Preview
What is Chromatic Cove?
Chromatic Cove is a water sort puzzle game in your browser where you pour colored water between glass bottles until every bottle holds a single color. Its 100 levels grow from 3 colors in 5 bottles to 8 colors in 10 bottles, always with two bottles that start empty, and each level shows its Perfect number: the fewest pours possible, proven by a complete computer search. There is no timer and Undo and Hint are unlimited, so it suits calm puzzle breaks and players who like to chase a perfect solve.
Key facts
- Genre
- Puzzle
- Players
- 1 (single player)
- Goal
- One color in every bottle
- Levels
- 100, from 3 to 8 colors
- Perfect number
- Fewest pours, 4 to 28 a level
- Bottles
- 4 layers each, 2 start empty
- Session length
- Under 5 min
- Platform
- Web browser
- Devices
- Desktop, tablet, mobile
- Price
- Free
- Sign-up
- Not required
How do you play Chromatic Cove?
Tap or click a bottle to lift it, then tap the bottle you want to pour into. You can pour only into an empty bottle or onto the same top color, and every matching layer on top moves at once if it fits. Each bottle holds 4 layers. The level is done when every bottle is empty or full of one color; a finished bottle gets a brass cork. Each pour counts as one, and the bar at the top shows your pours, your best and the level's Perfect number. There is no timer and no way to lose: if you get stuck, use Undo or Restart.
Tips & strategy
- Count the color runs first: one pour joins at most one run onto another, so each extra run costs at least one pour.
- Start an empty bottle with a color that sits on top of two or more bottles, so the next pours stack straight onto it.
- Chasing the Perfect number? Undo also takes the pour off the counter, so try a line, rewind and try another without penalty.
- When Hint says the board can no longer be sorted, undo one pour at a time and press Hint again until it names a pour.
- Coral and rose look close in dim light: check the pattern instead, dots on coral and chevrons on rose.
What are the controls in Chromatic Cove?
| ACTION | INPUT |
|---|---|
| Lift a bottle, then pour | Tap two bottles |
| Lift a bottle, then pour | Click two bottles |
| Move between bottles, then lift or pour | ← → ↑ ↓, then Enter / Space |
| Pick a bottle by its number | 1 – 9, 0 for bottle 10 |
| Undo the last pour | Z / U / Backspace / Undo button |
| Show a hint | H / Hint button |
| Restart the level | R / Restart button |
| Put the lifted bottle down | Esc / tap it again |
| Open the level list | L / grid button |
Plays with keyboard, mouse, and touch. Fullscreen works in desktop and mobile browsers.
Chromatic Cove FAQ
What is the Perfect number in Chromatic Cove?
It is the fewest pours that can solve the level. A complete computer search of that exact board found it, so no shorter solution exists. It ranges from 4 pours on level 7 to 28 on level 87. Match it and the win screen says Perfect pour, and the level gets a drop badge in the level list.
Why won't a bottle take my pour in Chromatic Cove?
A pour works only into an empty bottle or onto the same top color, and only while that bottle has room left in its 4 layers. When a pour is refused, the bottle you picked stays lifted, the other bottle shakes and the message line explains why, so you can simply tap another target. A bottle full of one color wears a brass cork and is finished.
How much water moves in one pour in Chromatic Cove?
Every matching layer on top moves at once, as many as fit in the target. Three mint layers on top pour together if the target has 3 free spaces; if it has only 1, one layer moves and two stay behind. Either way the pour counter goes up by exactly 1, so moving whole stacks keeps your total low.
How does Hint work in Chromatic Cove?
Hint names one pour and lights up its two bottles, taking it from a shortest solution of the board you have right now. It never pours for you and can be used any number of times. If the search proves that no solution is left, Hint says so and suggests undoing a few pours instead of guessing.
What happens when you run out of pours in Chromatic Cove?
Nothing is lost, because there is no timer and no lives. A board can still reach a point where no pour leads to a solution, and once no pour is left at all the Undo button glows. Undo steps back one pour at a time without limit, and Restart puts the starting bottles back with the counter at 0.
How do the levels in Chromatic Cove get harder?
The 100 levels come in six bands: Easy (1–10) with 3 colors, Normal (11–25) with 4, Hard (26–45) with 5, Expert (46–65) with 6, Master (66–85) with 7 and Special (86–100) with 8. There are always exactly two more bottles than colors, so room stays tight as colors grow, and the cove behind the bottles turns from moonlit night to sunrise.
Can colorblind players tell the colors apart in Chromatic Cove?
Yes. Each of the 8 liquids carries its own pattern, such as dots on coral, waves on lagoon and chevrons on rose, and screen readers announce each bottle's colors from bottom to top. Patterns are on from the start and can be switched off in Settings, next to sound effects and reduced motion.
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