Balance Box
Drop weighted shapes onto a beam to even the scale.
Designed and developed by Savvy Tech Sphere, LLC
About Balance Box
Balance Box is a daily five-scale balance-beam puzzle. Each scale shows a tilted beam, a tray of weighted pieces, and a target ("equal weight on both pans"). You drop pieces from the tray onto the left or right pan; the beam tilts in real time so you can see the balance shift. When the target is satisfied, the scale clears and the next one slides in.
A piece is preselected the moment the play screen opens, so the first 30 seconds reduces to: tap a pan to drop the active piece, watch the beam, tap the next piece, repeat. The instruction line above the beam describes the target in one short sentence; the live status line below the pans announces "Balanced", "Left heavier by N", or "Right heavier by N" so screen-reader users hear the same feedback sighted players see.
High score, current streak, and daily completion live in browser local storage on your device only. Nothing about your placements is sent off device beyond the standard derived telemetry numbers (score, mode, scales solved) every embedded game emits. v1 of Balance Box ships with every piece weight clearly visible; harder weight-inference puzzles are reserved for a future update.
How to Play
- Tap a piece in the tray to select it. The first piece is selected automatically when a scale opens.
- Tap "Drop on left pan" or "Drop on right pan" to place the active piece. The beam updates instantly. Tap "Return to tray" to take a piece back, or "Clear pans" to reset both pans.
- A scale clears when the live status line reads "Balanced". The next scale slides in automatically.
- Use the keyboard if you prefer: every tray slot, pan, and action is a real button reachable by Tab and activated with Enter or Space.
- Tap "Show hint" if you get stuck. Hints cost 25 points on the affected scale.
Tips & Tricks
- Read the weight chip on each tray piece. Every weight is visible in v1, so the puzzle is a small subset-sum problem rather than a guessing game.
- Place the heaviest piece first. It usually has the fewest legal positions and locking it in early simplifies the rest.
- Watch the live status line. It tells you exactly how far off you are, so a "Right heavier by 2" hint usually means you need a weight-2 piece on the left or you need to swap a side.
- "Clear pans" is free. Use it whenever your pan totals get tangled rather than tap "Return to tray" five times in a row.
Scoring
- Base solve: 100 points per scale solved.
- Move efficiency: up to 40 bonus points per scale, decaying linearly from 40 at the puzzle's minimum move count down to zero at twice that. Undos and pan returns each count as a move.
- Time bonus: up to 50 bonus points per scale, decaying linearly to zero across a 60 second window from your first placement on the scale.
- Hint penalty: 25 points off the scale where the hint was viewed.
- A walk-away (quit mid-run) scores zero on the unsolved scales and ends the run early; previously cleared scales keep their score.
Daily and practice
- Daily: a deterministic five-scale ladder picked by UTC date from an eight-template launch bank. Replaying the same daily does not extend your streak.
- Practice: a single random scale from the same launch bank. Use it to warm up; it does not affect the streak.
- Streak: only a fresh UTC daily ladder clear bumps the streak counter; quitting a daily mid-run resets the streak to zero.
Privacy
- Balance Box does not send any of your placements off device. Telemetry events carry only derived numbers (total score, mode, scales solved).
- The puzzle bank and item weights are bundled with the game and never carry personal data.
- Daily completion, current streak, and high score are stored in browser local storage on your device only. Clearing site data resets them.
Use cases*
- Daily logic break: five short scales fit comfortably in a coffee queue.
- Subset-sum warm-up: balancing weights builds a small habit of plan-before-place.
- Friendly competition: every player sees the same daily ladder, so scores compare cleanly.
- Mobile-friendly play: the beam, pans, and tray reflow to small screens and only need taps.
*Balance Box is an entertainment game and not a cognitive training tool. Use case suggestions are for casual play only.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I play Balance Box?
Drop weighted shapes onto a beam to even the scale.
Is Balance Box free to play?
Balance Box is free to play on STS Games in any modern web browser.
What kind of game is Balance Box?
Balance Box is a puzzle game designed for quick, replayable sessions.