Route every ball to its bin.
A ball drops onto a run of curved rails. Somewhere below it a switch decides which way it goes, and it only counts in the bin wearing its colour. Set the track before it arrives. Miss three and the run is over.
How it works
It takes about fifteen seconds to learn. The rest of it is thinking one ball ahead.
A ball only scores in the bin wearing its colour. Anything else breaks your combo and costs one of three lives.
You never touch the ball, only the track. Each switch sends its rail one of two ways, and a spinner sends it one of three.
A switch locks the moment a ball starts crossing it. Every decision has to be made in the gap before the ball gets there.
Boards
Each one arrives at its own level and introduces something the last one did not do. These are the real boards, drawn from the game's own geometry.
Modes
The climb and the daily run are open from the start. The other seven unlock as you go.
The main climb. Every level is generated for you, and three stars means finishing it without losing a life.
One board a day, the same for everybody. Keep the streak alive and the ladder pays rewinds, hints and bolts.
Keep going until three misses. The feed tightens the longer you last.
Sixty seconds on the clock. Sort as many as you can before it runs out.
Any board you have unlocked, at any difficulty you like. Nothing is saved, nothing is at stake.
The whole board is swapped out every twelve balls, mid-run.
Colours drain away a few seconds after the drop. Remember what you were sent.
The bins trade colours while balls are still in the air. A ball past its last switch is already committed.
One life. No rewind, no hint, no second chance.
Under the hood
Nothing in Clatter is hand-tuned by feel. Every level is generated on your device and checked before you ever see it.
A level's difficulty is a number: how many switch flips a perfect run needs per second. The generator rolls hundreds of candidates, throws away every one that cannot be played cleanly, and keeps the one closest to the curve for your level.
Send one to the wrong bin and Rewind plays the last five seconds backwards as a real animation, every ball running in reverse. It hands the life back, restores the board exactly as it was, and counts you in again.
One hint lights up the switches that are pointing the wrong way for the ball on its way down, for a whole level. It shows you what is coming. It never taps for you, and the first two levels ring for free because that is the tutorial.
One daily board for everyone, with a fifteen-day ladder behind it that pays rewinds, hints and bolts along the way and a large payout at the end. An optional evening reminder is the only notification the game sends.
A chevron ball picks up speed once it is past its first switch. A white ball with a star counts in any bin at all.
Sign in with Google Play Games and your level, stars, bolts and streak follow you to any device. It is optional; the game plays fully without it.
Pick the name you appear under on the global leaderboard. The first one is free, and you can change it later for bolts.
The deal
Clatter is free. It is paid for by clips you choose to watch, and by a shop you never have to open.
Questions
You do not. You set the track. Tap a switch to change which way it sends its rail, and do it before the ball reaches it, because a switch locks while a ball is crossing and will only shake if you tap it.
The one wearing its colour. A white ball with a star is wild and counts in any bin, and a dye rail repaints whatever you send down it, so a ball's colour can change on the way.
Use a Rewind. It plays the last five seconds backwards, gives the life back and counts you in where you were. You start with three, they arrive on the daily ladder, and they can be bought with bolts or refilled with a clip.
Bolts are the only currency. You earn them by sorting balls and clearing levels, and spend them on rewinds and hints. Replaying the same level pays a capped amount each day, so grinding one board gets you nowhere.
Yes, if you sign in with Google Play Games. Your level, stars, bolts, tools and streak are saved to your account and restored on any device you sign into. Without signing in everything stays on the one device and is lost if you uninstall.
No. Levels are generated on your device and the whole game plays offline. A connection is used for optional clips, the leaderboard, and syncing your save.
Both, and both are optional. Advertising is rewarded video only, started by you. Purchases are bolt packs, a permanent double-bolts upgrade and cosmetic items. Nothing is required to finish a level.
Yes. In the EEA, the UK and Switzerland a consent screen appears the first time you play, and you can reopen it from Settings at any time. Anywhere else, reset or delete your advertising ID in Android Settings. Clips stay available either way.
Device identifiers for advertising and analytics, how you interact with the game, the account id behind your save, and the display name you choose for the leaderboard. The Privacy Policy lists all of it, and the deletion page explains how to erase it.
That is the whole game. Everything else is the board asking more of you.