Detangle: Untangle Rope Puzzle

MJ Foundry

About this game

Detangle is a relaxing 3D rope puzzle: untangle a pile of rope and untie real knots, one pull at a time. Hundreds of levels, no ads, no in-app purchases, no timer, and it plays fully offline.

A pile of rope lies tangled in a walnut tray: crossed, woven over and under, looped round pegs and tied in knots. Untangle it with your fingers, rope by rope, until the tray is empty. Each pile is a small logic puzzle you solve with your hands.

Every rope moves like real rope. Pull an end and the rest follows, dragging against the wood and against the ropes lying on it. It bends, slides and settles where you leave it. A rope with nothing on top of it and no knot in it is free: pick it up and toss it out of the tray. Sometimes that frees the next one too, and the tangle comes apart in a satisfying chain.

HOW TO PLAY • Pull a rope with one finger, or hold one rope still and pull another with a second finger • Work out which rope lies on top and in what order the pile comes apart • Draw a tail back out from under the ropes that hold it down • Open a knot and pull the end back through to untie it • Lift every free rope out of the tray to clear the level • Tilt your phone and the pile slides like rope on a tray; a small shake loosens it (tilt can be switched off)

KNOTS TO UNTIE The knots are tied in the rope itself: overhand knots, figure-eight knots and tighter, more twisted knots, some pulled snug, some loose. Ropes are threaded through other ropes' knots, one rope can hold two knots, and pegs hold ropes wound round them. A loop on its own is not a knot, so a rope with only loops in it can always be lifted away.

HUNDREDS OF LEVELS, FROM EASY TO HARD The game starts gently with two ropes and teaches one new idea at a time: weaving, the first knot, pegs, the figure-eight, threading. Then the piles grow, with more rope, more knots and longer chains of ropes holding each other down. Difficulty rises slowly, with a lighter level every few levels to breathe. From level 70, every tenth level is a big pile of seven to nine ropes, a real brain teaser when you want a challenge. Every level has been played through, so there is always a way out. After level 300 the piles come back mirrored and in new colours, so you can keep untangling.

A HINT WHEN YOU NEED ONE Stuck? Tap the bulb and a ghost finger shows you a good pull: which rope to take, and which way to draw it. Tap a rope that won't lift and the ropes lying on it answer with a soft knock. You can also open the level list and skip ahead a couple of levels.

RELAXING, NO TIMER Detangle is a quiet game. There is no timer, no move limit and no score to chase. Soft piano plays in the background, and the sounds are rope on wood: fibres rustling as a rope slides, a knock as it lands, a low chime when a rope comes free. Sound and music can be switched off. It is a moment of focus and a tactile way to switch off, on the bus, the sofa or before sleep.

ROPE THAT LOOKS LIKE ROPE Three-strand laid rope in a dozen colours, some with a contrasting tracer strand like climbing rope, casting soft shadows on a warm walnut tray. The light shifts as you tilt your phone.

FEATURES • 3D rope physics: bend, slide, friction and weight • Overhand, figure-eight and tighter knots to untie • 300 levels with a gentle difficulty curve and big extra-hard piles • Ropes woven over and under, threaded through knots and wound round pegs • Tilt and shake controls • Hints that show a good pull without words • Calm piano music and natural rope sounds • Plays fully offline, no internet needed • Free: no ads, no account, no in-app purchases, no data collected • Progress saved on your device • For phones and tablets, in English and Swedish.

Detangle is for anyone who enjoys untangle games, knot puzzles, rope puzzles, brain teasers and relaxing logic games. If you like sorting out a tangled pile and the moment a knot finally comes loose, this is for you.

Made by MJ Foundry, a small studio making calm and thoughtful games.

What’s new

Initial release of Detangle.