| Screw Sort — Boltworks

Screw Sort — Boltworks is a mechanical color-sorting puzzle game built around removing screws from layered panels and placing them into matching color hoppers. Players must choose exposed screws carefully, manage limited spare holes, and remove supporting screws to release panels. The game progresses through 60 increasingly complex workshop puzzles.

The primary objective is to remove every installed screw and release every panel in the current puzzle.

Players must sort screws into matching color hoppers while managing the limited spare-hole storage. Completing a level requires clearing all panels and leaving no installed screws on the assembly bench.

Screw Sort — Boltworks turns a workshop assembly bench into a color-sorting puzzle. Each level contains overlapping wooden, metal, gear, and other shaped panels secured by colored screws. Only exposed screws can be removed, so the order of your moves matters: screws hidden beneath higher panels become available after the supporting panel is cleared.

Removed screws normally go into a matching color hopper. Each hopper holds three matching screws before cycling to another required color. When a screw has no available matching hopper, it can occupy one of the level's limited spare holes instead. Those spare spaces are a critical resource because filling them can leave the puzzle with no legal moves.

You can also use workshop tools when necessary. The Magnet automatically sorts a compatible exposed screw, the Drill adds one spare hole, the Hammer drops an exposed panel, and Skip advances to the next level. These tools consume coins, so using them strategically can preserve resources. simulation games can provide more mechanically themed browser challenges, while puzzle games offer other logic-based gameplay. Players looking for color-based challenges can also explore color sorting games.

Progress is saved locally in the browser, allowing an unfinished puzzle to be resumed later.

How to Play

1. Start the game with PLAY or resume an unfinished puzzle with CONTINUE.
2. Inspect the assembly bench and identify screws that are exposed and not covered by another panel.
3. Tap or click an available screw to remove it.
4. Match the screw's color with a compatible color hopper whenever possible.
5. Watch each hopper's capacity. Three matching screws fill a hopper, after which it cycles to another needed color.
6. If no hopper can accept a screw, the screw uses a spare hole. Keep these spaces available for colors that cannot currently be sorted.
7. Remove all screws supporting a panel to make that panel drop away and expose lower layers.
8. Use the Undo function when you need to reverse a previous puzzle move.
9. Use the Magnet, Drill, or Hammer when their specific advantage is useful. Each tool costs coins.
10. Complete the puzzle by removing every installed screw and every panel.
11. If no legal screw moves remain, the level fails and can be retried. A Drill can also be used from the failure screen.

Winning & Losing Conditions

Winning Condition

A level is completed when all panels have been removed and no screws remain installed on the puzzle board. Completing a level awards score, coins, and a star rating based on the number of moves, and unlocks the next level.

Losing Condition

The level fails when no legal screw moves remain. The game displays a LEVEL FAILED screen with options to retry, use the Drill, or return to the main menu.

Features

• Browser-based HTML5 gameplay
• 60 sequential puzzle levels
• Increasing puzzle difficulty across levels
• Layered mechanical panels
• Colored screw sorting
• Three-screw color hopper capacity
• Limited spare-hole storage
• Magnet tool
• Drill tool
• Hammer tool
• Skip Level tool
• Coin-based tool costs
• Score tracking
• Move tracking
• Three-star level ratings
• Undo system
• Level Select
• Pause and resume
• Restart Level
• Fullscreen option
• Settings for sound, music toggle, vibration, and reduced motion
• Local save and resume
• Desktop keyboard shortcuts
• Touch/pointer interaction
• Responsive mobile layout
• Sound effects

Tips & Strategies

1. Protect spare holes. If a screw cannot enter a matching hopper, it occupies spare storage. Filling those spaces too early can prevent future legal moves.
2. Clear upper panels deliberately. Removing all screws from a panel makes it drop away, exposing screws underneath. Prioritize panels that reveal useful colors.
3. Watch hopper capacity. Each hopper holds three matching screws before cycling, so avoid making a move that leaves a needed color without a usable destination.
4. Use Undo for planning mistakes. Undo restores the previous puzzle state, making it useful when a move consumes a valuable spare hole or changes the available hopper colors unfavorably.
5. Spend tool coins selectively. The Magnet costs 1,500 coins, the Drill costs 1,200, the Hammer costs 1,800, and Skip costs 3,000, so tools are a limited resource.
6. Aim for fewer moves when possible. Star ratings depend on the number of moves used to complete a level, so efficient screw removal improves the completion rating.