How to Play Chick Sort: Tips and Strategies
Quick answer
In Chick Sort you tap a branch, then tap another, and the OvOs at the tip hop across if the target branch is empty or its tip is the same colour with room. Four OvOs of one colour on a branch cheer and fly away. The key strategy is to keep one branch empty as working space and to plan two or three moves ahead.
Chick Sort is the OvO.games take on the classic colour-sort puzzle: living OvOs perch on branches around a tree trunk, and your job is to regroup them so every branch holds a single colour. The rules fit in one sentence, but the 230 levels get genuinely tricky, especially once sleepy question-mark OvOs appear. This guide explains the rules precisely, then walks through the habits that make hard levels feel manageable.
Games to try
The rules in detail
Each move has two taps. First tap a branch: the OvOs of one colour sitting together at its tip are picked up. Then tap a second branch. The OvOs hop across only if that branch is empty, or if the OvO at its tip is the same colour and there is room left.
When a branch holds four OvOs of the same colour, they cheer and fly away, and the branch becomes free again. Clear every branch to win the level.
The important detail is that a move takes the whole group of matching OvOs at the tip, not just one. If three blue OvOs sit together at the tip of a branch, all three try to hop. If the target branch only has room for one, plan for what happens to the rest before you commit.
Why an empty branch is your most valuable move
An empty branch accepts any colour, which makes it the only truly flexible spot on the board. Players who fill every branch early usually get stuck a few moves later, because every remaining move then depends on matching tip colours.
Try to treat the empty branch as a temporary workbench: park a group there to uncover the OvO underneath, finish a colour somewhere else, and then move the parked group back out. If you find yourself about to fill the last empty branch with a colour that cannot be completed soon, stop and look for another move first.
Sleepy question-mark OvOs
Later levels add sleepy OvOs shown with a question mark. They only wake up, and reveal their colour, when the OvO in front of them hops away. Until then you are planning with incomplete information.
A good approach is to wake them early, while you still have space to react. If you uncover a sleepy OvO on a crowded board, its colour might not fit anywhere and you lose flexibility. If you wake it while an empty branch is available, you can always park it. When you have a choice between two equal moves, pick the one that wakes a sleepy OvO.
A simple routine for every level
Before your first move, take a few seconds to read the board. A short routine helps:
- Count which colour is closest to four on a single branch and aim to finish it first.
- Find the branches with the most mixed colours; these are where you will need space later.
- Make sure at least one branch stays empty or nearly empty for as long as possible.
- Prefer moves that complete a fly-away, because each one frees an entire branch.
Completing colours quickly also helps with combo fly-aways, where several groups clear close together, and it keeps the board from feeling crowded.
Calm levels, hard levels and the daily puzzle
The difficulty in Chick Sort is not a straight line. Every 5th level is a calmer one and every 10th level is a hard one, so if you just struggled through a tough board, the next few are a good place to relax and build momentum again. All 230 levels are designed to be solvable, so a stuck position always means there is a better sequence, not that the level is broken.
There is also a fresh daily puzzle. Because it is the same for everyone, it is a nice way to practise the habits in this guide without worrying about your level progress.
When to use Undo, Hint, +Branch and Skip
Chick Sort has four boosters. Undo reverses your last move, which is the best tool for learning: if a move clearly made things worse, undo it and try the alternative. Hint shows a useful move when you cannot see one. +Branch grows a spare branch, which on a hard level is often worth more than any single hint because it restores the empty workspace this guide keeps recommending. Skip moves you past a level entirely.
A good rule is to try a level twice on your own before reaching for boosters. Boosters can be used with OvO Tokens, which you earn by playing, for example from daily rewards and missions.
Free play and OvO Pass
Chick Sort runs in any modern web browser at ovo.games and in the OvO.games app for iPhone, iPad and Android. The first 40 levels are free for everyone, with ads. The optional OvO Pass subscription removes ads and unlocks every level, and you can also unlock more levels with OvO Tokens. Sign in with Apple or Google to keep your progress on every device. If you enjoy Chick Sort, our guides to Screw Crew and Hexa Nest cover two other ways the OvOs turn sorting into a puzzle.
Questions
How many OvOs do I need on a branch to clear it?
Four OvOs of the same colour on one branch cheer and fly away, which frees the branch.
Can I move an OvO onto a branch with a different colour at the tip?
No. OvOs only hop onto an empty branch, or onto a branch whose tip OvO is the same colour and that still has room.
What are the question-mark OvOs?
They are sleepy OvOs. They reveal their colour only when the OvO in front of them hops away, so it helps to wake them while you still have free space.
Is every Chick Sort level solvable?
Yes. The 230 levels are built to be solvable. If you are stuck, Undo a few moves or use a Hint to find a better sequence.
Last updated: