Buttress: Physics Puzzle

Draw the props and let go. A physics puzzle about balance, not about moving.

Buttress is a physics puzzle you play with a pencil. Something is leaning out
over its own edge and is about to go. You draw the props, you let go, and the
simulation decides.

Early boards give you one line. Later ones put five structures on the screen at
once and give you five - and every one of them is needed, because a board that
still stands with a prop left out is not allowed to exist.

The ink is the other half. There is never enough to build a floor under
everything, so the question is where each line does the most work - and that is
almost never under the part that looks heaviest.

HOW TO PLAY
- Drag to draw a prop
- It has to start on the ground, or against something already solid
- The line stops dead when the ink runs out, so you can never overspend
- When the last prop is down, the world runs
- It held, or it came down and you draw again

WHY IT FALLS WHERE IT DOES
A tower stands while its weight sits over its base, and tips the moment the
weight hangs past the edge. Every structure here is built past that edge on
purpose, which is why doing nothing always fails. A prop planted under the
middle of the load usually fails too - it has to be planted past where the
weight actually goes, and finding that spot by eye is the skill the game
teaches.

THREE TRIES
Each board gives you three. Run out and the run ends - but nothing is lost: you
can put the three back, or take a skip if a board has beaten you more than once.

WHAT YOU GET
- Levels that never run out, each one generated and proved before you see it
- One prop on the early boards, up to five later, with the count climbing as you
go
- Structures that lean both ways, so the answer is never a habit
- A difficulty cadence you can feel: every 5th level is HARD, every 10th SUPER
HARD, every 50th a DANGEROUS boss board
- Ink budgets from generous down to barely a tenth of spare on the tight ones
- Three free hints, each one drawing every prop the board was built around
- A daily challenge: one board, the same for everyone, every day
- Fourteen colour sets and twelve board designs to unlock
- A level map, to go back for the ones you got the long way round

EVERY BOARD IS BUILT FROM AN ANSWER
Levels are not scattered and hoped for. Each is built around props that hold,
then simulated before it ships: with all of them, which has to stand; with
nothing drawn, which has to fall; and once per prop with that one left out,
which also has to fall. That last check is what makes the number on
screen honest. A board that stood without one of its lines would be asking you
to draw something for nothing.

NO UNDO, AND THAT IS NOT AN OMISSION
A prop you have drawn is a prop you have spent ink on. Taking it back would make
the budget a suggestion, and the budget is the puzzle.

NOTHING MOVES UNTIL YOU LET GO
No timer, no move limit. The board is still for as long as you want to think.

PLAYS ANYWHERE, ONLINE OR OFF
Works offline with no wifi. Small download. No account, no sign-up, no personal
details asked for. Your progress stays on your own device.

QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK
Does it work offline? Yes, every level, with no connection at all.
Do I need an account? No. There is no sign-up and nothing to log in to.
Is there a timer? No timer and no move limit - only three tries per board.
What if I run out of tries? Start the board again, put them back, or skip it.
How many lines do I get? One at first, up to five later. The count is shown at
the top, and every one of them is needed.
How do I get three stars? Hold it on the first try with at least a fifth of your
ink still unused.
Is it free? Yes, supported by ads, and there is nothing to buy.

Buttress is free and supported by ads. You can watch an ad by choice to earn
more hints or to put your tries back, and coins you earn by playing unlock the
colours and the boards themselves. There is nothing to buy.