How to play Ebru: rules, tools and tips

How do you play Ebru?

1. Study the target pattern at the top left. Press and hold the target card to see it large over the tray.
2. Pick a paint and tap one of the dashed circles in the tray: the paint drops there.
3. If needed, pick a tool and pull the paint.
4. The dots under the level name show how many moves you make. When they are used up, tap Print.
5. Your print is compared with the target and you get stars based on the similarity percentage.

Every level is solved in exactly as many moves as there are dots. You cannot make more, so every move counts.

Why does the order of drops matter so much?

Each new drop pushes the paint beneath it outwards. So when drops fall on the same point, the first drop ends up outermost and the last one innermost.

For example, if the target has a navy ring outside and a red one inside, you drop navy first and red second. In the opposite order the colours swap places. The same goes for strokes: a drop that falls after a stroke pushes the pulled pattern and changes its shape.

Thinking backwards helps a lot: the colour on top and in the very centre is most likely the last move.

The tools: stylus, comb and swirl

• Drop: Pick a paint and tap a dashed circle. The points where paint can fall are marked in every level.
• Stylus: A thin rod. Drag your finger along one of the dashed lines; the paint flows the way you pull. You can pull right, left, up or down, and the direction changes the result.
• Comb: Pulls the whole tray at once. The direction you drag is the direction of the comb; every paint in the tray slides together.
• Swirl: Tap a marked point. The water turns clockwise around it and the paint becomes a spiral. This is the basis of the nightingale's nest pattern in real marbling.

Each tool comes with a short introduction in the region where it first appears. Small marks on the paint buttons (dot, line, triangle, plus, wave, diamond) make the colours easier to tell apart.

How are stars given?

When you press the paper, your print is compared with the target and you get a similarity percentage:

The next level opens once you get at least 1 star in this one. The first time you get 3 stars in a level you earn 1 hint. You can replay any level as often as you like to raise your stars.

Regions and levels

The game has 6 regions with 10 levels each, 60 levels in total, and 180 stars to earn. A region opens when your total stars are high enough:

The region names come from real marbling styles. At the start and end of each region a chapter of the story from Master Nakşe's workshop opens; you can reread unlocked chapters in the Story tab of the menu.

Undo, restart and hints

• Undo: Removes your last move. You have 3 undos per level; when they run out you can watch a short ad for 2 more if you want.
• Restart: Clears the tray. There is no limit.
• Hint: Shows the next correct move: which paint or tool to pick and where to tap in the tray. You start with 3 hints; when they run out an optional short ad gives you 1 more.

If one of your moves is wrong, the hint first highlights the undo button and only shows a new move once you are back on track. In the first levels hints appear by themselves.

Daily Tray and Free Tray

The Daily Tray is the same pattern for everyone each day. It takes 5 moves and all tools are available. The game counts how many days in a row you solve it; one visit a day keeps your streak going.

The Free Tray has no target. All 6 paints and all tools are open, and you drop paint anywhere you like. The longer you hold your finger down, the bigger the drop. The stylus can pass anywhere. You can make up to 24 moves and undo as much as you like. When you press the paper, your work is saved in your Book, where you can share it as a picture or delete it.

The Book also keeps the patterns of the levels you have finished. Your score on the leaderboard is the total of all stars you have earned in levels and in the Daily Tray.

Tips for Ebru

• Count the colours first. How many rings and which colours does the target have? Working out the drops solves most of the moves.
• Look at the direction of the pull. A heart with its tips pointing right shows the paint was pulled to the right.
• Comb and stylus are different. The stylus moves one lane, the comb moves the whole tray.
• A spiral means a swirl. The centre of the spiral is where the swirl was tapped.
• A drop after a stroke breaks the pulled pattern. If you see a drop that is still round in the target, it most likely fell after the stroke.
• Project the target onto the tray. Hold the target card and compare it with your own pattern.

Common mistakes

• Dropping paint in reverse order: on the same point the first drop stays outside and the last one inside.
• Pulling the stylus the wrong way: pulling right or left gives opposite patterns even on the same lane.
• Forgetting that the comb pulls the whole tray: it slides every drop that has already fallen.
• Not counting the move dots: the solution is exactly that many moves, and an extra drop spoils the pattern.
• Pulling too early: if drops still have to fall after the stroke, think about where they go first.
• Expecting an exact copy: 97% is enough for 3 stars; tiny differences do not matter.