How to Play Lost & Found: Sorting Tips for Every Level
Lost & Found starts gently: a slow conveyor belt, two bins, a house key and a phone. By the last level you are sorting thirty items with five bins, red evidence stickers and bins that change places while you work. This guide explains exactly how the game works and how to get three stars on every level, including the tricky ones.
The basics in one minute
Found items appear on the left of the belt and travel to the right. The item furthest along is circled in yellow, and that is the only item you can sort. Tap the bin it belongs in, or press the number key for that bin, and it jumps off the belt. If an item reaches the end of the belt it drops down the chute and counts as a mistake. So does an item put in the wrong bin. Three mistakes end the level.
Each item takes a little over four seconds to cross the whole belt. That sounds like plenty, but on the later levels a new item arrives roughly every second, so there are several items on the belt at once and you need to keep up a steady rhythm.
Know the five categories
There are fifteen different items, three for each category. Every bin shows small pictures of its three items, so you can always check, but learning them by heart makes you much faster.
- Keys: house key, key ring, car key. The car key is the black fob with buttons.
- Gadgets: phone, headphones, watch.
- Bags: backpack, handbag, wallet. The wallet counts as a bag, not as money.
- Toys: teddy bear, ball, toy car.
- Clothes: cap, scarf, glove.
Two pairs cause the most early mistakes. The watch is a gadget even though you wear it, and the toy car belongs with the toys, not with the car key. Every item also has a small label on the belt, so if in doubt, read it.
The evidence rule
From level 5, some items arrive with a red EVIDENCE sticker. These always go in the red Evidence bin, whatever the item is. A key with a red sticker is evidence, not a key. This one rule overrides everything else, and it is where most players lose their first star.
The fix is to change the order in which you look. Instead of asking "what is it?", ask two questions in a row:
- Does it have a red sticker? If yes, Evidence. Done.
- If not, what is it? Then tap its category.
The sticker sits at an angle above the item, so it is easy to spot once you look for it first. About one item in five carries one on the evidence levels, and never one of the first two items of a level.
When the bins move
Levels 8, 10 and 12 add a twist: after a set number of items (every six items, or every seven on the last level), the bins shuffle into a new order. The counter wobbles and "The bins moved!" appears. The items on the belt keep moving while this happens.
- Don't rely on muscle memory right after a shuffle. Read the bin names once before your next tap.
- Keyboard players beware. The number keys always mean "first bin from the left", "second from the left" and so on. After a shuffle, key 2 may be a different bin than before.
- Count your items. The "Items left" counter above the game tells you when the next shuffle is coming, so you can be ready for it.
Speed and score
Stars only depend on mistakes, so a careful player can earn three stars without being lightning fast. The score rewards speed, though. Each correct item is worth 100 points, plus up to 40 more for sorting it early, when it is still near the left of the belt. A streak of correct items adds 5 points per item, up to 50. The fastest way to a high score is not to wait for items to reach the middle: as soon as a new item becomes the circled one, sort it.
Your best score and stars for each level are saved in your browser, so you can come back and improve a level later.
Level-by-level notes
- Levels 1–4: learn the items and the bin positions. The belt is slow and there is time to check the pictures on the bins.
- Level 5 (Evidence Day): practise the "sticker first" habit. It will matter on every later level with an Evidence bin.
- Level 6 (Winter Coats): five bins for the first time, and clothes appear. The glove and cap are easy to spot; the scarf is the striped L-shape.
- Level 7 (Rush Hour): no evidence, but the belt is fast. Keep a rhythm: look, tap, look, tap.
- Levels 8 and 10: moving bins. Slow down for one item after each shuffle.
- Levels 11 and 12: everything at once. If you make an early mistake, don't restart straight away; two mistakes still earn a star and unlock the next level.
Why sorting games are satisfying
Sorting is one of the simplest kinds of game there is, and that is part of the appeal. The rules fit in one sentence, every correct tap gives instant feedback, and a clean run feels like tidying a messy room in fast-forward. Games like this also make you practise quick category decisions, spotting a single important detail (the red sticker) among many, and adjusting when the rules change. That makes them a good fit for short breaks, which we wrote about in why short browser games are so much fun.
If you like fast decisions, try Traffic Stop next, where you judge speeding cars instead of lost umbrellas. And if you prefer a slower pace with more thinking, Dispatch Rush puts you in charge of the whole town's patrol cars. Have fun at the lost property desk, and don't let anything drop.