- Sort of Magic objective: Restore the magical school by returning scattered objects to their correct places.
- Main target: Organize more than 4,500 handcrafted books, potions, brooms, and ingredients.
- Progress structure: Work through six handcrafted rooms with different sorting challenges.
- Best approach: Learn each spell, divide the room into zones, and complete one object category at a time.
- Co-op option: Play solo or work online with up to three additional players.
Sort of Magic Objective Overview
The central Sort of Magic objective is straightforward: restore a magical school after a tiny cat accidentally scatters its contents across the building. The experience focuses on organization, exploration, and puzzle-like sorting rather than combat or timed challenges.
Your work involves identifying where each object belongs, carrying items through the school, and gradually returning rooms to their intended state. The game includes more than 4,500 handcrafted objects, so the most effective strategy is to organize by category instead of trying to solve the entire school at once.
The available objectives can be summarized as follows:
| Objective | What to Do | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Restore the school | Return misplaced objects to their correct locations | Highest |
| Sort book collections | Rebuild book series and place them correctly | High |
| Organize potions | Match colorful potions with their intended areas | High |
| Match ingredients | Group magical ingredients with the correct locations | Medium |
| Return brooms | Place brooms back on their racks | Medium |
| Find wands | Search the school for hidden magical wands | Optional exploration goal |
Sort Objects
Identify categories such as books, potions, ingredients, and brooms before moving items. Grouping similar objects reduces unnecessary trips.
Restore Rooms
Each of the six handcrafted rooms introduces fresh objects and new sorting challenges as the school gradually returns to normal.
Use Spells
Insight, Assemble, Homing Sense, and Auto Shelving provide different ways to locate, gather, and place objects more efficiently.
Treat each room as a series of small cleanup zones. Finish one category or shelf area before moving to the next, especially when playing solo.
The game is designed as a cozy organizing experience. There are no timers, combat encounters, or stated fail conditions, which means you can prioritize accuracy and exploration instead of rushing. This makes the objective accessible to new players while still leaving room for efficient routing and cooperative coordination.
Room Progression and Sorting Priorities
The school contains six handcrafted rooms, and each room introduces new objects and sorting problems. The available information does not assign official names or fixed completion times to these rooms, so the safest way to approach progression is to focus on the object types visible in each area.
Start by scanning the room before picking anything up. Look for shelves, racks, tables, containers, and other obvious destination points. Then establish a short route between the main object pile and its likely storage area.
| Sorting Category | Recommended First Action | Common Efficiency Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Books | Identify matching series and nearby shelving | Reduces repeated shelf searches |
| Potions | Group colors before carrying them | Makes visual matching easier |
| Ingredients | Collect similar materials together | Keeps scattered objects organized |
| Brooms | Locate the rack before transporting items | Prevents unnecessary movement |
| Wands | Search corners and less obvious areas | Supports exploration progress |
A clean room usually requires two kinds of progress:
- Visible cleanup, such as returning books, potions, brooms, and ingredients.
- Exploration progress, such as finding hidden magical wands and checking overlooked spaces.
The objective is not simply to remove objects from the floor. Items must be returned to the correct locations, so carrying capacity and route planning matter. When several categories are mixed together, separate them into temporary groups. For example, keep books near one wall, potions near another, and ingredients near a central staging area.
Do not place an item in the first open space you find. Confirm its category and destination first, or you may create extra work when reorganizing the room later.
In online co-op, divide responsibilities before beginning a large cleanup. One player can collect books, another can handle potions, and a third can search for wands or identify destinations. The fourth player can move between categories and handle objects that do not fit the current assignments.
| Play Style | Best Division of Work | Main Advantage |
|---|---|---|
| Solo | Complete one category at a time | Fewer items are left half-sorted |
| Two players | Split collection and placement | One player gathers while one places |
| Three players | Assign books, potions, and exploration | Categories stay visually separated |
| Four players | Use category roles plus a flexible runner | Covers large rooms quickly |
The game supports one to four players, including online co-op with up to three friends. Cooperation is most useful when the room contains several object types at once, but solo play remains practical because the game has no timers or fail states.
Spell Selection for Faster Objectives
Spells are the main tools for improving cleanup efficiency. Each spell supports a different part of the sorting process, so the best choice depends on whether you are searching, gathering, locating destinations, or placing a full load.
| Spell | Primary Function | Best Use |
|---|---|---|
| Insight | Reveals matching items on the ground | Finding related objects in a cluttered area |
| Assemble | Summons matching items | Gathering a known item group |
| Homing Sense | Reveals where an item belongs | Confirming the correct destination |
| Auto Shelving | Places everything you carry at once | Finishing a grouped transport run |
Use Insight when the floor is crowded and you know the category you want to complete. It is especially useful for locating matching items without manually inspecting every object.
Choose Assemble when several matching objects are scattered across the room. This supports a collection-focused approach and can reduce the time spent walking between isolated items.
Homing Sense is valuable when an item looks similar to several others or when a destination is not immediately obvious. Rather than guessing, use it to identify where the object belongs before committing to a route.
Auto Shelving works best after you have prepared a full load of related objects. It is most efficient when your carried items share a clear destination, allowing you to complete a placement action instead of handling every item individually.
Scan the Room
Identify the main object categories, visible storage points, and any unusual corners that may contain hidden wands.
Choose a Category
Select books, potions, ingredients, brooms, or another clearly grouped objective. Avoid mixing unrelated objects during the first pass.
Reveal or Gather Matches
Use Insight to locate matching items or Assemble to bring related objects together when the room is heavily cluttered.
Confirm Destinations
Use Homing Sense when an item's destination is unclear. This prevents incorrect placement and unnecessary backtracking.
Place the Group
Carry the prepared set to its destination and use Auto Shelving when the load is ready for a single placement action.
Use spells to remove uncertainty, not just to move faster. Confirming a destination before carrying several items can save more time than rushing into a wrong placement.
A balanced spell rotation is usually more useful than relying on one ability. Search with Insight, gather with Assemble, verify with Homing Sense, and finish a prepared delivery with Auto Shelving. This sequence matches the game’s core loop without turning the cozy cleanup into a race.
Step-by-Step Objective Walkthrough
The following walkthrough provides a reliable structure for approaching each room. It is designed to work whether you are playing alone or coordinating with an online group.
| Phase | Task | Completion Signal |
|---|---|---|
| Survey | Inspect the room and identify categories | You know what should be moved first |
| Group | Create temporary piles by object type | Similar items are no longer mixed |
| Locate | Find shelves, racks, tables, or other destinations | Each group has a likely endpoint |
| Transport | Move one category through a short route | Carrying trips remain focused |
| Verify | Check overlooked corners and hidden spaces | Wands and small objects are not missed |
| Restore | Repeat until the room is organized | The room visibly returns to normal |
Begin with the most visually obvious category. Books, potions, brooms, and ingredients have distinct appearances, so completing one group can make the remaining clutter easier to read. If a room has many small objects, start with the items that occupy the most space.
Next, establish a staging area. A staging area is a temporary location where you can place objects before their final delivery. It should be close enough to the relevant shelf or rack to reduce walking, but separate from other categories so that the room does not become mixed again.
When playing with friends, announce your category before moving objects. Clear role communication prevents two players from carrying the same item type while another category remains untouched. A flexible player can search for wands, verify destinations, and handle objects that do not fit the current assignments.
Assign categories instead of assigning random areas. Category-based roles are easier to track when several players are moving through the same room.
Use the room’s gradual restoration as a progress indicator. The goal is not merely to collect objects but to return the school to a functional, organized state. After completing a category, take a short visual check before beginning the next one. This catches misplaced items early and keeps the cleanup route consistent.
The same method can be repeated across all six rooms:
- Survey before interacting with objects.
- Separate categories into clear groups.
- Confirm destinations before long carries.
- Complete one delivery route at a time.
- Search corners and less obvious spaces for wands.
- Review the room before moving onward.
Completion Checklist and FAQ
Use this checklist to track the major objectives without relying on a timer or fail-state system.
Room Completion Checklist:
- Survey the room and identify all visible object categories
- Sort books, potions, ingredients, and brooms into temporary groups
- Use the most suitable spell for searching, gathering, locating, or shelving
- Return each group to its correct destination
- Search the room for hidden magical wands before moving on
- Repeat the process across all six handcrafted rooms
The strongest completion routine is consistent rather than rushed. Sorting one category at a time keeps the environment readable, while spell selection reduces the amount of unnecessary searching. If you are playing with others, clear assignments make large rooms easier to manage.
Q: What is the main Sort of Magic objective?
The main objective is to restore a magical school by returning more than 4,500 scattered books, potions, brooms, ingredients, and other objects to their correct locations.
Q: How many rooms are included in the cleanup?
The game describes six handcrafted rooms, with each room introducing new objects and fresh sorting challenges.
Q: Which spell should I use when I cannot find an item's destination?
Use Homing Sense. It reveals where an item belongs and is more reliable than guessing between similar shelves, racks, or storage areas.
Q: Can I complete the objective with friends?
Yes. Sort of Magic supports solo play and online co-op for up to four players, allowing three friends to join the host.
For the smoothest progression, finish each room by category, use Homing Sense whenever placement is uncertain, and perform a final wand search before leaving.
The planned Steam release date is September 28, 2026. For current product details, features, and availability information, visit the official Sort of Magic Steam page.