u/NoBullGames

Months ago I downloaded the top liquid sort games and quit all of them within about 20 minutes.

Not because the puzzles were hard but because everything around them felt off. Constant ads, interruptions, weird difficulty spikes designed to force hint purchases, UI that hasn't changed much since 2018.

So I set out to build one the way I actually wanted it to feel.

Pigment Pour is an art-themed liquid sort where you restore real paintings as you solve puzzles. The main things I focused on:

• No forced ads. Ever. Hints and skips are available through in-game currency or a single optional ad. No "watch 5 ads to continue" walls.
• Every level is hand-built and tested. I wrote a solver that evaluates hundreds of thousands of board states per level, then tuned each one manually. 1000 levels, all curated.
• Difficulty that ramps without cheap tricks. No fake unsolvable states to sell you power-ups.
• Progression tied to restoring paintings like Starry Night, Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Great Wave, instead of just clearing levels.

On the visual side, I spent way too much time making the liquid feel physical instead of flat colors. Curved surfaces, separation between layers, highlights. Probably nobody notices but me, ha.

One unexpected part: I added some lightweight telemetry (no personal data, just tied to test devices only) to see how people actually play. It's been revealing.

• My brother has hit 400+ dead-end states across 555 levels and refuses to use a single hint. At 3 AM.
• My nephew has zero undos across 144+ levels. Every level 3-starred on the first try.
• My daughter told me she's "around level 9." She's stuck on level 12, I know, Eve... lol

I'm curious what people here think makes these kinds of puzzle games feel fair vs. manipulative. That line seems surprisingly easy to cross, and I'm still finding it.

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pigment-pour/id6760443481
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nobullgames.pigmentpour

finally hit 500 downloads after about 7 weeks. really excited!

if you're into logic puzzles would like to cordially invite you to check out Pigment Pour!, our liquid sort game with no forced ads nor interruptions, free to play, custom leaderboards, community stats for each level, 1000 hand curated level campaign that ramps in difficulty, always fully solvable up front, no painting you into a corner forcing powerups to move on, real puzzles, fully functional offline, dailies, achievements, art masterpiece unlock theme, the whole enchilada!

cheers!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nobullgames.pigmentpour

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pigment-pour/id6760443481

Months ago I downloaded the top liquid sort games and quit all of them within about 20 minutes.

Not because the puzzles were hard but because everything around them felt off. Constant ads, interruptions, weird difficulty spikes designed to force hint purchases, UI that hasn't changed much since 2018.

So I set out to build one the way I actually wanted it to feel.

Pigment Pour is an art-themed liquid sort where you restore real paintings as you solve puzzles. The main things I focused on:

• No forced ads. Ever. Hints and skips are available through in-game currency or a single optional ad. No "watch 5 ads to continue" walls.
• Every level is hand-built and tested. I wrote a solver that evaluates hundreds of thousands of board states per level, then tuned each one manually. 1000 levels, all curated.
• Difficulty that ramps without cheap tricks. No fake unsolvable states to sell you power-ups.
• Progression tied to restoring paintings like Starry Night, Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Great Wave, instead of just clearing levels.

On the visual side, I spent way too much time making the liquid feel physical instead of flat colors. Curved surfaces, separation between layers, highlights. Probably nobody notices but me, ha.

One unexpected part: I added some lightweight telemetry (no personal data, just tied to test devices only) to see how people actually play. It's been revealing.

• My brother has hit 400+ dead-end states across 555 levels and refuses to use a single hint. At 3 AM.
• My nephew has zero undos across 144+ levels. Every level 3-starred on the first try.
• My daughter told me she's "around level 9." She's stuck on level 12, I know, Eve... lol

I'm curious what people here think makes these kinds of puzzle games feel fair vs. manipulative. That line seems surprisingly easy to cross, and I'm still finding it.

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nobullgames.pigmentpour