Play Shell Sort Cove

How to play Shell Sort Cove

Sort seashells into sets of four across 48 beach boards with hermit crabs, sandy shells, kelp nets, tide pools and a lucky starfish.

1. Tap a tray to lift its top shell, then tap another tray to drop it there. You can also drag the shell.
2. A shell can land on an empty tray or on a shell of its own kind. A tray holds four shells.
3. When the top four shells of a tray are one kind, they close into a clam and leave the board. Clear every shell to finish.
4. Hermit crabs (a shell with a crab peeking out) only walk into an empty tray, but other shells of their kind can stack on them.
5. Sandy shells hide their kind until they become the top shell of their tray.
6. A tray under a kelp net stays shut until the set shown on its tag clears.
7. Tide pools hold five shells. Whenever their top four match, those four clear.
8. The lucky starfish can sit on any shell and any shell can sit on it. It stands in for the missing shell of the one kind that has only three, marked with a star on the set counter.
9. Finish within the target moves without a hint for three pearls. Undo is free and takes back the move count too; a hint limits that board to two pearls.

Controls

• Touch or mouse: tap a tray to lift its top shell, then tap where it should go, or drag the shell onto a tray.
• Keyboard: number keys 1 to 8 pick a tray, or arrow keys move between trays and Space or Enter lifts and drops; U undoes, H shows a hint, Escape puts a shell back.
• Undo, Hint and Restart buttons sit under the trays; the map button opens the beach map.
• Shared toolbar: pause, restart, mute, help and fullscreen.