SNAPXFIT
Nut & Bolt Sort — Free Online Sorting Puzzle
Nut & Bolt Sort is a free online sort puzzle you can play right in your browser — no download and no signup. Lift colored hex nuts off vertical bolts and stack them by color: four matching nuts lock a bolt with a satisfying glow. Every level is generated to be solvable, and the game is mobile-first for phones, tablets, and desktop.
About Nut & Bolt Sort
This workshop twist on the classic color sort game threads hex nuts onto bolts instead of pouring water. Tap a bolt to lift its top nut, then tap another bolt to drop it — but only onto an empty bolt or a nut of the same color, and only one nut moves at a time. Levels ramp up from 4 colors to 8, your progress is saved automatically, and you get three undos per level when the stack fights back.
How a round of Nut & Bolt Sort plays out
The board deals you a set of bolts, each threaded with up to four colored hex nuts, plus two spare bolts that start empty. Your first tap on a bolt lifts its top nut into the air, where it bobs while it waits; tapping a second bolt drops it there, and tapping the original bolt again simply sets the nut back down — a free way to change your mind. An illegal drop shakes the target red and cancels the lift, so experimenting never costs a move.
When four nuts of one color stack on a single bolt, it locks with a glow and leaves play for the rest of the level. Lock every color to win. The first three levels use 4 colors, levels 4 through 7 use 6, and from level 8 onward all 8 colors are in rotation. The scramble is produced by walking backwards from a solved board, which mathematically guarantees a forward solution — if a level feels impossible, the path exists; you just have not found it yet. Undo rewinds your last moves (three per level), Restart rebuilds the identical starting layout, and your level number persists in the browser between visits.
Sorting smarter: bolt strategy
- Treat the two spare bolts as workbenches, not storage. The moment both are holding mismatched leftovers you have no room left to maneuver. Before parking a nut on the second spare, know exactly how the first one gets emptied.
- Dig before you tidy. The nuts that decide the level are the ones buried at the bottom of tall mixed stacks. A move that exposes a buried color is nearly always worth more than one that just reunites two matching tops.
- Pick one home per color early. Because a tap moves exactly one nut, a color scattered across three bolts costs a move per nut to reunite. Nominate a destination bolt for each color as soon as you can and feed it deliberately.
- Spend undos on information, not slips. The most valuable rewind comes right after a lift reveals a surprise underneath — undo instantly and you keep the knowledge without paying for the position.
- Scan by letter when shades blur. Every nut carries its color initial (R, O, Y, G, C, B, P, M). On the 8-color levels, reading letters down a stack is faster and safer than judging cyan against blue.
Frequently asked questions
Is Nut & Bolt Sort free?
Yes. Nut & Bolt Sort is completely free to play online with no signup and no in-app purchases.
Do I need to download anything?
No download and no install. Nut & Bolt Sort runs instantly in your web browser.
Can I play Nut & Bolt Sort on mobile?
Yes. Nut & Bolt Sort is mobile-first and works with touch on phones and tablets, and with a mouse on desktop.
How do I play Nut & Bolt Sort?
Tap a bolt to lift its top nut, then tap another bolt to drop it. You can only drop a nut onto an empty bolt or onto a nut of the same color. Fill a bolt with four nuts of one color to lock it, and sort every color to clear the level.
How is Nut & Bolt Sort different from Water Sort?
In Water Sort a pour transfers your whole run of matching liquid at once. Here exactly one nut moves per tap, even when several matching nuts sit together — so move economy and planning matter more.
What if I get stuck on a level?
Every board is scrambled backwards from a solved layout, so a solution always exists. Use your three undos to rewind mistakes, or hit Restart to replay the exact same starting layout with fresh undos.
Does the game remember my progress?
Yes. Your current level is saved in your browser on this device, so closing the tab and coming back later resumes where you left off.