Spatial puzzle

Sliding Puzzle Sprint

Rebuild the number order one slide at a time, with undo, replay, and a verified optimal count on every 3×3 board.

The game could not start

This page works without JavaScript too. Try again, or read the complete rules below — the ideas are the same on paper.

The rules in plain words

  1. The board holds numbered tiles and one empty space.
  2. A move slides one tile that sits next to the empty space into it.
  3. The goal is the ordered layout: 1 across the first row, continuing to the last tile, with the empty space at the end.
  4. Only half of all shuffled positions are solvable — every AhaArcade board is generated solvable.
  5. 3×3 boards show the minimum possible number of moves; 4×4 boards show a verified reference path instead.

How to play

Slide one tile at a time

Tap or use the arrow keys to slide a neighboring tile into the empty space. Only tiles beside the gap can move.

Rebuild the order

Arrange the numbered tiles in order, left to right and top to bottom, with the empty space ending in the last cell.

Pick your board

3×3 is the eight-tile board — every puzzle reports a verified optimal move count. 4×4 is the fifteen-tile board, solved against a verified reference path.

Undo and replay

Take back a move when a plan breaks, and replay your finished solution to see the route you actually took.

Read the full Sliding Puzzle Sprint guide

What this game practices

Keep a mental picture of where things are while they move.

See all thinking skills

Privacy, in short

No account, no ads, no chat. Your progress stays on this device and can be cleared from inside the game at any time. Read the full privacy page