Candy Sort
Pour and pour till each jar holds one colour
How to play
Candy Sort on Matsuri is a free online colour sort puzzle like Water Sort and Ball Sort, played with jars of layered candy: pour until each jar holds one colour. It plays in any browser on phone or desktop and inside Telegram via @MatsuriGamesBot, no download. The daily run of five levels is the same for everyone, and you can challenge a friend on the same levels.
Candy Sort is a colour sorting puzzle in the style of Water Sort and Ball Sort. Tap a jar to lift it, then tap another to pour: all the candy of the top colour that fits goes across, but only onto the same colour or into an empty jar. Fill every jar with one colour and it caps itself with a lid. Each run is a ladder of five levels, from 4 colours to 9, and every level is checked by a solver so it can always be solved. Pour in few moves to beat par for a bonus; undo and a spare jar help when you are stuck, at a small cost.
- Click a jar to lift it (or press its number key 1–9, 0), then click another jar to pour; you can also drag one jar onto another.
- Candy only pours onto the same colour or into an empty jar; fill a jar with one colour and I put a lid on it.
- Z undoes (−10), J adds a spare jar once per run (−50). Five levels a run: pour within par ⛳ to earn a ⭐ and a bonus.
How to play Candy Sort
A run is a ladder of five levels: 4 colours in 6 jars, then 5 in 7, 6 in 8, 8 in 10 and finally 9 colours in 11 jars. Every jar holds four layers, every colour has exactly four, and each level starts with two empty jars. Tap a jar to lift it, then tap another to pour. All the layers of the top colour go across, as many as fit, but only onto the same colour or into an empty jar. Pouring a jar that holds only one colour into an empty jar is not allowed, since it would just move the same pile. A full jar of one colour gets a lid, and when every jar is sorted the next level starts at once.
A solved level pays a base of 100, 150, 200, 250 or 300 points, plus a par bonus: 50 for solving in par (the solver's pour count), 5 more for each pour under, 5 less for each over. You have five undos per level at 10 points each and one spare empty jar per run for 50. The run ends after level five, when you are stuck with no help left, or when you hand it in; solved levels still count.
Candy Sort strategy and tips
- Keep one empty jar free for as long as you can. It is the only place a buried colour can be parked, and filling both empty jars with different colours early is the most common way to get stuck.
- Start with the colour sitting nearest the tops of the jars, and pour onto the jar already holding the most of it.
- Watch the room in the target jar. If it can only take two of three matching layers, the third stays behind and you have split one colour across two jars.
- An undo does not take a pour off your count: a wasted pour already costs 5 of the par bonus, and undoing it costs 10 more. Plan the next three pours before you make the first.
- Save the spare jar for the last two levels. It can be used only once a run, and the 8 and 9 colour levels are where an extra jar saves the most pours and pay the biggest base.
Modes and difficulty
The daily run is the same five levels for everyone and changes at 00:00 UTC; only your first try counts on the daily leaderboard. Practice gives a fresh ladder whenever you like. After a run you can send it as a challenge, and your friend plays the same five levels with your score as the target. There are no difficulty settings: each run climbs from four colours to nine.
Playing Candy Sort on Matsuri
Every level is checked by a solver before you get it, and its par comes from that solver, so par is close to the best possible. Each level solved at or under par earns a star, and the share card shows one mark per level. Every colour also wears its own shape, from hearts to moons, so colours can be told apart by shape as well. Scores are replayed on the server, and Telegram groups get their own leaderboard.
A little history
Sort puzzles like this are cousins of the Tower of Hanoi, the stacking puzzle published by the French mathematician Edouard Lucas in 1883: stacks you can only touch from the top, limited room and a fixed goal. The modern form, coloured liquid or balls in tubes, became one of the most common casual puzzles on phones under names like Water Sort and Ball Sort.
In the same series: Match and pop
- Sweet Match: Swap one candy and watch the combos pop
- Bubble Pop: Bank off the wall, pop three of a colour
- Color Lines: Line up five of a colour and watch them pop
- Block Puzzle: Fill a row and watch it vanish
Update log
- · Clearing all five levels now reads as the win it is.
- · A still shelf no longer redraws itself, easier on your battery.
- · Candy Sort arrives: five solver-checked levels with par, undo and a spare jar.
Questions
- Is Candy Sort free, and does it work on my phone?
- Yes. It is free with no ads, no download and no sign-up, and it plays in any phone or desktop browser and inside Telegram through @MatsuriGamesBot.
- Are there daily levels and a leaderboard?
- Yes. The daily run is the same set of five levels for everyone, with a leaderboard, and you can challenge a friend with exactly the same levels.
- Can every level be solved?
- Yes. Each level is checked by a solver before you get it. Every jar holds four layers, and each level starts with two empty jars.
- What happens if I get stuck?
- You can undo up to five pours per level for 10 points each, or add a spare empty jar once per run for 50 points. You can also hand the run in, and the levels already solved still count.