Preview
What is Lumen Grove?
Lumen Grove is a ball sort puzzle game in your browser where you move glowing orbs between glass tubes until each tube holds four orbs of one color. Only the top orb moves, one per tap, and it can land in an empty tube or on the same color. The 100 groves grow from 2 colors in 4 tubes to 8 colors in 10 tubes, with no timer and free Undo, Hint and Restart, so it fits a calm break on a phone or a laptop.
Key facts
- Genre
- Puzzle
- Players
- 1 (single player)
- Goal
- Four orbs of one color in every tube
- Groves
- 100 in 5 chapters, 2 to 8 colors
- Move rule
- Only the top orb, one per move
- Best
- Fewest moves, saved for each grove
- Session length
- Under 5 min
- Platform
- Web browser
- Devices
- Desktop, tablet, mobile
- Price
- Free
- Sign-up
- Not required
How do you play Lumen Grove?
Tap or click a tube to lift its top orb, then tap the tube where it should go. An orb can only land in an empty tube or on an orb of the same color, and each tube holds 4. Only one orb moves per turn, and every move adds 1 to the counter. A grove is restored when each tube is empty or holds four orbs of one color; a finished tube gets a gold starbloom and locks. There is no timer and no way to lose: if no moves are left, use Undo or Restart. New colors arrive at groves 6, 16, 31, 46, 61 and 81.
Tips & strategy
- When two tubes show the same color on top, stack one onto the other first: it frees a slot without spending an empty tube.
- Before you lift an orb, look at the one beneath it: pick the tube whose next orb you can place right away.
- Start a color in an empty tube only when at least two more orbs of that color are on top or one move from it.
- A tube with three matching orbs at the bottom is almost done: clear the single orb above them before anything else.
- Restart keeps your old position one Undo away, so you can test a different opening and still go back.
- Chasing a best? Hint always points along a shortest route from your current board, so compare it with your plan.
What are the controls in Lumen Grove?
| ACTION | INPUT |
|---|---|
| Lift a tube's top orb, then drop it | Tap two tubes |
| Lift a tube's top orb, then drop it | Click two tubes |
| Pick a tube by its number (0 = tube 10) | 1 – 9, 0 |
| Move between tubes, then lift or drop | ← / → , Enter / Space |
| Undo the last move | U / Ctrl+Z / Undo button |
| Show the next move | H / Hint button |
| Restart the grove | R / Restart button |
| Put the lifted orb back | Esc / tap the same tube |
| Open the grove list | L / list button |
Plays with keyboard, mouse, and touch. Fullscreen works in desktop and mobile browsers.
Lumen Grove FAQ
Can you move more than one orb at once in Lumen Grove?
No. Each move takes only the top orb of a tube, even when several orbs of the same color sit on top of each other. Stacked colors therefore cost one move per orb, which is why lining up matching orbs early saves the most moves. The counter rises by exactly 1 per move.
Why won't an orb go into a tube in Lumen Grove?
A tube takes an orb only when it has fewer than 4 orbs and is either empty or shows the same color on top. Tubes crowned with a gold starbloom are finished and locked, so they neither give nor take orbs. Tapping another tube that still has loose orbs simply lifts its top orb instead.
How does the Hint button work in Lumen Grove?
Hint lights up two tubes and names the move, for example tube 3 to tube 5. It reads your current board and points along a shortest route to the finish, and it is free with no limit. If the board can no longer be solved, Hint says so, and Undo or Restart gets you back on track.
What does Best mean in Lumen Grove?
Best is the fewest moves you have needed to restore that grove. It sits next to the move counter and on each restored tile of the grove list, and the win screen marks a new best. It is saved with your progress, so you can replay any finished grove later and try to lower it.
How many colors and tubes do Lumen Grove puzzles have?
Every grove has two more tubes than colors. Groves 1–5 use 2 colors in 4 tubes, a color is added at groves 6, 16, 31, 46, 61 and 81, and the last 20 groves use 8 colors in 10 tubes. Each color also carries its own white symbol, such as a plus, a leaf or a crescent, so you can sort by shape too.
Can every grove in Lumen Grove be solved?
Yes. Each of the 100 starting boards was solved by a computer search before release, and automated tests replay those solutions. A board can still get stuck after some moves, but Undo goes back as far as you like, and Restart keeps your previous position one Undo away.
What happens after grove 100 in Lumen Grove?
Grove 100, the last of the Starbloom Dome chapter, completes the game. From the grove list you can replay any of the 100 groves to beat your best moves; the list shows how many groves you have restored and your best on each one.
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