ZOMBIE NOOK

← Rail Nook

Rail Nook: how to play

A cozy sorting puzzle for short journeys: sort tea, pastries and plants between trays, and every level you finish adds a decoration to a rainy train compartment. Play it now or go back to the game page.

The idea

Each level is a row of trays holding mixed items: teacups, macarons, cakes, plants and more. Your goal is to sort them so that every tray is either empty or completely full of one kind of item. There is no timer and no lives, so take your time.

Controls

  • On a phone or tablet: press an item and drag it to another tray, or tap a tray to pick it up and then tap the tray where it should go. Tap the same tray again to put it down.
  • On a computer: the same, with the mouse: drag and drop, or click a tray and then click another one. The game has no keyboard controls.

The rules, step by step

  1. You always move the top item of a tray. If several identical items sit together on top, they all move together.
  2. You can put them on an empty tray, or on a tray whose top item is the same kind.
  3. The target tray needs room. If it has space for only some of the items, only those move.
  4. A tray that is full of one kind is finished and locks: it cannot be picked up again.
  5. The level is won when every tray is empty or full of a single kind.

Tray sizes change from level to level. Most trays hold 4 items. The help line under the buttons points out the special ones: a compact level (trays hold just 3), a roomy level (an extra empty tray to help) and a tall level (trays hold 5). New kinds of items appear as you go, starting from three kinds and growing up to eight.

Undo, Restart and Hint

  • Undo takes back your last move, as many times as you like.
  • Restart puts the level back to its starting position, and the move count starts again from zero.
  • Hint highlights a good next move: it picks up the tray to move from and outlines the tray to move to. It is free, and you can use it as often as you want.

If a position cannot be finished any more, the game tells you ("No way to finish from here") so you can use Undo or Restart instead of guessing. Hint also tells you when there is no useful move left.

Stars and points

Every level has a par, the number of moves of a very good solution. When you finish, you get one to three stars and points for the level.

  • Every finished level is worth 100 points, however long you took.
  • On top of that you earn an efficiency bonus of up to 50 points: the full bonus if you finish within par, nothing at twice par or more, and a smaller bonus in between.
  • 3 stars if you finish within about a quarter more moves than par, 2 stars up to about three quarters more, and 1 star otherwise.
  • Every move counts, even one you undid later. After a Restart the count begins again from zero.

Stars never block you. You always move on to the next level.

Decorating the compartment

Each finished level places a new decoration in your train compartment: cushions, lamps, plants, a sleepy cat and many more. The first compartments are the Rainy morning (8 decorations), the Dining car (12) and the Sleeper car (16), and after that new rooms keep coming. When you place the last decoration of a compartment you earn a one-off compartment bonus: 250 points for 8 decorations, 375 for 12, and so on. Your total score is shown on the left of the level number, and your decorations in the current room on the right.

What is saved

The game remembers the level you have reached, your total score, whether sound is on or off, and that you have already seen the first-level tutorial. It saves when you finish a level and when you change the sound. A level you leave half way starts again from its beginning.

Settings

The only setting is the round sound button in the top right corner: tap it to turn sound effects off or on. The game shows its text in English or Italian, following the language of your device or browser.

Tips

  • Look at the whole board before your first move. Find the kind that is nearly sorted and build around it.
  • An empty tray is your most valuable tool. Do not fill the last empty tray unless you know how you will free another one.
  • Try to uncover items buried under a different kind early, before the trays fill up.
  • Moves count, so think before you drop. Undo is free, but an undone move still counts toward your total.
  • If you feel stuck, one Hint costs nothing and often shows the way out.
  • Roomy levels are a breather: use the extra tray to untangle the board, then enjoy the easy stars.

Questions or problems? Contact us.