What is a ball sort puzzle?
A ball sort puzzle starts with coloured balls mixed up across a row of tubes. You move one ball at a time until every tube holds a single colour. Orb Alchemy is a ball sort puzzle with an alchemy theme: the balls are orbs, the tubes are glass vials, and there is a new set of boards every day.
How do you play?
- Tap a vial to lift its top orb, then tap the vial you want it in.
- An orb can only land on an orb of the same colour, or in an empty vial. Each vial holds four.
- Fill a vial with one colour and it is corked for good. Cork every colour to finish the board.
Every board shows a par, the shortest solution our solver found, so you can see how close you came. How to play covers the rules in full, with boards to try.
How does ball sort relate to water sort?
They are the same puzzle with one difference. In ball sort you move one ball at a time; in water sort a pour moves every touching unit of the same colour at once. Orb Alchemy is played in the style of water sort but has no water: you move single orbs. Ball sort vs water sort has the detail.
Questions
Is Orb Alchemy free?
Yes. The website is free, has no ads and needs no account. Your progress is kept in your own browser.
Can every board be solved?
Yes. Every Orb Alchemy board is generated and then checked by a solver before you see it, so there is always a way to finish.
What is par?
Par is the number of moves in the shortest solution our solver found for that board. On the largest boards a player can sometimes beat it.
When do the puzzles change?
A new Daily Brew and Magnum Opus arrive every day at midnight, your time. They are easiest on Monday and get harder through to Sunday.
More answers are on the FAQ page.