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Chromatic Cove
by ZotaGame0 likes4 plays
Sort patterned liquids between glass bottles across 100 levels while the cove behind you turns from moonlit night to sunrise. Can you hit Perfect?
What is Chromatic Cove?
Chromatic Cove is a water sort puzzle game where you lift a glass bottle and pour its top color into another until every bottle holds one shade. A hundred levels climb through six bands, from Easy with 3 colors in 5 bottles to Special with 8 colors in 10, and the seaside backdrop brightens from moonlit night to sunrise as you go. Instead of stars, each board shows a Perfect number, the fewest pours a complete A* search could find, anywhere from 4 to 28. Every liquid also wears its own pattern, so dots, waves and chevrons are as easy to match as the colors.
Updated
How to play Chromatic Cove
Goal: Fill every bottle with four layers of one color, or leave it empty, and try to land exactly on the level's Perfect number of pours.
- Tap a bottle to lift it, or press its number key; tap it again or press Esc to set it back down.
- Tap the target bottle: it must be empty or show the same top color, and the whole matching run on top moves if it fits in the 4 layers.
- If the target refuses, your pick stays lifted, the target shakes and the message line explains why, so simply choose another bottle.
- Track Pours, Best and Perfect in the top bar. Undo steps back and also takes that pour off the counter.
- Each finished bottle gets a brass cork. Cork them all to clear the board and unlock the next level.
Controls
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Tap / click | Lift a bottle, then tap the bottle to pour into |
| ← → ↑ ↓ + Enter / Space | Move between bottles, lift and pour |
| 1–9, 0 | Pick a bottle by number (0 is bottle 10) |
| ZUBackspace | Undo the last pour |
| H | Show a hint |
| R | Restart the level (asks first) |
| L? | Open the level list / how to play |
| Esc | Put the lifted bottle down |
Tips & tricks
- Undo refunds the pour, so rewinding three steps to fix an early slip costs nothing on your way to the Perfect number.
- On Special boards (levels 86–100) there are 8 colors and only 2 spare bottles: don't start a second spare with a new color unless the first is about to be corked.
- Lagoon and blueberry can look alike on a small screen. Trust the pattern instead: waves mean lagoon, rings mean blueberry.
- A glowing Undo button means not a single legal pour is left. Step back to just before you filled your last empty bottle and try a different color there.
- Go for the longest matching run each time: three mint layers cost one pour, exactly the same as a single layer.
Frequently asked questions
Does Chromatic Cove give stars for each level?
No, Chromatic Cove uses the Perfect number instead. Solve a level in exactly that many pours and the win screen shows Perfect pour! with a drop badge on the level tile; any other solve earns a check mark. The level list also counts how many levels you have solved and how many you solved perfectly.
Which level in Chromatic Cove needs the most pours?
Level 87, a Special-band board, has the highest Perfect number at 28 pours. The shortest is level 7 in the Easy band, which can be solved in just 4. Every one of the 100 Perfect numbers comes from a complete A* search of that exact board, so no shorter answer exists.
Why does the background change in Chromatic Cove?
Each of the six difficulty bands has its own mood for the cove behind the bottles. Level 1 starts under a moonlit night sky, and the scene grows brighter band by band until it reaches sunrise by level 100, so the backdrop shows roughly how far into the game you are.
Does Undo count against the Perfect number in Chromatic Cove?
No. Undo returns the board and the pour counter to how they were before that pour, and you can use it without limit. Restart, which asks for confirmation first, puts the starting bottles back with the counter at 0, so experimenting never ruins a Perfect attempt.
What does each liquid's pattern mean in Chromatic Cove?
Each pattern belongs to one color: dots on coral, waves on lagoon, rays on sunshine, diamonds on orchid, stripes on mint, rings on blueberry, slashes on tangerine and chevrons on rose. Patterns are on from the start and can be switched off in Settings, next to sound and Reduce motion.
How can the Hint in Chromatic Cove tell a board is unsolvable?
If you are still on the level's stored shortest route, Hint answers instantly from it. Otherwise it searches every reachable board a slice at a time, and when that search ends empty it has proved no solution is left. The win screen also shows how many hints you used.
