Universal Principles
1. Read the puzzle before you tap
Spend the first five seconds counting colors. How many distinct colors are in play? How many units of each? In Cleanup mode, the number of distinct colors gives you the minimum number of "destination" tubes you'll need. If you only have one empty tube, you can't sort five colors without using mixed tubes as staging.
2. Protect at least one empty tube
An empty tube is the most valuable resource on the board. Try not to fill it prematurely with a color you'll need to move again. A common mistake: pouring a single unit of color into the only empty tube just to "clean up" the source — that move locks the empty into one color and removes your flexibility.
3. Consolidate before you split
If two tubes both have the same color on top, pour the smaller stack onto the larger one. That single move usually frees space and exposes a different color underneath, doubling your options on the next turn.
4. Trace from the top down
Look at the top units of every tube. Those are your only legal moves right now. If none of them help, undo. Don't make a "filler" move hoping inspiration arrives.
Alchemy Lab — Mixing Strategy
Chain mixes deliberately
Pouring red onto yellow makes orange. Pouring blue onto that orange does notmake brown — it triggers a cascade based on the order rules. Read the order panel first: if Duchess wants green and orange, plan your blue and red pours so each lands on yellow, not on each other.
Save primaries for orders
Don't burn your last unit of yellow on a tidiness pour. Most failed Alchemy levels come from running out of a primary color halfway through. If an order needs orange, you need at least one red and one yellow free for the mix.
Use insights and hints sparingly
Hints are powerful but limited. Save them for levels where you've genuinely stalled, not the first time you feel stuck. Most early-level "stuck" moments resolve with one undo and a fresh look.
Lab Cleanup — Sorting Strategy
Pick a "home" tube per color
Before your first pour, mentally assign each color a destination tube — usually the tube with the most of that color already on top. Pour everything toward those homes. This avoids the back-and-forth that burns your move count.
Mind the empty-tube win condition
If the puzzle starts with two empty tubes, you must finish with two empty tubes. They don't have to be the same tubes — just the same count. Plan which tubes you'll empty as you consolidate, because leaving a single stray unit in a tube counts against the win.
Easy par is tight, Medium/Hard is forgiving
On Easy levels, par is calculated to reward near-optimal play. On Medium and Hard, the par formula accounts for the increased branching factor, so you can afford one or two "exploratory" moves without losing a star.
Chromatorium — Mixing Vial Strategy
Plan vial contents before pouring
The mixing vial is a one-way commitment: once you pour primaries in, you can't un-mix them. Decide which tertiary you're brewing before the first pour. A common pattern: pour a secondary first (e.g., orange), then add the matching primary (e.g., red) to make red-orange.
Flush only when necessary
Flushing the vial costs a move. If you can repurpose the current mix toward another order on the wheel, do that instead. Tertiaries can sometimes be one pour away from another tertiary by adding a single primary unit.
Use buffer tubes as scratch space
The empty side tubes aren't decoration — they're scratch space for staging colors before the vial pour. Move blocking colors there first; you'll get them back when the wheel slot opens.
Earning Three Stars Consistently
- Restart freely on the first 5 moves. Early mistakes compound.
- Count par before you start. If par is 10, your first 3 moves should each enable two future moves.
- If you've used more than half your par and the board is still chaotic, restart. A clean retry beats a tortured finish.
- Watch for "free" consolidation moves — same color on top of two adjacent tubes is almost always worth pouring.
Color Mixing Reference
The standard subtractive mixes used in Alchemy and Chromatorium:
- Red + Yellow → Orange
- Yellow + Blue → Green
- Blue + Red → Purple
- Red + Orange → Red-Orange (tertiary)
- Yellow + Orange → Yellow-Orange
- Yellow + Green → Yellow-Green
- Blue + Green → Blue-Green
- Blue + Purple → Blue-Violet
- Red + Purple → Red-Violet