# Sort puzzle game development: cost and scope
Source page: https://dfygames.com/guides/sort-puzzle-cost (published 2026-10-19, updated 2026-10-19) · Topic: Sort puzzle games
Cite as: DFY Games, "Sort puzzle game development: cost and scope", updated 2026-10-19, https://dfygames.com/guides/sort-puzzle-cost

**Quick answer:** A sort puzzle with one rule, one theme and up to 100 generated, QA-checked levels fits the DFY Games Core package at $499, or $1,299 with a 30-day launch campaign. Adding a second mechanic, chapters or daily challenges moves it to Advanced + Launch at $2,999. For comparison, studios quote $15,000 to $35,000 for a simple casual game and $80,000 to $250,000 for a puzzle game with light live operations.

- Best-fit package: Core Game · $499
- Content allowance: Up to 100 levels from one rule
- Build target: 10 business days after blueprint
- Studio range, simple casual: $15,000 to $35,000
- Ad spend and store fees: Paid separately by you

## What a sort puzzle costs at each scope

Sort puzzles are one of the cheapest genres to build well, because the whole game grows out of a single rule: move a piece onto a matching color, fill every container with one color, clear the board. The price depends on how many rules and systems sit around that loop, far more than on the number of levels.

| Scope | What you get | Price | Timing |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Core Game | One sorting rule, one visual theme, up to 100 levels where generation and QA allow, hints, rewarded ads and up to two IAPs, store kit | $499 | Submission-ready build targeted in 10 business days |
| Core Game + Launch | The same build plus 16 launch creatives and 30 days of campaign management | $1,299 plus your ad spend | Same build target; campaigns run 30 days from launch |
| Advanced Game + Launch | Two to four connected systems: extra puzzle mechanics, chapter worlds, daily challenge, layered boosters, deeper economy | $2,999 plus your ad spend | First playable in 10 business days, full build within 30 days |
| Custom quote | Realtime multiplayer, user-generated levels, licensed IP or an unusually large asset list | Quoted | Quoted |

The full package breakdown is on the [sort puzzle game page](https://dfygames.com/games/sort-puzzle), and the [pricing table](https://dfygames.com/#pricing) compares all three packages side by side.

## How that compares with typical studio quotes

Innovecs Games publishes 2026 ranges that are a fair picture of a conventional studio estimate: $15,000 to $35,000 for a simple casual game, $30,000 to $150,000 for a casual game with progression, and $80,000 to $250,000 for a puzzle game with light live operations. Its hourly rates run $62 to $150 in North America, $50 to $100 in Eastern Europe and $25 to $50 in Asia.

Those numbers describe a bigger job: a team that designs levels by hand, runs analytics-driven tuning and keeps shipping new content after launch. A fixed package is cheaper because it refuses most of that work. If you need the live version, budget for it from the start; if you need to find out whether a sort puzzle with your theme gets players at all, the fixed build answers that question for a fraction of the cost.

The same source notes that user acquisition often runs at 30% to 100% of the development budget. With a $499 build that ratio flips: your ad budget will probably be larger than the build, which is worth knowing before you plan a launch.

Sources: Innovecs Games, "How Much Does Mobile Game Development Cost in 2026?" https://innovecsgames.com/blog/mobile-game-development-cost/

## What the fixed-scope package covers and what a studio project adds

The two price ranges above buy different things. The DFY package is a fixed-scope build: one agreed game, finished and submitted, with a written list of what is in and out. A larger studio project usually starts where that list stops, with a bigger budget, a longer team commitment and work that continues after launch.

| Area | DFY fixed-scope package | Larger studio project |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Budget | $499 Core, $1,299 with launch, $2,999 Advanced + Launch | $15,000 to $35,000 for simple casual, $80,000 to $250,000 with light live ops |
| Game systems | One rule in Core; two to four connected systems in Advanced | As many as the plan and budget carry |
| Level content | Up to 100 generated, solver-checked levels from one rule | Hand-designed levels and a custom content pipeline with level editors and tools for a content team |
| Live operations | Not included; the game is complete at submission | Events, weekly level drops and analytics-driven tuning after launch |
| Backend | Local save in Core; accounts or leaderboards in Advanced where the architecture allows | Accounts, cloud save, remote config and live event servers |
| Commitment | A fixed price agreed before work starts | Time and materials or milestone billing over months |

Neither column is better in general. The package answers whether a theme and a rule find players; the studio project is the right budget when the plan already depends on live content. For the exact screen list, purchases and revision boundary inside the $499 build, see [what the $499 sort puzzle package includes](https://dfygames.com/guides/sort-puzzle-scope).

Sources: Innovecs Games, "How Much Does Mobile Game Development Cost in 2026?" https://innovecsgames.com/blog/mobile-game-development-cost/

## Worked example: one rule, 100 levels

Our example sort puzzle concept is a good template for what Core can carry. A jelly hops between jars; a jar is done when it holds one color; the last hop clears the board. The design brief for it states the constraint plainly: one rule, many levels, with generation and QA carrying the content load instead of new systems.

| Levels | Purpose | What changes | How it is checked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1-5 | Teach the rule without text | 2-3 colors, one spare jar, level 1 allows exactly one useful move | Built and played by hand; every move path checked |
| 6-25 | Build confidence | More colors, deeper jars, still one or two spare jars | Solver confirms each level is solvable; designer plays a sample |
| 26-60 | Main difficulty climb | More colors and jars, fewer spare jars, longer minimum solutions | Solver ranks by minimum moves; levels reordered so difficulty rises with small dips |
| 61-90 | Hard levels and hint use | Tightest spare-jar budgets, color layers buried deeper | Solver plus playtester notes on where hints get used |
| 91-100 | Finale and star goals | Long solutions with a three-star move target | Star thresholds set from solver move counts plus a margin |

The work in that plan is mostly tooling and checking. A generator produces candidate boards from a few parameters (colors, jars, spare jars, jar depth), a solver throws out anything unsolvable or trivial, and a person orders what is left into a curve. That is why 100 levels can fit a 10-business-day build for this genre and would not fit for, say, a platformer, where each level is hand-built geometry.

QA for a 100-level sort puzzle:
- [ ] Every level solvable from its starting state, confirmed by a solver
- [ ] No level solvable in fewer moves than the previous tutorial step teaches
- [ ] Hint always points at a move on a valid solution path
- [ ] Undo and restart never leave the board in an impossible state
- [ ] Colors also differ by shape or face, so color-blind players can read the board
- [ ] Star targets tested on a real phone as well as by the solver
- [ ] Progress saves locally after each level and survives an app restart

![World map with a winding candy path, numbered level nodes and lollipop trees](https://dfygames.com/media/games/jelly-jars/map.webp)

## Generated levels versus handcrafted systems

Buyers often assume 100 levels means 100 units of design work. For a sort puzzle it does not, as long as every level uses the same rule. The cost jumps when levels need things the generator cannot make: a frozen jar that thaws after three moves, a hidden layer, a locked lid that needs a key. Each of those is a new rule with its own art, tutorial, solver logic and QA, and it behaves like a new system for scoping purposes.

| Content approach | What the work is | Cost behaviour | Usual fit |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Generated from one rule | Generator, solver, difficulty ordering, spot playtesting | Mostly fixed; the 100th level costs little more than the 50th | Core |
| Generated plus special mechanics | Each blocker or modifier needs art, a tutorial level, solver support and its own QA | Rises per mechanic, and combinations multiply testing | Advanced |
| Handcrafted levels | A designer builds and tests each board for a specific feeling or story beat | Rises per level | Advanced for a bounded set; custom quote for large campaigns |
| Live level drops | New levels, events and tuning after launch | Ongoing monthly cost | Separate quote after launch |

## What pushes a sort puzzle past Core

- A second puzzle mechanic, such as blockers, mixed jar sizes or timed levels
- Several visual chapters, each with its own art set and map
- A daily challenge with its own calendar and rewards
- A layered booster economy with soft currency, bundles and offers
- Accounts, cloud save or leaderboards, which need a backend
- Licensed characters or music, which Core excludes

One or two of these usually lands in Advanced + Launch. If you are unsure which side your idea falls on, the guide to [what the $499 sort puzzle package includes](https://dfygames.com/guides/sort-puzzle-scope) walks through the exact screen list and the questions that decide it.

## Costs outside the build

| Item | Cost | Paid to |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Apple Developer Program | $99 per year | Apple |
| Google Play developer account | $25 one-time | Google |
| Store commission on IAP | 15% for small developers (Apple program up to $1M proceeds; Google on the first $1M a year) | Apple and Google |
| Ad spend for a launch campaign | Your budget | Meta, TikTok and other ad platforms |

Store review is controlled by Apple and Google, and new personal Google accounts must run a closed test before production. The [mobile game timeline guide](https://dfygames.com/guides/mobile-game-timeline) covers that wait in detail.

Sources: Apple Developer, "Enrollment" https://developer.apple.com/support/enrollment/; Google Play Console Help, "Get started with Play Console" https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/6112435?hl=en; Apple Developer, "App Store Small Business Program" https://developer.apple.com/app-store/small-business-program/; Google Play Console Help, "Service fees" https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/112622?hl=en

## When a fixed-price sort puzzle is the wrong choice

A fixed build fits when you want a polished, finished game to test a theme, an audience or a brand tie-in, and you are happy for it to be complete at 100 levels. It fits poorly when the business plan depends on weekly level drops, events and tuning from day one. That is a live-operations product, and the studio range above is the honest number for it.

> A sensible middle path: Ship the one-rule version, watch where players stop and which hints they use, then decide whether the second mechanic or the live calendar is worth paying for. The project files transfer to you after full payment, so a later team can extend the same code.

## FAQ

**How much does it cost to make a sort puzzle game?**
With DFY Games, a one-rule sort puzzle costs $499 for the build or $1,299 with a 30-day launch campaign. Typical studio quotes for a simple casual game run $15,000 to $35,000.

**Are 100 levels really included at $499?**
Up to 100 levels are included where generation and QA allow, which works for a sort puzzle because every level uses the same rule. Handcrafted levels or new mechanics are scoped separately.

**What makes a sort puzzle more expensive?**
Extra rules cost more than extra levels. Blockers, chapters, daily challenges, accounts and a booster economy each add a system and usually move the build to Advanced.

**Is ad spend included in the $1,299 package?**
No. The package includes 16 creatives and 30 days of campaign management; you pay ad platforms directly from your own accounts.

**Can I add more levels after launch?**
Yes. You own the game files after full payment, so DFY or another developer can add levels later under a separate quote.

## Related
- Service page: [Sort Puzzle Game development](https://dfygames.com/games/sort-puzzle)
- [What a $499 sort puzzle includes](https://dfygames.com/guides/sort-puzzle-scope)
- [Mobile game development cost in 2026](https://dfygames.com/guides/mobile-game-development-cost)

## Sources
- Innovecs Games, "How Much Does Mobile Game Development Cost in 2026?" https://innovecsgames.com/blog/mobile-game-development-cost/
- Apple Developer, "Enrollment" https://developer.apple.com/support/enrollment/
- Google Play Console Help, "Get started with Play Console" https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/6112435?hl=en
- Apple Developer, "App Store Small Business Program" https://developer.apple.com/app-store/small-business-program/
- Google Play Console Help, "Service fees" https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/112622?hl=en

---
DFY Games (Done For You Games), https://dfygames.com. More guides: https://dfygames.com/guides · Index for AI assistants: https://dfygames.com/llms.txt