How to play Su Terazisi? Towers, aqueducts and akçe

The rule of water

• Water leaves the spring and flows downhill on its own. It can never rise above the spring.
• The dashed blue water line shows the highest point the water can reach at each place; it slowly drops along the way.
• As the pipe goes down into a valley, the water line stays far above it and the pressure builds up. If the pipe drops below the dashed red pipe limit, it bursts.
• Water can't climb to a place where its line is below the ground: the flow stops there.
• A fountain flows when the water arrives high enough for its spout. When every fountain flows, the level is done.

The water balance tower

A tower opens the water to the air: the water rises to the top of the tower and the pipe pressure resets there. A tower can only be so tall above the ground, so a tower on the slope down into a valley brings the water to a level that won't burst the pipe in the valley. The price: every tower loses a little height. Build too many and the water may not reach a distant fountain.

The aqueduct

The aqueduct arrives in the third chapter (Mağlova). It is a bridge over the valley: on top, the water flows in an open channel without pressure and loses no height. That's why very deep valleys that a tower can't handle need an aqueduct. An aqueduct can pass over streams and rocks, but not over village houses. The deeper the valley, the more expensive the aqueduct.

Obstacles and special fountains

• Village houses and rocks: no towers on them.
• Stream: runs along the valley floor; no towers in it, but an aqueduct can pass over it.
• Old pipe: the rust coloured section. It only takes low pressure, so the pipe limit rises there. Build a tower close to it to keep the pressure low.
• Palace fountain: it spouts high, so it needs more water height.

Controls

• Tap the ground: build a tower. Drag a tower: move it. Tap a tower: remove it.
• In levels with aqueducts, pick the tool with the Tower / Aqueduct switch at the top; an aqueduct is built, dragged and removed the same way.
• Open: release the water. Remove towers: clear everything. Hint: show the solution.
• The menu button opens the levels, the gear opens the settings (sound effects, music, language).
• On a phone, turn the screen sideways to place towers more easily.

Live preview and fountain gauge

While you build or drag, you see the result in advance. The pipe turns from blue to red with the pressure, and the flow dots show how far the water will go. If the pipe will burst or the water can't climb somewhere, a red mark appears there. Each fountain has a gauge above it: if the water passes the dark line, the fountain flows. The sign on top of the gauge shows a tick (flowing), a cross (not enough) or a dash (no water).

Akçe and stars

• Every structure has a cost: a tower is 30 akçe; an aqueduct costs 10 akçe plus a fifth of its tallest pillar (expensive over a deep valley).
• The top left of the screen shows what you have spent and the most you can spend for 3 stars.
• Solve within that limit for 3 stars, with a little more for 2 stars, more expensively for 1 star.
• The first level needs no tower: the water runs down to the fountain on its own.

Hint

The hint shows the cheapest solution with dashed outlines for 6 seconds. You choose how to open it: watch a short ad and you lose no stars, or open it without an ad and you can get at most 2 stars in that level.

Chapters and story

1. Belgrade Forest (1-6): towers, two fountains, village houses.
2. Eğrikapı (7-12): rocks, streams and old pipes.
3. Mağlova (13-18): aqueducts and palace fountains.
4. Istanbul (19-24): everything together; the last level is Istanbul.

The game starts with Mimar Sinan's words, and a short scene at the start of each chapter introduces the new element.

Common mistakes

• Building the tower too low on the slope: the pipe bursts before the water reaches the tower. Watch the red mark.
• Building more towers than needed: each tower loses height and the distant fountain stays dry.
• Building the tower at the bottom of the valley: if the water line is below the ground, the water can't get there.
• Building an aqueduct when one tower would do: the level is solved, but you spend too much akçe and lose stars.
• Forgetting that a palace fountain needs more height: an early tower drops the water too far.
• Building the tower after the old pipe: the pressure has to be lowered before it.