How to play Marble Valve

A visual guide · Route your first marble

Your goal

Send each marble to its matching drain.

Watch the next marble roll down the middle. Set the valve left for a blue B marble or right for a red R marble before it reaches the center. Keep your three hearts for the full minute and see how high you can score.

01Set the valve before the marble crosses

Your first blue marble

Schematic teaching example. The blue B marble is still approaching on the left panel. Set the valve left before it reaches the center. When it crosses, the route locks and the matching blue drain scores 100 points.

On a keyboard, focus the board and press Left or Right. With a mouse or finger, choose a side of the board, drag across it, or use the large Left and Right buttons below. The arrow on the valve and the highlighted button show its current setting.

02Flip when the next color changes

A red marble needs the right drain

Schematic teaching example. Read the incoming R label, then set the valve right. The red marble scores 100 points when it crosses into the red drain. Flipping after a marble crosses only affects later marbles.

The valve keeps its setting until you change it. Marbles arrive faster later in the minute, and some come close together, so watch the next label as well as the marble nearest the valve.

03Read the symbols and protect your hearts

What each marble means

B · BlueSend left

R · RedSend right

Gold starEither side · +200

The letters, position and words repeat the color cue. The gold star can go to either drain and scores 200 points without changing your streak.

A wrong route costs one heart

Schematic teaching example. A red R marble sent left to the blue drain scores zero, reduces three hearts to two, and resets the streak to zero.

There is no penalty for changing the gate early or repeating the same direction. If you make a mistake, read the next incoming label and start a new streak.

04Build a streak and finish the minute

Each correct blue or red marble scores 100 points times your current multiplier. The first five correct routes score ×1, the next five score ×2, then ×3, up to ×4.
A gold star scores 200 points on either side. It leaves your streak as it is. A wrong route scores nothing, costs one heart, and puts the multiplier back at ×1.
Your run ends when the 60-second timer reaches zero or your third heart is lost. The final screen shows your score and lets you choose Play Again or Menu.

Play Marble Valve