort?
Picture a tube with a red unit at the bottom and three blue units on top, and a second tube holding two blue units. Pouring the first tube into the second is legal, because both top colours are blue, but only two of the three blue units fit. The first tube is left with red and one blue, and the second tube becomes a finished tube of four blue. Pouring a red top onto a blue top is never allowed, pouring into an empty tube is always allowed, and pouring into a full tube never is. At the end, colours may sit in any tube and the empty tubes may be anywhere.
Water sort strategy and tips
Count the free space in the target before you pour a run. A run only moves as far as the free slots allow, so a partial move can leave a stray unit on top of the source.
Treat the two empty tubes as your working space. Filling an empty tube with a single unit uses that space up, so check whether the next pour actually needs it.
Gather each colour into one tube. A tube holding four units of one colour is finished, and you can leave it alone.
Before a pour, check what the source tube will show on top afterwards. A pour that exposes a useful colour usually saves moves later. Your Moves count is the only score, and Best keeps the lowest count for each level.
If you get stuck, press Hint to see the next move, then decide whether to follow it. If the position has no solution, the game says so, and you should undo some moves or restart.
Add tube gives one extra empty tube per level. Use it when every tube is blocked. Restart level gives it back.
What makes a water sort level harder?
Levels 1–3 use 3 colours, and one more colour is added every three levels. Tubes are always colours + 2, so level 1 has 5 tubes and level 28 onward has 14. From level 28 the colour count stays at 12, so later levels differ from one another but do not grow in size. The Random modes follow the same idea: easy uses 4–5 colours, medium uses 7–8, and hard uses 10–12.
Is every water sort puzzle solvable?
Yes. Every puzzle is checked by a built-in solver before it is shown, and the solver finds a full solution for every level it has been tested on, from levels 1–500 and random puzzles at every difficulty. Over the first 500 levels a solution takes about 40 moves on average, and level 1 takes 7. A starting position is always solvable, but a position you reach by pouring can become a dead end. Hint then tells you there is no solution from here, and Undo or Restart level gets you back on a solvable path.
Frequently asked questions
Is water sort free to play?
Yes. Water sort is free in your browser, with no coins, stars or paid hints: Hint and Undo are unlimited.
Do I need to sign up to play water sort?
No. There is no account, so you can open the page and start at level 1 straight away.
Can I play water sort on a phone?
Yes. Tap a tube to select it and tap another tube to pour. The board was tested at 320 and 375 pixels wide, and up to 14 tubes fit without sideways scrolling.
Is my water sort game saved?
Yes, on the device you are using. Your current puzzle, including moves and undo history, is saved after every move and restored when you reload. Progress and settings are stored only in your browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.
Is level 5 the same puzzle for everyone?
Yes. Each level is generated from its number, so level 5 is identical every time you open it. A Random puzzle is different each time unless you use the same seed and difficulty in the address bar.
Is there a timer or score in water sort?
No timer, score or star rating is in the game. The only measure is the Moves count, and Best keeps the lowest number of moves you have used on each level.
Can I play ball sort instead of liquid?
Yes. Set View to Balls to see round balls stacked in the tubes. The rules, levels and puzzles are the same as in the Water view.
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