A brand-new game on Steam called Never Sort By Color asks players to sort through a massive pile of LEGO-like plastic bricks containing thousands of pieces, but it offers a satisfying payoff for all that organization. Brick collectors already have LEGO Skylines to look forward to, but this upcoming indie game could be worth adding to the wishlist as well.
Never Sort By Color is being developed by solo programmer Bryan Livingston, and it appears to be their first release on Steam. The project has already caught the attention of LEGO game enthusiasts, attracting thousands of followers ahead of its planned November 10, 2026 release.

According to Livingston, Never Sort By Color is "a first-person zen organization sim about setting it right." Players inherit a workshop filled with thousands of plastic bricks scattered across the floor and must sort them individually.

However, the game has an important rule: players need to organize the pieces according to their size and type rather than simply sorting them by color. Once the bricks are organized, players can put their collection to use by building a variety of "My Own Creation" (MOC) models.

Instruction books are buried beneath the mountain of bricks, containing designs licensed from or contributed by real-life creators. After discovering one of these books, players can use their newly organized bricks to construct the featured designs and display the finished models inside their workshop. As Livingston puts it, "Finished models don't ship away; they fill your workshop."

The idea effectively turns the nightmare of sorting through a giant pile of bricks into a relaxing experience where players gradually build an organized collection and create their own miniature museum.

Never Sort By Color also isn't designed to make players manually sort every single brick forever. The game includes various power-ups and tools that make the process easier as players progress. One ability, called "Bucket Sort," allows players to assign specific keys to individual bins and fill them with the corresponding pieces at the press of a button.

Players can also purchase additional bins and trays while decorating and expanding their workshop.Eventually, the organized workshop can become much more than a storage space. Players can use the MOC pieces they've created as decorations, gradually transforming the area into a cozy LEGO museum filled with their completed creations.The concept arrives as Steam has seen a growing number of games built around seemingly endless sorting challenges.

Other recent indie projects have asked players to separate wheat from chaff millions of times or search through enormous piles for tiny objects. Never Sort By Color, however, appears to be taking a more relaxing approach to the concept. While sorting thousands of bricks will undoubtedly take some time, the promise of building and displaying creations afterward gives players a meaningful reason to keep going.

Whether Never Sort By Color can turn what sounds like a tedious chore into a genuinely satisfying experience remains to be seen. For LEGO fans and brick collectors who enjoy organizing their collections as much as building with them, though, the November 10 release could be one to watch.