Berth Bell

Berth Bell is an English, family-friendly puzzle for iPhone. You are the night clerk. Boats come in to the quay, and you put each one in a slip.

You can drag a boat into a slip, or tap a boat and then tap a slip. A boat shows its draft with lights on the hull: one, two, or three. A slip only accepts a boat whose draft is no deeper than the water. Quiet slips take only a draft of 1. Twin slips may stay empty, but if both are filled, the two boats must wear the same sail. You finish a chart when every boat is docked and every occupied slip is legal. Empty slips are allowed. A matching sail on the post is a clean berth. Three stars means every occupied slip matches and you used no hint. Two stars means the boats are docked with no hint, but a mark is off. One star means a hint was used.

The sails are the marks you match: a circle, a square, or a triangle. The hull changes with the draft. A shallow boat may be a small dinghy, a lateen, or a single square sail. A deeper boat may be a fishing boat with a cabin, a junk, a sloop, a two-masted square-rigger, or a schooner.

Ways to play

Campaign. Sixteen charts in four nights: Lantern Quay, Glass Tide, Cedar Reach, and North Bell. Charts open in order.

Daily Bell. One chart from the date on this device. A streak builds when you keep the days.

Night Ledger. The same boats return across four charts. The water drops by one on each later chart, and never below one.

Quay Sort. The boats are already tied up, and at least one slip is illegal. Swap two slips until the quay is legal. Three stars means you stayed within the par number of swaps and used no hint.

Anchor Watch. More boats arrive than there are slips. Fill every slip with a legal set, and send the spare boats out to anchor.

Tide Rush. You have sixty seconds. Dock boats for points, and clear a full quay for a bonus. The water drops, and a hull that becomes too deep returns to the bay.

Convoy. The boats stay in line. Only the front boat can move. Dock it, and the next one comes forward.

Echo Watch. The plates light, then shut. Depth, the quiet moon, and the twin rings stay visible. Dock from what you remember. Lamp opens the plates once and holds that watch to one star.

Fresh Quay. Ask for a new chart whenever you want. The count of finished charts stays on this device.