Gear Puzzle: Mesh & Spin

Place gears so rotation reaches the goal. They behave like real gears: smaller spins faster, neighbours turn the opposite way. 60 stages, no timers, offline and free.

Gear Puzzle is a logic puzzle about placing gears on a board so rotation travels from the power source all the way to the goal. There is really only one rule: gears must actually mesh. Get it right and the whole board springs to life, carrying the power to its destination. No arithmetic, no need for fast fingers — just watch the gears turn and think about your next piece.

WHAT MAKES IT SPECIAL 1: THE GEARS ARE REAL GEARS The gears here are not decorations or abstract symbols. Meshing is computed from real tooth counts and radii, and only gears that genuinely touch will receive rotation. Their tooth phases are even aligned so each tooth slots into the neighbouring gap, which makes a completed board look like the inside of a small machine. Place a gear slightly too far away and nothing happens at all — nothing ever moves just because it looks "close enough".

WHAT MAKES IT SPECIAL 2: TOOTH COUNT CHANGES SPEED, AND YOU CAN SEE IT Small gears spin quickly; large gears turn slowly. The ratio of their speeds is exactly the ratio of their teeth, so an 8-tooth gear meshed with a 24-tooth gear spins precisely three times as fast. No explanation required — place the pieces, watch them turn, and the relationship becomes obvious. Later stages ask you to drive the goal at twice the speed of the power source, making your choice of tooth counts a puzzle of its own.

WHAT MAKES IT SPECIAL 3: NEIGHBOURING GEARS ALWAYS TURN THE OPPOSITE WAY Any two meshed gears rotate in opposite directions. It sounds obvious until you build a long chain and find your goal spinning counter-clockwise when the stage demands clockwise — because your chain has an even number of gears instead of an odd one. On direction stages, spotting that is the entire solution.

60 STAGES ACROSS 4 CHAPTERS Chapter 1 starts with simply connecting a gear to the peg next door. Chapter 2 introduces the direction of rotation, Chapter 3 brings in speed ratios, and Chapter 4 combines both. Difficulty never spikes out of nowhere: what you noticed last time carries straight into the next stage. If you get stuck, a hint shows one correct placement so you can keep moving.

CHASING THREE STARS Every stage has three stars: one for clearing it, one for solving it without a hint, and one for using no more gears than the intended solution. Even a cleared stage is worth revisiting. Stars and progress save automatically.

HOW TO PLAY

1. Choose the tooth count you want from the tray.
2. Tap an empty peg on the board to place a gear there.
3. Tap a placed gear again to remove it. Rearrange as often as you like.
4. Clear the stage when rotation reaches the goal and any direction and speed conditions are met. If a gear refuses to turn, check the spacing. Two gears only mesh when their combined radius matches the distance between their pegs.

WHO IT'S FOR

• Anyone who enjoys a puzzle they can sit and think about
• Players who would rather not be rushed by timers or reflex tests
• People drawn to machines, mechanisms, and how things work
• Anyone tired of games buried in ads and paywalls

NO ACCOUNT, NO WORRIES No internet connection is needed at any point. Play in airplane mode or far from any signal and it works exactly the same. Your progress and settings live only on your device and are never sent to a server. No account, no login — you can start playing the moment it finishes downloading. Gear Puzzle is free to play, and ads are shown to help fund its ongoing development.

FAQ Q. Do I need an internet connection? A. No. Every feature works offline. Q. Is there a time limit? A. There is none. Take as long as you like. Q. Where is my data stored? A. Progress and stars are saved only on your device. Q. Can I play in landscape? A. It is optimised for portrait, comfortable in one hand.

There is a particular pleasure in the moment when the last gear clicks into place and a still board suddenly turns as one. We hope you enjoy finding it.