how to play sandbox
Sandbox is a free falling-sand toy. Pour sand, water, stone, wood, fire, lava, plant, oil and ice, and watch them shove each other around. Nothing to win. The mess is the point.
- Pick a material, then hold or drag on the board to pour it. A ring shows where it will land.
- Sand falls and sinks through water. Water runs downhill. Lava creeps.
- Water on lava hisses into steam and the lava crusts into stone. Fire burns wood, plant and oil, and water puts fire out. Plant grows into water.
- Oil floats on water and goes up in flames. Ice slowly freezes the water it touches and melts next to fire or lava.
- Stone and wood stay put until something burns the wood.
- Brushes only fill empty space, so dragging across a pile never wipes it. The brush has three sizes. Erase rubs a hole. Clear wipes the board.
Keyboard: Press 1 through 9 for sand, water, stone, wood, fire, lava, plant, oil and ice. 0 erases. Minus and plus change the brush. C clears the board. Esc goes back to the menu.
tips
- A thin line of water across a lava pool crusts the top and leaves the rest molten.
- Plant a seed next to a puddle if you want a hedge. Keep fire away from it.
- Drop sand into water and it punches through. Drop water onto sand and it soaks around.
faq
Is there a score?
No. Pour, poke, and share the link if someone else should see the mess.
Does it run the same on a phone?
The grid is sized to the screen and steps sixty times a second, so a small phone and a wide window both stay smooth.
Will my pile be saved?
No. Clear, or leave the page, and it is gone. That is half the fun of pouring it again.