If you’re going for 100% completion in Sort Them Ducks, the good news is that most of the achievements are pretty straightforward. The game does have a few that are much easier to miss, though, especially the dedicated challenge runs and the achievements involving specific ducks.
I’ve broken everything down by category below so you can work through the achievements without having to constantly jump between different guides.
Sort Them Ducks Achievement Guide 100% and Walkthrough
These are the achievements you’re very likely to unlock simply by playing through the game normally.
First Quack
Place your first duck on the correct shelf.
This is about as straightforward as an achievement gets. Pick up a duck and place it on the shelf where it belongs.
Bills, Bills, Bills
Reach $100.
You earn money by correctly sorting ducks, with each correctly placed duck giving you $1.
Just keep sorting and you’ll eventually reach $100.
Getting Organized
Correctly sort 100 ducks.
Keep placing ducks on their correct shelves until you’ve sorted 100 of them.
What the Duck?!
Misplace 10 ducks.
You actually need to get ducks wrong for this one.
Place 10 ducks on incorrect shelves and the achievement will unlock.
There’s a good chance you’ll get this naturally while learning which categories different ducks belong to.
Quack Pack Leader
Correctly sort 1,000 ducks.
This is another progression achievement.
Keep sorting ducks correctly and you’ll eventually hit the 1,000 mark.
Boooooooooom!!!
Get Boomed.
Find a bomb and let it explode.
The first time one of the bombs detonates, you’ll get the achievement.
Category Complete
Fully stock a single shelf category.
Completely fill one category of shelves with the correct ducks.
Maxed Out
Fully upgrade every available upgrade.
Purchase every available upgrade until you’ve completely maxed out your upgrades.
This one will require a decent amount of money, so don’t expect it immediately.
Master Sorter
Correctly sort every duck in the shop.
This is essentially the big completion achievement for the normal sorting gameplay.
You’ll need to finish sorting all of the ducks in the shop correctly.
Player and Duck Achievements
These achievements involve specific interactions with ducks or your abilities.
Slippery Little Duck
Drop the same duck 5 times before placing it correctly.
Pick up a duck and drop that same duck five times before finally putting it on the correct shelf.
It’s quite possible you’ll unlock this accidentally, especially when you’re still learning the controls.
If you don’t, just deliberately drop the same duck five times and then place it correctly.
Efficiency Expert
Collect 15 ducks with a single Collect Ducks ability use.
This one is easiest when you’re standing directly in front of a shelf that matches the duck you’re currently holding.
Use the [2] Collect Ducks ability, then quickly place the matching ducks using Right Click or Q as they enter your inventory.
The goal is to collect 15 ducks from a single use of the ability.
Duck Whisperer
Use the Find Duck ability 50 times.
This achievement refers to the ability that highlights ducks matching the duck you’re currently holding.
Activate it with [1].
A good time to work on this is during your faster runs, because you’ll naturally be using the ability repeatedly to find matching ducks.
Keep activating it whenever you can and you’ll eventually reach 50 uses.
Nice Choice
Copy your favourite duck.
Once you’ve correctly sorted every duck, you’ll eventually get the opportunity to make a copy of your favourite duck.
Take the duck you want, bring it to the office, and place it on the appropriate podium.
The achievement should unlock once you’ve made your choice.
Ohhhh, Maaaan
Somehow end up with 2,000 copies of Mr. Duck.
For this achievement, you specifically need to choose Mr. Duck as your favourite duck.
Mr. Duck is the simple yellow rubber duck with the topper sitting on its head.
When you reach the end of the game and choose to copy Mr. Duck, you’ll automatically receive 2,000 copies.
That’s enough to trigger the achievement.
Send Help
End up with 2,000 giant ducks and fill the room.
This works similarly to the Mr. Duck achievement, but you’ll need to select the large red duck sitting on top of the rainbow display pillar in the shop.
Choose that duck when you’re given the opportunity to make a copy at the end of the game.
You’ll receive 2,000 copies, filling the room and unlocking the achievement.
Shop Achievements
These are earned by interacting with things around the shop rather than simply sorting ducks.
Sticky Fingers
Press the cash register 10 times and walk away $20 richer.
Go to the cash register and interact with it 10 times.
Once you’ve done that, you’ll receive the $20 reward and unlock the achievement.
Jackpot!
Obtain every upgrade from the slot machine.
Don’t forget about the slot machine.
It can be easy to ignore early in the game, especially when you’re focused on sorting ducks and saving money.
However, once you’ve got your main upgrades sorted out, start using the slot machine regularly.
The machine has a limited number of possible dud results, while the rest of the rewards can help improve your run.
Once you’ve maxed out your other upgrades, there’s even less reason to leave the machine untouched.
Keep rolling until you’ve obtained every available upgrade.
Egg-cellent Timing
Collect 10 eggs and hatch yourself a duck.
This achievement requires finding all 10 secret eggs around the shop and then using them to hatch a duck.
The eggs are hidden in various locations, including around the shop and inside the office.
For the complete egg locations, check the dedicated Sort Them Ducks secret egg guide.
Dedicated Run Achievements
These are the achievements I would pay the most attention to.
Unlike the normal progression achievements, these require you to deliberately change the way you play.
I Don’t Do Buttons
Finish the game without pressing a single active ability.
This one can be pretty painful if you’re used to relying on abilities.
The safest strategy is to avoid purchasing active ability upgrades that could tempt you into accidentally pressing one during the run.
Instead, focus on passive improvements.
Auto-shelves and Sprint are particularly useful here because they help you progress without requiring active ability presses.
Slot machine upgrades are also extremely helpful because they can make the run considerably easier without requiring you to manually activate abilities.
There is some uncertainty around the [2] Auto-collect ducks matching the one in hand ability, as it has been reported that this may not count as an active ability press for the achievement.
If you’re trying to guarantee the achievement, though, I’d play it safe and avoid using it.
The less you press, the better.
No Time to Waddle
Complete the game in under 4 hours.
This sounds much more intimidating than it actually is.
A properly optimized run can finish in around three hours, so you have a reasonable amount of breathing room.
The biggest thing is not to waste time running back and forth across the shop.
Buy Auto-Shelves Early
The Auto-shelves item when thrown at correct shelf upgrade should be one of your earliest priorities.
It makes sorting considerably faster and removes a lot of unnecessary manual work.
For this challenge, I’d consider it one of the most important upgrades.
Don’t Obsess Over Organization
You don’t need to create the world’s most beautiful sorting system.
You’re racing the clock.
Trying to keep every duck perfectly organized while simultaneously watching the timer can actually slow you down.
Focus on getting ducks onto the correct shelves as quickly as possible.
Efficiency matters more than making everything look neat.
Use the Slot Machine
Once you’ve maxed out your normal upgrades, start using the slot machine.
The extra upgrades can make a noticeable difference during the remainder of your run.
There’s little reason to leave those bonuses unused when you’re trying to beat the four-hour requirement.
Complete Nearby Categories Together
The Auto-collect matching ducks upgrade can be extremely useful here.
Try to work on categories that are close to each other rather than constantly running from one side of the shop to the other.
For example, if you have shelves opposite each other that need similar ducks, work on both at the same time.
This cuts down on wasted movement.
Use Find Duck Later in the Run
The Highlight ducks that match the one currently held ability becomes particularly useful once you’re around the halfway point.
When the shop starts getting crowded with piles of ducks, finding the exact matching one manually can become annoying.
Use the ability to quickly locate the ducks you need instead of wandering around searching.
Don’t Add Unnecessary Pressure
You don’t necessarily need to make the timer itself more stressful.
If you’re already finishing around the three-hour mark, there’s no reason to make the run harder by constantly obsessing over every second.
Stay efficient and keep moving.
The four-hour requirement gives you considerably more time than you might initially expect.
Recommended Order for 100% Completion
If you’re trying to get everything efficiently, I’d approach the achievements roughly like this:
First: Play normally and unlock the natural progression achievements.
Second: Work toward Maxed Out by purchasing your upgrades.
Third: Get the shop-related achievements such as Sticky Fingers and Jackpot!
Fourth: Find all 10 eggs for Egg-cellent Timing.
Fifth: Complete the specific duck-copy achievements, including Ohhhh, Maaaan and Send Help.
Finally: Do the two dedicated runs separately:
- I Don’t Do Buttons
- No Time to Waddle
Doing the challenge runs separately is much easier than trying to combine their requirements.