Factory Balls Forever is a modern reimagining of one of the internet’s most memorable logic games. Created by Bart Bonte, it’s a remaster of the original Factory Balls built using HTML5 instead of Adobe Flash (allowing it to be played on any modern browser). It’s aimed at casual puzzle lovers of all ages, and very simple on the surface. It also has a strong nostalgic appeal, drawing in an audience of players that may have played the original. The goal of the game is to paint a ball to match the goal. However, it quickly gets quirky and complex, developing into a deeply satisfying trial-and-error challenge. It’s incredibly simple, and takes the approach of a ludologist. There’s no story, no characters, and no dialogue. Instead, the game is purely mechanical: you learn by experimenting and learning how the game works. You learn the nuances of buckets of paint, belts, hats, flowers, seeds, watering cans and other tools in order to solve increasingly complex puzzles. In this 25 level html5 appetizer of the full Factory Balls game (avaliable on app stores, steam, & more), you paint & cover to make wonderfully satisfying and complex creations a world that never says a word.
Factory Balls Forever is a great example Scott Kim’s definition of a puzzle: “a puzzle is fun, and it has a right answer.” Let’s first talk about the right answer. Each level has a single, correct target ball, which it literally shows the user. There may be multiple paths to get to the target ball, but there is still a very clear distinction for correctness: either the design matches or it doesn’t. This satisfied the second part of Kim’s definition. The user knows where to start, and where to end, leaving the player to figure out what to do in between.
The puzzles are also very fun. The player will reach a point where the puzzle they’re attempting is not too easy, and not too hard. The finite number of possibilities results in not too much maximum time spent on any puzzle. The game also allows the player to jump around, letting the player choose a difficulty appropriate for them. The game is also novel. At the time of release, the original Factory Balls was quite unique, with mechanical and other gameplay elements not often seen before. Each level is also novel, presenting different options and mechanics. Some puzzles have target balls of faces, other puzzles have more abstract patterns and the target, and other levels are even about watering flora.
The game is also very tricky. The game begins mechanically simple, initially starting with only additive colors and a simple mask (hat). Additional mechanics are introduced such as masks that have certain wearing orders (i.e. sunglasses -> ski goggles – > belt -> hat), requiring the user to remember which order is required in order to have all the masks active at once. Subtractive colors are added with the scraper, and multiple triangular masks are then introduced with the beanie. Multi-layer “colors” are introduced with the plants, where watering advances each plant type a different growth stage. This creates a mechanic of repeated “painting”, breaking the previously establish concept in which paints only need to be painted once.
One major difference between 40x Escape and Factory Balls Forever is the use of timing-based interactions. In 40x Escape, several levels rely on the player clicking at timed moments or visual cues. This introduces a different mechanic to add pressure and unpredictability. Unlike Factory Balls, where every action can be planned out and tested without consequence, 40x Escape forces the player to react (or not react) in real time. This can be exciting, but also frustrating, especially when the logic is correct but the timing is not. It shifts the focus of the game’s challenge away from pure reasoning and into coordination, which might not appeal to all puzzle players. Factory Balls avoids this, focusing instead on un-timed and iterative problem-solving. While 40x Escape’s variety keeps things fresh, its reliance on timing mechanics create a less whimsical nature.
Overall, the minimalist and mechanical nature of Factory Balls Forever creates an logical and sequential experience grounded in experimentation, iteration, and discovery, setting up an environment to optimize for fun and V-8 responses. Summing up the MDA, the mechanics (tooling & ordering of masks, scrapers, and paint buckets) lead to dynamics of trial-and-error and sequencing, ultimately leading to the aesthetics of challenge and discovery.
Let’s now take a look at Bob Bates’ Framework. I believe Factory Balls Forever best falls into the categories of a sequence puzzle, machinery puzzle, and trial-and-error puzzle.
As a sequence puzzle, each solution depends on the correct ordering of actions. For instance, applying a mask before a paint bucket will yield a different result than doing the same steps in reverse. Many puzzles require layering multiple tools in a precise order, and the game increases in difficulty by stacking more complex sequences on top of one another. Unlike some puzzles that allow for flexible paths, Factory Balls Forever rewards precision and planning.
Factory Balls also fits the structure of a machinery puzzle. The game presents each level as a kind of miniature production line. The player must determine how to operate a set of tools (paint buckets, masks, scrapers, and watering cans) to transform the starting ball into the target ball. These tools function as parts of a machine that the player must learn to control through repeated interactions.
Lastly, Factory Balls also has a strong trial-and-error nature. While Bates warns that this category often frustrates players when misused, Factory Balls Forever avoids this problem by making experimentation frictionless. Resetting is instantaneous, and incorrect attempts immediately show where the logic went wrong. This encourages learning through failure without punishing the player or breaking the pace. My interactions with the puzzle felt learned, and I didn’t need to resort to random guessing.
Although I was generally quite happy with the mechanics, the consistency of the reset mechanics could use some improvement. In certain levels there was a trash bin. Other levels had a paint scraper. Although without any masks, the result of the scraper and bin are the same, they mentally feel different. As the game gets more complex, I would love an undo button. I made many minor lapses in ordering that caused me to have to nearly restart, and an undo button for individual steps would reduce frustration and allow for finer control during late-stage experimentation.
Ethically, Factory Balls Forever does a good job keeping its knowledge requirements minimal and accessible. You don’t need to know any language, math, trivia, or culture-specific facts to solve the puzzles. All the information you need is visual and self-contained. That said, the game does assume a certain intuitive understanding of physical processes like layering, masking, and color mixing. For example, knowing that putting on a hat before painting will block the paint in that area, or that scraping removes the top layer of color. These aren’t academic concepts, but they are rooted in real-world logic and casual observation. While that might give a slight advantage to players who have used physical art materials or done crafts, it still feels like universal knowledge. These are things you would probably pick up from childhood, regardless of culture or background. The game’s fairness comes from staying within that kind of shared, common-sense space, which makes it feel inclusive without needing to simplify.
Factory Balls Forever is a really fun game that really enjoyed playing and completing. It was a very fun puzzle. Thanks for reading my critical play!
