Magic Sort level guide
Magic Sort Level 261 Walkthrough
Magic Sort Level 261 is a compact two-tier, twelve-bottle finale that hides its real work behind seven white cork bottles — six across the top row and one dark cork tucked into the bottom-row col-4. Pop the dark cork first to free yellow into the empty col-6 buffer, then walk the six top-row corks in left-to-right order so cyan, pink, red, red, gray and yellow each land on a prepared scratch, and finish by sorting blue, green, orange, black and the cork-released colors into a single-color stack in every one of the twelve positions.
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How to Solve Magic Sort Level 261 — Full Solution
- Tap the bottom-row, col-4 dark cork bottle to pop its cap, then pour the revealed yellow into the empty bottom-row, col-6 buffer so col-6 is now a clean yellow lane and col-4 is free to use as scratch.
- Tap the top-row, col-1 cork to pop it, releasing cyan onto the top-row, col-1 slot, and leave that cyan as the seed for the cyan lane in top-row, col-2.
- Peel the green top off the bottom-row, col-1 blue/green mixer into the bottom-row, col-4 scratch flask, then pour the now-exposed blue from col-1 onto a clean cork slot in the top row to start the blue lane.
- Pop the top-row, col-2 cork and dock the released color onto the top-row, col-3 cork so the second lane has a place to land; pour the green top off the bottom-row, col-2 orange/green mixer into the bottom-row, col-4 buffer and the orange underneath onto a clean slot.
- Pop the top-row, col-3 and top-row, col-4 corks in sequence, merging each released color onto its matching lane; peel the green off the bottom-row, col-3 orange/green mixer into col-4 and the orange onto a clean slot.
- Pop the top-row, col-5 and top-row, col-6 corks, then run the banked yellow from col-6 onto the matching lane so the yellow stack reaches three layers.
- Drain the bottom-row mixers top-first into the col-4 and the freshly emptied col-6 buffers, peeling green, blue, orange and black each onto its own stack, and clear any leftover cork cap as its color lands on a real home.
- Top off purple, cyan, red, green, brown, navy, orange, pink, black, yellow and blue so all twelve bottles end on a single color with no cork caps or mixed segments left.
Colors in this level:
Blue, Green, Orange, Black, Yellow, Cyan, Pink, Red, Brown, Purple, Navy, Gray
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Pouring a non-matching color onto an unpopped top-row cork (for example orange onto a cork that hides gray), which seals the cap and burns the move you needed to release that hidden color.
- Cracking the top-row corks before tapping the dark col-4 cork on the bottom row, so the dark bottle's hidden yellow has no clean destination and strands on top of an already-mixed buffer.
- Stacking green on top of the bottom-row, col-2 or col-3 orange/green mixers instead of peeling the green off first, which leaves no clean scratch for the second green segment and forces a buried color later.
Quick Tips for Magic Sort Level 261 (spoiler-free)
- Tap the dark col-4 cork on the bottom row first and bank its yellow into the empty col-6 before you crack any top-row cork, or the dark bottle's hidden yellow strands with no destination.
- Once a top-row cork pops, route its released color onto a clean cork slot in the same row (or onto an already-sorted lane) before you tap the next cork — a mismatched pour seals the cap for the rest of the level.
- Peel the green tops off the bottom-row col-2 and col-3 mixers into separate scratch flasks first, because both bottoms are orange and you do not want to stack green on top of an already-mixed orange.
Board notes 5 details
- Layout
- A compact two-tier board, six columns wide and twelve bottle positions. The top row is a full line of six white cork bottles, each wearing a small tan "?" cap with a tiny green or blue marker on it — every one of these hides a single color underneath. The bottom row opens with a blue-on-top-of-green two-color mixer in col-1, an orange-on-top-of-green two-color mixer in col-2, an identical orange-on-top-of-green mixer in col-3, a dark col-4 bottle wearing the same tan "?" cap as the top-row corks (the only bottom-row cork), a near-empty yellow single-layer in col-5, and a fully empty col-6 buffer. Eleven of the twelve positions carry visible liquid at the start; only col-6 of the bottom row is open as a scratch flask.
- Goal
- Tap the seven cork caps (six top-row plus the dark col-4 cork on the bottom row) to free the hidden single-color segment under each, then sort every revealed color plus blue, green, orange, black and yellow into a single-color stack across all twelve positions so the board ends with no cork caps and no mixed segments left.
- Opening
- Tap the bottom-row, col-4 dark cork bottle to pop its cap and drop the hidden yellow onto the bottle, then pour that yellow into the empty bottom-row, col-6 buffer so col-6 becomes your yellow lane. Tap the top-row, col-1 cork to pop it and reveal cyan on top, then dock that cyan onto a clean cork in the top row so the cyan lane starts to build before you crack the other five corks.
- Danger Zone
- Pouring the wrong color onto an unpopped top-row cork seals the cap and burns a move — the cork is the only key for its hidden color and once it seals there is no way to undo it inside the level. The col-4 dark cork on the bottom row is the only bottle that can free the yellow hidden underneath, so if you start popping the top-row corks before you have banked yellow in col-6 the dark bottle's yellow segment ends up trapped with no clean destination. The two orange/green mixers in bottom-row cols 2 and 3 are the only place to bank green before the corks pop, so peel their green tops into separate scratch flasks first or you will stack green on top of an already-mixed bottle and lose your last clean home.
- Mechanics
- A seven-cork release opening on a two-tier, twelve-bottle board — six white corks on the top row plus one dark cork on the bottom row, each hiding a single color under a "?" cap. Two buffers (the empty col-6 and the near-empty yellow col-5) are the entire workshop before the corks start popping, so the whole run is "bank the cap-free colors first, then pop the corks in an order that lets every released segment land on a clean lane."
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you open the seven cork bottles in Magic Sort Level 261?
Tap each cork bottle (the six on the top row plus the dark cork in bottom-row col-4) to pop the cap and reveal a single hidden color underneath. Route the released color onto a clean cork slot in the same row or onto an already-sorted lane before tapping the next cork, because pouring a mismatched color onto an unpopped cork seals the cap shut.
Why must the dark col-4 cork on the bottom row be the first one popped?
The dark col-4 cork is the only bottle that holds the hidden yellow, and the empty col-6 buffer is the only clean destination for that yellow. Tap it first, pour the yellow into col-6 to bank a yellow lane, and only then start walking the top-row corks so the rest of the board has a stable place to land.