Factory Balls Forever Game

Factory Balls Forever is a browser puzzle game by Belgian developer Bart Bonte, part of the long-running Factory Balls series that began as a small Flash game in 2007. Each level gives you an order card showing a fully decorated ball and a plain white one to work with — the job is to reproduce the picture exactly using whatever paints and tools sit on the workbench.

The challenge is entirely in the sequencing. Painting a ball a second color doesn't mix with the first — it replaces whatever paint is currently exposed — so the order you apply hats, belts, and paint pots determines the final pattern. This free browser edition packs 25 levels that start simple and build into puzzles that take real trial and error to work out. Bonte later expanded the series into a 200+ level release for Steam and mobile, but this version stands on its own.

Controls

Everything is done with the mouse. Click and drag the ball onto a paint pot to dip it, onto a hat, mask, or belt to cover part of it before painting, onto a scraper to strip paint or plants back off, and onto the watering can to grow flowers or grass in stages. Drop the ball on the recycle bin at any point to reset it to plain white.

Tips

• Work from the base layer outward: apply the obstructions you need before you paint, since anything covered stays untouched.
• Remember that a new coat of paint replaces the old one rather than mixing with it — plan your paint order around that.
• Use the recycle bin freely. There's no penalty for starting a ball over, so testing an idea costs nothing.
• When a level includes the watering can, work out how many passes a plant needs to reach its final stage before you finish painting around it.

There's no clock and no penalty for restarting, so it rewards patience over speed — a good fit for players who like working out a plan before touching anything, then watching it play out exactly as intended.