A screw puzzle game for adults: think ahead, no clock

What makes a screw puzzle good for adults?

Three things matter more than the art. First, no clock: you should lose because you planned badly, not because you were slow. Second, real depth, where a careless tap early on causes trouble five moves later. Third, short levels, so you can stop after one and come back on the bus. Screw Crew ticks all three. A level ends only when the tray is full, and most take a few minutes. The difficulty also rises in a steady rhythm. Every fifth level is a lighter breather marked CHILL, and every tenth is a harder one marked HARD, with an extra layer and an extra colour. You get a rest before each real test, and that rhythm is a big part of why the game stays calm.

How does Screw Crew work?

Pastel plates are stacked on a white board and pinned with coloured screws. Two OvOs at the top each hold a box for one colour, and each box takes three screws. Tap a screw that nothing covers and it spins out into the box of its colour. A screw with no open box waits in the five-slot tray. When a box is full, its OvO carries it off and the next box arrives. A plate drops away once its last screw is out, which uncovers the screws below. The board is real 3D, so you can drag to turn it a little and look between the layers. Every level can be solved without boosters, and if you are stuck, Hint shows a move from a winning line. Hint, +Slot and Wrench cost tokens you earn by winning. Restart is free.

Pin Rescue: another thinking puzzle with no clock

Pin Rescue is a pull-the-pin puzzle with 300 levels, the first 40 free. A glass tower stands over a straw nest, split into chambers whose floors are golden pins. Tap a pin and it slides out, and whatever sat on it tumbles down: egg babies, rocks, water or lava. Water poured on lava turns it to stone, a rock dropped on a critter sends it running, and the level is lost if lava or a critter reaches an egg. You win when every egg rests in the nest. There is no timer, so the whole game is about the order of the pins. It feels close to a screw puzzle, because one wrong pull early can ruin the board. Undo puts the last pin back and Hint shows the next safe pin. Both cost tokens, and Restart is free.

Chick Sort: a quiet sort for short breaks

Chick Sort is a branch sort with 230 levels, the first 40 free. OvOs perch on branches on both sides of a tree trunk. Tap a branch to pick up the OvOs of one colour at its tip, then tap another branch, and they hop over if it is empty or ends in the same colour. Four of one colour on a branch cheer and leave, and the branch is free again. There is no clock. A level ends only when no legal move is left, and each level gives you three free Undos before Undo costs tokens, so it forgives a tired evening. From level 11, sleepy OvOs marked with a question mark only show their colour once the OvO in front of them moves, which makes later levels ask for more planning.

Gate Jam: for when you do want a clock

Some evenings a little pressure is the point. Gate Jam is a sliding-block puzzle with 200 levels, the first 40 free. Carts full of OvOs sit on a board, and you drag each one out through the gate of its colour. The timer runs between one and three minutes and starts on your first move, so you can study the board as long as you like before you touch anything. One-way carts, frozen carts and two-colour carts join as you go. If time gets tight, Freeze stops the clock for 10 seconds, and a continue adds 30 seconds. It is the busiest game on this list, so keep it for the nights you want a puzzle with a deadline.

What does it cost, and how comfortable is it to play?

Every game here is free for its first 40 levels. The optional OvO Pass unlocks every level in every game, removes ads and adds 500 tokens a month, and there is also a No Ads purchase in the shop. Without either, no ad plays inside a level: short ad breaks can only come between levels, and reward videos are always your choice. For comfort, Screw Crew has a Shapes on colours setting that adds a symbol to every screw colour, which helps when two colours look alike to you. It also follows your device’s dark mode and reduced-motion settings. All four games run in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer with nothing to download. You need a connection to open a game, and if you sign in, your progress follows you between devices. On a phone, Screw Crew plays upright.

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