Van Stacker
Drop the stolen loot off the crane and into the getaway van, then make it stay there. 30 physics levels, free in your browser.
Tap, click or press space to drop · land every piece in the van · perfect drops near the gold centre line earn stars · R restarts
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Get Match Heist — the full 3D car match puzzle from the same garage — free on iOS and Android.
How to play Van Stacker
Van Stacker is a free crane stacking physics game that runs in this page. A trolley glides along the girder at the top of the scene carrying one piece of loot at a time, and the crew's open-top pickup waits below. Tap, click or press space to let go. Get every piece in the queue into the van, have the pile come to rest, and the van drives off with Sir Wagsworth at the wheel.
The catch is that loot keeps the trolley's speed when you release it. Let go directly above the van while the trolley is moving and the piece sails past the spot you were aiming at. On the first three levels a dotted arc shows where the piece would land if you let go now, which is the quickest way to get a feel for the lead.
Anything that touches the road ends the level at once, with some noise. So does a pile that settles with a piece hanging off the van, or, on the low-bridge levels, a pile that pokes above the red clearance line. Those levels reward spreading the loot across the bed instead of stacking it. The “Up next” strip shows the whole queue, so you can plan where the awkward pieces should go before they arrive.
Stars come from perfect drops: a piece whose centre first lands close to the gold line down the middle of the van. One star for loading the van, and each level sets how many perfect drops earn the other two.
Tips
- Drop at the turn. The trolley slows to a stop at each end of its run. A piece released there falls almost straight down, so if the van sits under one end of the run, that is the easy drop.
- Build a floor first. Crates, safes and gold bars make a flat base. Rubber ducks bounce and fish bowls roll, so they want a wall or another piece to settle against.
- Time the swing, not the trolley. From level 12 the cable swings like a pendulum. The piece moves fastest at the bottom of its arc, so letting go near the end of a swing gives you the most control.
- Read the leaves. Wind levels blow leaves across the scene and a windsock shows the gusts. Wind only pushes loot in the air, so a quick, low drop gives it less time to drift.
- Let the springs settle. On the soft-suspension levels the bed bounces after every landing. Waiting a moment for it to calm down is often worth more than the time saved.
Van Stacker FAQ
Is Van Stacker free to play?
Yes. Van Stacker is free in your browser with no download, no install and no signup. Open the page and start dropping loot.
How do I play Van Stacker?
A crane trolley carries each piece of loot back and forth above an open-top van. Tap the game, click it or press the space bar to let go. Every piece has to land in the van and stay there; if anything touches the road, the level is over and you try again.
How do stars work?
A drop is perfect when the piece first lands with its centre close to the gold centre line on the van's back wall. Finishing a level earns one star, and each level sets how many perfect drops earn the second and third. The win card tells you how many the third star needs.
Why does the loot miss when I drop it right over the van?
Because it keeps the trolley's speed when you let go. A piece released while the trolley is moving travels forward as it falls, so drop it a little before it reaches the spot you want. Letting go at the end of a pass, where the trolley slows down to turn, gives the straightest fall.
How many levels are there?
30 hand-built levels. They start with a wide, flat van and add one complication every few levels: narrower beds, bouncy and round loot, a faster trolley, a swinging cable, wind, a van parked on a hill, soft suspension and a low bridge that the pile has to fit under.
Is every level possible?
Yes. Before release, a script plays all 30 levels using the same physics code as the game and checks that each one can be loaded completely and with enough perfect drops for three stars.
Does my progress save?
Yes. Unlocked levels and your best stars are stored in your browser, so you can close the tab and carry on later. Progress is per browser and per device, so clearing your browser data resets it.
Does Van Stacker work on phones?
Yes. It runs in modern browsers on phones, tablets and desktops, and it is built to be played one-handed: a tap anywhere on the scene drops the piece. On a computer you can use the space bar, and R restarts the level.
Is there a mobile app?
Van Stacker itself is a browser game. It comes from Brightpoint Studios, the makers of Match Heist, our 3D car match puzzle for iOS and Android, which has the same crew and a lot more levels.
More free games
The other physics games: Vault Smash is a cannon game where you knock loot off its plinths with tennis balls, Loot Drop has you cut ropes so a diamond lands in the getaway van, Smash & Grab is the 3D one where a tap throws a ball, and Bath Time has you dig a path for water to reach the tub. All of them are on the physics games page.
If you would rather sort traffic than stack it, Car Parking asks you to slide parked cars aside and drive the gold one out, and Getaway Garage moves the whole yard with every swipe. Car Match clears cars three of a colour at a time, and Travel Tiles is our untimed triple-match tile game. For more of the same in other places, we compared free car puzzle games you can play online.