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Color Sort Master
by ZotaGame0 likes4 plays
Drop glossy balls between test tubes until each holds four of one color. 100 levels in 5 chapters, 3 to 7 colors, and a BFS-proven move target.
What is Color Sort Master?
Color Sort Master is a ball sort puzzle game where you lift the top ball from one test tube and drop it onto a matching ball or into an empty tube, until every tube holds four balls of one color. Its 100 levels come in five chapters of 20, from Laboratory Basics with 3 colors in 5 tubes to Grand Synthesis with 7 colors in 9. Tubes start half-mixed rather than full, and some boards begin with no empty tube at all, so your opening move is often the hardest one. Each level's Target is the shortest solution a breadth-first search could find, from 4 moves up to 21.
Updated
How to play Color Sort Master
Goal: Get four same-colored balls into every filled tube, with the rest empty, in no more moves than the level's Target.
- Tap a tube to lift its top ball. Empty tubes and finished tubes of four matching balls can't be picked.
- Tap another tube to drop it there: the target needs free space and must be empty or topped with the same color.
- Matching balls stacked on top travel together, as many as the target can hold, and the whole transfer counts as one move.
- A wrong target shakes and your pick is dropped without costing a move, so lift the ball again and choose another tube.
- Clear the board to see your Moves next to the Target and collect up to 3 stars; the next level then unlocks.
Controls
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Tap / click | Lift the top ball, then tap the tube to drop it in |
| 1–9 | Pick a tube by its number |
| UZ | Undo the last move |
| H | Show the next move of a shortest solution |
| R | Restart the level instantly |
| EscP | Open the level list |
Tips & tricks
- On boards that open with no empty tube (17 of the 100), look first for two tubes with the same top color: a matching drop is the only kind of move you have.
- Undo hands the move back, so try a risky line of 2 or 3 drops and rewind if it buries a color; your count ends up as if you never made them.
- Hint searches up to 40,000 positions from your current board. On big Grand Synthesis boards, if it finds nothing, undo a few moves and ask again.
- Go for 2 stars first: finishing up to 3 moves over the Target still earns them. Replay for 3 once you know where each color is buried.
- If ruby and morganite look alike, turn on Color Symbols in Settings: ruby balls carry a ★ and morganite balls a ✚.
Frequently asked questions
Why do some Color Sort Master levels start without an empty tube?
Each board is built by scrambling backwards from a solved set, so balls end up spread across the tubes instead of filling them. Of the 100 levels, 17 begin with no empty tube, 52 with one and 31 with two, but every level always has two more tubes than colors, so there is spare room to work with.
How many moves does each Color Sort Master chapter need?
Targets rise by chapter: 4 to 9 moves in Laboratory Basics, 7 to 12 in Test Tube Mastery, 10 to 15 in Prismatic Chemistry, 13 to 18 in Quantum Spectrum and 16 to 21 in Grand Synthesis. The shortest board is level 2 at 4 moves, and the longest is level 96 at 21.
Can you take balls out of a finished tube in Color Sort Master?
No. Once a tube holds four balls of the same color it is locked, and tapping it does nothing, so a finished tube can never be broken up by mistake. Empty tubes can't be picked either; they only receive balls. Everything else, including half-sorted tubes, can still be moved.
What happens after a wrong drop in Color Sort Master?
Nothing is lost. The target tube shakes, an error sound plays and your selected ball goes back down, but the move counter stays the same. Lift the ball again and pick a tube that is empty or shows the same color on top, with fewer than four balls inside.
Does Undo lower the move count in Color Sort Master?
Yes. Every Undo takes one move off the counter and puts the board back one step, with no limit. Restart, on the button or the R key, resets the level instantly without asking, which is handy when you want a clean run at the 3-star Target.
Where does Color Sort Master show the move Target?
The Target appears on the win screen, next to your Moves, so during play the top bar shows only Moves and Best. Match the Target and the screen reads Masterful! Optimal moves matched! with 3 stars. Your best stars and fewest moves are saved for every level.
