Bolt Bazaar
Screw Puzzle
About Bolt Bazaar
Bolt Bazaar is a screw puzzle set in a night market. Each stall is a bazaar good, such as an oil lamp, a rolled carpet or a birdcage, held together by layers of painted panels and brass bolts. Unscrew the bolts, sort them into the baskets, and the panels drop away one by one.
It is a planning game, not a race. You can see every bolt, even the ones under a panel, and the next two baskets. The Market has no clock at all.
The rack is where the puzzle lives. It has five hooks for bolts that have no basket yet. Fill it with the wrong colours and you are stuck. When that happens, Undo is free, Restart is free, and a spare sixth hook unlocks on its own after a short wait.
Work through 120 Market stalls, from a single painted tile to crowded stalls of eight colours. Each good you clear joins your own stall, with up to three stars for clearing it without undo or the spare hook. Then come back each day for the Daily stall, the same for everyone, with a streak to keep and a result to share.
How to play
- Tap a free bolt. It flies to the open basket with the same colour and symbol.
- A basket holds 3 bolts. A full basket is sold and the next one comes in. You can see the 2 after it.
- No open basket for a bolt? It waits on the rack, and jumps into its basket when that basket arrives.
- Dim, striped bolts are under a panel. A panel drops as soon as its last bolt is out, and frees the bolts below it.
- Sell every basket to clear the stall. If the rack fills up with nowhere to go, use Undo, Restart or the spare hook.
Controls
| Input | What it does |
|---|---|
| Touch | Tap a free bolt to unscrew it. There is no dragging |
| Mouse | Click a free bolt. Pointing at one lights up the basket or hook it will go to |
| Keyboard | Arrow keys or WASD move a ring over the free bolts; Enter or Space unscrews one |
| Keyboard | U or Z undoes a move, R twice restarts the stall, H takes the spare hook when it is ready |
| Keyboard | P or Esc pauses, M turns the sound on or off, F goes fullscreen |
Tips
- Read the baskets first. Free the bolts for the open baskets and the 2 coming next before anything else.
- Treat the rack as a waiting room, not storage. Try to keep two hooks empty.
- A bolt that drops a panel is worth more than one that only fills a basket. Look for panels with one bolt left.
- Rack filling up? Undo a few moves and try another order. It is free.
FAQ
Can every stall be cleared?
Yes. Every stall and every Daily comes with a solution that clears it with the normal 5 hooks, and our tests replay them all. You never need the spare hook.
What is the spare hook, and do I have to watch an ad?
A sixth hook for the rest of the stall. It unlocks free 30 seconds after your rack first fills. In the Market, if an ad is ready, a short ad gets it at once instead. You never have to watch one.
Are there other ads?
A short ad may play between Market stalls, from your third stall in a visit, at most every other stall and 3 minutes apart. Never during play, after a stall where you got stuck, or in the Daily.
Is Undo free?
Always, as often as you like, back to the start of the stall. Restart is free too. Undos only cost Daily points and Market stars.
I am colour-blind. Can I play?
Yes. Each of the 8 colours has its own symbol, such as a triangle, star or heart, on every bolt and basket. Symbols are always on.
How do the Daily and Share work?
Everyone gets the same stall each UTC day, gentlest on Monday. Your first clear is ranked: 3,000 minus your seconds, 20 per undo and 90 for the spare hook. Share copies your time, undos and streak, never your name or the good you built.
What if I do not finish the Daily before midnight?
Nothing is lost. The next day, the menu lets you finish it. It still counts for your streak unless you cleared a newer Daily first, but it is not ranked.
Design notes
Many screw puzzles are built to get you stuck and sell you a way out. We made every stall solvable with the normal rack, kept Undo free, and made the spare hook arrive free after a short wait.
Changelog
- Released: 120 Market stalls to collect, a Daily stall for everyone with a streak and share, free undo, and a spare hook that never needs an ad.
