Pocket Workshop

Turn the mirrors. Route the light.

A small workshop of beam puzzles. Swing each mirror on its brass turntable until the lamp’s light passes the numbered lenses in order and lands in the sensor. No timer to beat, no lives to lose.

Play today’s boardStart with the tutorial

Today's board in its starting arrangement
Brass hinge, today’s daily4×4 · 3 mirrors

The workbench

39 boards in four benches, from a single mirror to twelve. Everything is open: the highlight only suggests where to go next.

  1. TutorialsThree short lessons: one mirror, bolts and blocks, lenses in order.3 boards
  2. 4×4 benchSmall mats with three to six turntables.12 boards
  3. 5×5 benchLonger routes, more lenses, five to eight turntables.12 boards
  4. 6×6 benchBusy mats with up to twelve turntables.12 boards

Three things to know

Each tutorial teaches one rule in a minute or less.

One mirror: a 3 by 3 mat with 1 turntable mirror and no numbered lenses, in its starting arrangementOne mirrorTap the mirror to turn it. The beam bends off the glass and must end in the sensor. Bolts and blocks: a 4 by 4 mat with 2 turntable mirrors and no numbered lenses, in its starting arrangementBolts and blocksBolted mirrors never move, and wooden blocks stop the beam. Only the round turntables turn. Lenses in order: a 4 by 4 mat with 3 turntable mirrors and 2 numbered lenses, in its starting arrangementLenses in orderLight the numbered lenses one after another, 1 first, then reach the sensor. A lens lit out of turn breaks the route.

Questions

Is Pocket Workshop free?

Yes. Every board, the tutorials and the daily are free, with no account, no sign-up and no ads.

How do the mirrors work?

Each round turntable holds a mirror that leans one of two ways, / or \. Tap it, or focus it and press Enter or Space, to turn it a quarter turn. A / mirror sends a beam travelling east up to the north, and a \ mirror sends it down to the south. Bolted mirrors on square plates never move.

What are the numbered lenses?

Lenses are glass checkpoints. The beam passes straight through them, but it must light lens 1 first, then lens 2, and so on, each exactly once, before it reaches the sensor.

Does every board have exactly one solution?

Yes. Before a board is published, a checking program tries every possible arrangement of its turntables, up to 4,096 for the biggest boards. Exactly one arrangement lights every lens in order and lands the beam in the sensor, and every turntable on the board is part of it.

What does “Reveal one mirror” do?

It takes one turntable that is set wrong, turns it to the way it sits in the solution and locks it. It is a reveal from the answer, not a step of reasoning, and the result screen counts it. The board is only solved when the whole route works.

Is there a new puzzle every day?

Yes. The daily board changes at midnight UTC and is the same for everyone. Daily boards are picked from the same collection as the campaign, so you may meet one you have already solved. Solve the daily on its day to build a streak; you get two extra hours after midnight to finish one you started on the day.

Does it work on a phone or offline?

Yes. The boards fit a phone screen and every turntable is a large tap target. After your first visit the site keeps working without a connection, and you can add it to your home screen.