Tea House

Çay Ocağı (Turkish for “tea stand”) is a color sorting puzzle played with slim, tulip-shaped Turkish tea glasses. Each glass holds stacked layers of colored drinks, and your job is to pour them from glass to glass until every glass holds a single color. The rules take seconds to learn, but as you progress the number of colors grows and hidden layers, locked glasses and waiting customers join in. Levels are generated by a solver, and every one is checked to be solvable. There is a story too: Master Hasan hands his neighborhood tea stand over to you, and you travel to eight places to gather the scattered pages of his notebook.

A level ends when every filled glass holds a single color. A normal glass holds 4 layers; when all 4 layers are the same color, the glass counts as complete and can no longer be played. Every level gives you 2 empty glasses next to the colored ones, and that free space is what lets you separate colors without making a mess.

The first level has only 2 colors, and the game highlights which glass to tap. After that the number of colors rises gradually, up to 12.

Tap the glass you want to pour from; it lifts slightly. Then tap the glass you want to pour into. A pour works in two cases:

• the target glass is empty,
• or the top color of the target is the same as the color you are pouring, and there is room.

If several layers of the same color sit on top, they all flow together; if the target runs out of room, only what fits goes in and the rest stays put. An illegal pour makes the glass shake. If no useful move is left, the game warns you and points to Undo or Glass.

Three new situations appear as you go, and Master Hasan briefly explains each one the first time you meet it:

• Hidden layers: in some levels only the top layer shows its color; the ones below carry a question mark. A layer reveals its color once it reaches the top. A good start is to clear the tops and gather information first.
• Locked glass: the lock shows a color. Until a glass of that color is complete, you cannot pour from the locked glass or into it. Make that color your first target.
• Big glasses: in some levels glasses hold 5 layers instead of 4. There are slightly fewer colors, but each one has an extra layer.

From level 3 on, customers sit at the counter. Each one asks for a color and has a move counter. The moment you complete a glass of that color, the order is served; if the counter runs out, the customer gets tired of waiting and leaves. There are 2 customers in levels 3-9, 3 in levels 10-29 and 4 after that. Counters are calculated from the level's solution plan, so a good plan can serve everyone.

The 10th level of each place (10, 20, 30...) is a Special day, such as a wedding, holiday ferries or a carpet fair. Up to 5 customers come, and every happy customer tips double. On the map these levels have a golden frame.

Customer types. From level 8 the first customer is in a hurry (lightning badge): a short counter but a double tip, so serve them first. From level 15 one customer places a double order: two colors, served once both are complete (a finished color glows green on the card). The regular of the current place arrives with a gold frame and orders in their own style: Captain Rüstem and Elif the balloon pilot are always in a hurry, Selim the carpet seller and Uncle Zeki place double orders.

In levels with orders the customers decide the stars: all happy means 3 stars, one left means 2, more left means 1. In levels without orders (levels 1 and 2) and in the Daily Brew stars depend on your move count; the 3-star limit is the minimum number of moves the level needs plus a small margin.

At the end of a level you earn tips: a base reward that grows as you progress, extra tips per star, and the tip of every happy customer (a normal customer 3, a customer in a hurry or a double order 6, the regular of the current place +5 more; everything doubles on a special day). Tips buy glasses, trays and backgrounds in the Shop; these only change the look.

• Undo: you get 5 free undos per level. Undoing also gives back customer moves, but a customer who left does not return. When you run out, you can watch an ad for 5 more.
• Glass: once per level, an optional ad adds one empty glass.
• Hint: an optional ad shows the next good move by highlighting the source and target glass. Hints follow a short solution, so following them does not cost you stars.
• Restart: resets the level to its starting state.

Buttons that involve an ad are labeled “Ad”; watching is always your choice.

Levels are grouped in tens across eight places: Neighborhood Tea Stand, Ferry Pier, Bosphorus Shore, Grand Bazaar, Galata, Cappadocia, Rize Highlands and Aegean Coffeehouse. At the start of each place you meet its regular; finish its 10th level and a page returns to the Master's Notebook. With all eight pages, the finale plays after level 80, and the levels keep going with a second round of places.

The Daily Brew is a separate puzzle that changes every day: 8 colors, hidden layers and a 60-tip reward. There is also a 7-day login reward that grows with each consecutive day.

The Daily Brew day follows the server clock (Turkish time), so everyone plays the same puzzle on the same day. The tips you earn this week from levels and brews go to the leaderboard (Statistics → Leaderboard). At the end of a level the Share button sends your result to friends.

Days in a row on which you finish the Daily Brew count as a streak. The brews of the last 6 days can be played from the map; they give a small reward the first time and do not break your streak.

The Master's Notebook has three tabs. Pages holds the notebook pages you win back from the regulars and the Master's sayings. Badges has 16 goals: 100 and 500 happy customers, 10 customers in a hurry, 10 double orders, every customer on a special day, each of the eight regulars, levels 25, 50 and 100, all levels of one place with 3 stars, a 7-day Daily Brew streak and 30 brews, 3 stars without help, and every glass in the shop. Badges you have not won yet show a progress bar.

In Tea Culture a card unlocks at the end of each place: the tea stand, tea on the ferry, the samovar, the move from coffee to tea, the tulip glass, the double teapot and the brew, Rize tea, and the tea culture added to UNESCO's list in 2022.