Clockwork

Controls

Drag gears from the tray onto the pegs, or tap a gear and then tap a peg. Tap a placed gear to take it back. On a keyboard, the arrow keys pick a peg, 1-4 place a gear from the tray and Space removes it; H is a hint. P or Esc pauses.

How to play Clockwork

A motor on the board turns clockwise. Somewhere else sits a green target gear that has to spin in the direction of its arrow. In between are empty brass pegs, and a tray of gears you can put on them.

Two gears that touch tooth to tooth mesh and turn in opposite directions. Build a chain from the motor to every target, and when all of them turn the right way the machine is finished. Some gears are bolted in place in grey and can’t be moved.

Speed, double gears and jams

Some targets also need a certain speed, and speed follows the teeth: a big gear driving a small one makes it spin faster, and the other way round makes it slower. Double gears carry a large wheel and a small pinion on one axle, so they pass the turning along while changing the speed.

Watch out for loops. If a ring of gears would force one of them to turn both ways at once, the machine jams and nothing wins. Gears that overlap without meshing also block the machine. Use no more gears than par for three stars.

Tips and tricks

• Read the target’s arrow first. Every gear in a chain flips the direction, so count the links between the motor and the target.
• Sizes matter: try each gear from the tray on each peg to see what fits and what meshes.
• Use only the gears you need. Par is the fewest gears in a solution, and your stars depend on how many you place.
• Stuck? Tap Hint and watch a short ad to place a correct gear and lock it in gold (up to three hints per level).