Pfand

Pfand is a recycling puzzle game by George Lorenzetti. The name is the German word for the deposit on cans and bottles that you get back when you return them to the machine at the supermarket. In each level your goal is to push all the Pfand items into the Pfandstation. You do it by buying push mechanisms from a shop, placing them on the board and triggering them – while making sure you don't run out of money or get stuck.

The arrow keys activate every push mechanism on the board that faces the direction you pressed. When placing a mechanism, the arrow keys rotate it, left-click buys and places it, and right-click or Esc cancels. Esc pauses the game and holding R restarts the level.

Mechanisms cost cash, and every item you get into the Pfandstation pays back $1.50. That makes each level a small budget puzzle: spend too much on pushers and you can't finish, place them badly and items end up stuck where nothing can push them.

Plan the route of every item before you buy anything. Remember that one arrow press moves all pushers facing that way, so check what else will move before you press. Place the cheapest setup that works first, and if an item gets wedged in a corner, hold R and try again rather than spending more money.