⚙️ Ratchet Escapement

⚙️ The Mechanism

A ratchet wheel has teeth numbered around its edge. Pawls are metal catches that sit at fixed positions. When a pawl is DOWN (engaged), it blocks the wheel from turning backward (counter-clockwise) past it.

🎮 Controls

Click ⟳ button (or dial top-right): Advance wheel 1 tooth clockwise. Always works.

Click ⟲ button: Retract wheel 1 tooth CCW. Blocked if a pawl at current position is DOWN.

Click a pawl (triangular catches): Toggle it UP/DOWN. Only the pawl at the wheel's current position can be toggled — others are out of reach.

🎯 Goal

Rotate the wheel so the green goal marker aligns with the gold pointer at top.

💡 Strategy

Engaged pawls are one-way gates. You can always advance (CW), but retracting (CCW) past a DOWN pawl is impossible. Toggle pawls at your current position to unlock reverse paths. Each level has exactly ONE optimal solution.

⭐ Stars

⭐⭐⭐ = solved at par · ⭐⭐ = under 1.5× par · ⭐ = solved