Kinetic Workshop: Rules in Motion

About Kinetic Workshop: Rules in Motion

Kinetic Workshop: Rules in Motion is a gravity puzzle set in a clockwork planetarium. A square brass plate hangs in a graduated gimbal ring under a dome of stars. Brass crates lie on it, and star-shaped sockets are cut into it. You never push a crate: you press one of four buttons on the ring and the whole plate turns until that way is down, and every crate slides until a wall, another crate or a sticky pad stops it. Fill every socket and the sockets join up as a constellation.

The twist is in the title: every plate has a forecast in the observer's log, a rule that changes after a certain tilt. A button may jam for good. The plate may begin to spring back, so that after every tilt it falls down again by itself. Every door on the plate may swap, the open ones closing and the shut ones opening, or the pits may be sealed over so a crate can cross them. What you planned before the change has to be finished under the rule after it, so you count tilts. When the change comes, a dark moon sweeps across the dome and the constellation lines turn from cyan to amber: the Eclipse.

Seven hand-ordered plates teach the four rules one at a time, then mix crates, pits, sticky pads, levers and doors, each with a par the game's own solver worked out. Beyond them are endless outer orbits and a daily plate that is the same for everyone. A crate that falls in a pit can be brought back with Undo, hints are always there, nothing is timed, and your progress stays in this browser.

How to play

Fill every star socket with a crate. You never push a crate: you tilt the whole plate.
Press an arrow key, swipe, or tap a button on the rim. The plate turns until that way is down and every crate slides.
Read the forecast: after a certain tilt a rule changes. A button jams, the plate springs back, doors swap, or pits seal over.
A crate lost in a pit can be brought back with Undo. Reset puts the plate back as it began.
Solve a plate in par tilts with no hint for three stars. Crates seated and a no-undo bonus add orbits.

Controls

Arrow keys, WASD, D-pad or stick — tilt the plate; or swipe, or tap a button on the rim
Z or Undo — undo a tilt; R or Reset — put the plate back; H or Hint — a hint
B — hear the plate described again
P, Escape or Start — pause

Frequently asked questions

How do I move a crate?

You do not. You tilt the whole plate with one of four buttons (the arrow keys, a swipe, or a tap on the rim) and every crate slides that way until a wall, another crate or a sticky pad stops it. Fill every star socket to solve the plate.

What changes partway?

Every plate has a forecast in the observer's log: after a given tilt one of four things happens. A button jams and stops working, the plate begins to spring back so that it falls down again after every tilt, every door swaps between open and shut, or the pits are sealed over.

What if a crate falls in a pit?

It is lost, and the plate can no longer be filled if there are fewer crates than sockets. Undo brings it back; nothing is ever final. If the pits are sealed by the plate's rule, crates that arrive afterwards are safe.

How are stars and par worked out?

The game's own solver finds the fewest tilts that fill every socket under the plate's rule: that is par. Par tilts with no hint earn three stars, one or two more earn two, any solved plate one; a plate solved after a hint earns at most two.

Can I calm the effects down?

Yes. The plate can turn quickly instead of slowly, the drifting stars can be turned off, and the kit's own settings cover reduced motion, fewer flashes, large text, sound and music.

Does the game save?

Yes, in this browser: solved plates, stars and the plate you were working on with your tilts replayed. Nothing is uploaded.