Magic Sort level guide
Magic Sort Level 280 Walkthrough
Magic Sort Level 280 is a two-tier, ten-bottle pure sort finale where the whole run is controlled by a tight cluster of dark-bottomed mixers. The lone pink sliver in the bottom-row, col-2 buffer is the only spare slot on the board, and the dark bottoms at B1, B2 mid/bot, B8 bot and B9 top/bot hide the colors the entire run is trying to clear. Bank pink, red, yellow, green, brown and blue first using that single buffer, peel the three-color bottles top-first to expose the buried dark and red, then route the dark to its own lanes so all ten bottles end on a single color with no mixed segments left.
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How to Solve Magic Sort Level 280 — Full Solution
- Pour the pink sliver from the bottom-row, col-2 near-empty buffer onto the pink top of the top-row, col-3 mixer to clear the buffer as a working slot.
- Pour the red now exposed at the bottom of the top-row, col-3 mixer down into that empty buffer, then walk that red onto the red bottom of the top-row, col-2 mixer to bank red as a real single-color stack.
- Pour the yellow top off the top-row, col-4 mixer (yellow/red/green) into the buffer, then dock that yellow onto the yellow middle of the top-row, col-1 mixer to merge yellow into a single yellow stack.
- Pour the green now exposed at the bottom of the top-row, col-4 mixer into the buffer, then bank that green against the green middle of the bottom-row, col-5 mixer so green becomes a full single-color bottle.
- Peel the orange middle off the top-row, col-5 mixer (red/orange/red) onto the orange middle of the bottom-row, col-4 mixer to merge orange into a single orange lane, then pour the two reds from the top-row, col-5 bottle down onto the red lane you just banked.
- Pour the red top off the bottom-row, col-1 mixer (brown/red/red) onto the red lane, then bank the red middle from that bottle onto the same red stack, and pour the brown top into the buffer as a new brown lane.
- Drain the four dark-bottomed mixers top-first — pour the pink top off the top-row, col-2 mixer (pink/dark/red) onto the top-row, col-3 pink stack, then pour the dark middle and red bottom into the dark-and-red lanes you have already banked. Repeat for the bottom-row, col-4 mixer (dark-purple/orange/dark) and the bottom-row, col-5 mixer (dark/blue/dark), peeling the dark bottoms into their own dedicated dark lanes.
- Top off orange, purple, pink, green, brown, yellow, red and blue so all ten bottles end on a single color with no mixed segments left.
Colors in this level:
Orange, Purple, Pink, Green, Brown, Yellow, Red, Blue
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Pouring a dark bottom (B1 bot, B2 mid/bot, B8 bot, B9 top/bot) into a buffer that already holds a lighter color, which strands both colors and burns the only spare slot on the board.
- Pouring the bottom red from the top-row, col-5 bottle before the bottom red from the bottom-row, col-1 bottle, which buries the orange from top-5 under a red base and strands the orange for the rest of the run.
- Leaving the dark middle in the top-row, col-2 bottle (pink/dark/red) buried under the bottom red, which seals the dark in that bottle for the rest of the run and forces a redo to expose it.
Quick Tips for Magic Sort Level 280 (spoiler-free)
- Bank the easy singles (yellow, green, brown, blue) into clean lanes before you start pulling the dark bottoms out of the four dark-bottomed mixers — the dark is the color that locks the whole board.
- Pour the red from the top-row, col-5 and bottom-row, col-1 bottles into the same red lane in the right order (top-5 red first, then bottom-1 red) or the second red pour buries the orange from top-5 under a red base and strands the orange for the rest of the run.
- Peel the dark middle out of the top-row, col-2 bottle (pink/dark/red) before the bottom red, or the dark gets sealed under the red and the dark lane can never grow.
Board notes 5 details
- Layout
- A two-tier, five-column board of ten bottle positions with no locks, wraps, boxes, corks or magic bottles — every bottle is a normal round flask. The top row is five full mixers, all three segments each, carrying purple/yellow/dark, pink/dark/red, pink/light/red, yellow/red/green and red/orange/red from left to right. The bottom row is brown/red/red on the far left, a single pink sliver as the lone near-empty buffer in col 2, then dark-purple/orange/dark, dark/blue/dark, and red/green/pink on the far right. The six dark segments at the bottom of B1, the middle and bottom of B2, the bottom of B8, and the top and bottom of B9 are visually the most prominent mixers on the board.
- Goal
- Bank pink, red, yellow, green, brown and blue first using the col-2 buffer as the only spare slot, then peel the three-color bottles top-first to extract the dark bottoms out of B1, B2, B8 and B9. The first unlock is pouring the pink sliver from the col-2 buffer onto the matching pink at the top of B3, which then frees the buffer to receive the red now exposed at the bottom of B3 — that red is the seed of the red lane that lets the rest of the run start. After every dark bottom is exposed, route it onto its own dedicated dark lane so all ten bottles end on a single color.
- Opening
- Pour the pink sliver from the bottom-row, col-2 near-empty onto the pink top of the top-row, col-3 mixer to clear the buffer as a working slot. Pour the red now exposed at the bottom of the top-row, col-3 mixer down into that empty buffer so red becomes a one-segment lane, then walk that red onto the red bottom of the top-row, col-2 mixer to bank red as a real stack. Pour the yellow top off the top-row, col-4 mixer (yellow/red/green) into the buffer, then dock that yellow onto the yellow middle of the top-row, col-1 mixer to merge yellow into a single yellow stack. Pour the green now exposed at the bottom of the top-row, col-4 mixer into the buffer, then bank that green against the green middle of the bottom-row, col-5 mixer so green becomes a full single-color bottle.
- Danger Zone
- Pouring any of the dark bottoms (B1 bot, B2 mid or bot, B8 bot, B9 top or bot) into a buffer that already holds a lighter color strands both — the col-2 buffer is the only spare slot and there is no second empty on the board. The top-row, col-5 bottle (red/orange/red) and the bottom-row, col-1 bottle (brown/red/red) both have a buried red that competes for the same red slot, so pour the red from one of them first and bank red as a real lane before touching the other — reverse the order and the second red pour lands on a non-matching base and buries the orange from top-5 under it. The top-row, col-2 bottle (pink/dark/red) is the only place to bank the dark middle against the bottom red, so peel the dark middle out before the bottom red or the dark gets sealed under the red for the rest of the run.
- Mechanics
- A two-tier, ten-bottle pure sort finale with no corks, no boxes, no magic bottles, no wraps, no frozen tiles. The puzzle is pure pour order, and the chokepoint is the cluster of dark bottoms at B1, B2, B8 and B9 — each one hides a color you cannot preview until the two lighter colors on top are peeled away. Bank the easy singles (yellow, green, brown, blue) into the bottom row first, then split the three-color bottles top-first to extract the buried dark and red, and route the dark to its own dedicated lane so all ten bottles end on a single color with no mixed segments left.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you handle the four dark-bottomed mixers in Magic Sort Level 280?
Peel each one top-first so the two lighter colors on top are pulled off into clean lanes first, then pour the dark bottom into its own dedicated dark lane. The bottom-row, col-2 pink sliver is the only spare slot to start the peel, so clear that sliver onto the matching pink at the top of B3 first to free the buffer, then route the dark bottoms of B1, B2 mid/bot, B8 bot and B9 top/bot onto a single dark lane one bottle at a time.
Why must the red from top-row col-5 and bottom-row col-1 be poured into the same red lane in that exact order?
Both bottles have a buried red that competes for the same red slot, and the top-row, col-5 bottle has a buried orange that needs the buffer to be free of red before the orange can land. Pour the red from top-5 first, then the red from bottom-1, so the orange from top-5 has a clean home on the bottom-row, col-4 mixer. Reverse the order and the second red pour buries the orange under it and strands it for the rest of the run.