Contraption

Contraption started on August 19 with stone walls, levers, plates, a catapult and a green exit portal. I was trying to make my vision for a no-rush visual puzzle game real. I could "feel" what I wanted it to be, but it was quite hard making it visually real.

You walk around a yard and shove mirrors, ramps and stones into place. Then you go to the catapult, pull the lever, and watch where the ball goes.

Nothing moves while you're building, so there's no rush. Take as long as you like.

Then, on August 25, I had a huge realization: what Contraption "wants to be" is intentionally complicated. It was subconscious at first but it turned out to be the whole point.

So I changed the rules. You get minimal gold for finding the simplest way to get the ball into the portal. You get the maximum for figuring out the most contrived, overdone, Rube Goldberg solution. A strong flight gets rated Pretty Dang Good!

Free, in a browser, on a keyboard.

The first yards: one new piece at a time

Mirrors, ramps, ratchets and plates, and what happens when you put two of them together.

1. No. 1The Two Turns

   A wall splits the yard. Two mirrors, two turns, and the ball goes over the top.

2. No. 3The Jump

   The wedge is a ramp.

3. No. 7The Ratchet

   A brass mirror that turns a different way every time the ball hits it.

4. No. 8The Toll Road

   Two plates on one wire. Cross exactly one of them.

5. No. 13The Orchard

   One shove opens the short road. The long road goes through the orchard, and the orchard pays.

Crystals, fire, water and the things that live in the yards

The ball can carry a charge now, and some of what is in the way is alive.

1. No. 15The Wraith

   A crystal charges the ball. A plain ball goes straight through a wraith. What does the wraith want?

2. No. 16The Pond

   Water washes the charge off. Find the dry crossing and keep the glow.

3. No. 17The Dragon

   A dragon sleeps across the road and nothing plain moves it. There's a brazier, and there's a crystal.

4. No. 18The Two Mouths

   In one mouth and out the other, heading the same way.

5. No. 20The Scare

   Fire frightens a wraith, and a wraith is heavy enough to hold down a plate.

6. No. 23The Crosswind

   A fan doesn't turn the ball, it leans on it. Stop fighting the wind and let it put the ball where you want it.

The machines

Way back I wanted a conveyor belt in Contraption with little workers at it, and never followed through. It's there now. The machines only move once the ball is in the air, so you still build in peace.

1. No. 26The Loading Dock

   Two workers and a belt, and a box that drops in while your ball is in the air.

2. No. 27The Crane

   The crate swings across the whole row. Cross it where it isn't.

3. No. 30The Water Wheel

   The gate shuts behind the ball, and the wheel is the only way up.

4. No. 32The Lift

   Put a mirror on the platform, then make the ball wait for it.

Everything over level 15 is very much a work in progress.

Here are direct links to each yard

Each of these opens straight onto the yard it names.

• 1The Two Turns
• 2The Switchback
• 3The Jump
• 4The Long Way Up
• 5The Overpass
• 6The Gauntlet
• 7The Ratchet
• 8The Toll Road
• 9The Circuit
• 10The Combination
• 11The Serpent
• 12The Proof
• 13The Orchard
• 14The Millrace
• 15The Wraith
• 16The Pond
• 17The Dragon
• 18The Two Mouths
• 19The Sunroom
• 20The Scare
• 21The Turnstiles
• 22The Kiln
• 23The Crosswind
• 24The Far Side
• 25The Mason
• 26The Loading Dock
• 27The Crane
• 28The Press
• 29The Sorting Office
• 30The Water Wheel
• 31The Kiln Door
• 32The Lift

Questions

Is Contraption free?

Yes. Nothing is behind a paywall today, and you don't need an account, an email address or a download. The later yards are among the things that may close someday; what stays free forever is on the levels page.

What are the controls?

The arrows walk you around the yard, and walking into a piece shoves it. Hold Shift to pull a piece toward you instead. Space at the catapult launches the ball, and space again calls it back. X opens the piece book, Y lists the yards, R resets the yard.

Is there a time limit?

Not while you build. The yard holds still until you launch.

Which yard should I play first?

The first one, in order. After that, The Orchard, because it's the yard where the long way round starts paying better than the short one.

What is the piece book?

Press X in any yard. It shows every piece in the game, what it does, and the first yard it turns up in.

Does it work on a phone?

It needs a keyboard, so it wants a laptop or desktop.