Featured: ChessArrow Slide Puzzle: Tap the Arrows Away
Tap an arrow and it slides off the board, but only if its path is clear. Untangle long bent arrows across 30 stages, or race your friends on the same board.
Create a private room, share the code, and choose Easy, Medium, Hard or Expert. Everyone gets the same board with three hearts. First to clear it wins.
How to play Arrow Slide Puzzle
Read the arrows
Every arrow points one way. Long arrows bend around corners, but only the head decides where they go.
Find a clear path
Look for an arrow whose head has nothing but empty cells between it and the edge of the board.
Tap to slide it out
Tap any part of that arrow. It glides off the board like a snake and frees the cells it covered.
Clear the board
Remove every arrow to finish the stage. A blocked tap costs a heart, so look before you tap.
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Rules, hearts and stars
An arrow can leave the board only when every cell from its head straight to the edge is empty. Its own body never blocks it, because the body simply follows the head along the path the arrow already covers. Any other arrow in the way, even the tail of a long one, keeps it stuck.
You start each stage with three hearts. Tap a blocked arrow and it bumps into the arrow in its way, shakes, and you lose a heart. Lose all three and the attempt ends, but you can retry the same board right away.
Stars reward careful play. Clear a stage with all three hearts for three stars, with two hearts for two stars, or with one heart for one star. Your best stars and the stages you unlocked are saved on this device.
Every board is generated backward from an empty grid and checked by a solver, so a full clearing order always exists. Clearing an arrow never makes the puzzle harder, so you can never get stuck, only blocked.
Arrow types
| Arrow | How it moves |
|---|---|
| Single | One cell. It slides straight out the way it points. |
| Long | Two to four cells in a straight line. The whole line leaves together. |
| Bent | Up to six cells with turns. The head goes straight, the body follows its own path. |
| Colors | up right down left |
The color always shows which way the head points, which makes busy boards much easier to read at a glance.
Thirty stages in five chapters
Warm up
Small boards of single arrows teach you to read paths quickly.
Long arrows
Straight arrows of two to four cells block whole rows at once.
Bends
Arrows turn corners, so the head and the tail block different lines.
Tangles
Bigger, denser boards mix every arrow type together.
Master
Long bent arrows packed tight on the largest boards.
Tips and strategy
Start at the edges. Arrows near the border that point outward are often free right away, and removing them opens space for the arrows behind them. When you are not sure, follow the line in front of a head with your eyes all the way to the edge before you tap.
Watch the tails. On boards with long and bent arrows, the part that blocks you is usually a body or a tail, not a head. A single bent arrow can block a row and a column at the same time, so clearing it often frees several others.
Work backward when you are stuck. Pick an arrow you want to free, find what blocks it, then ask what blocks that one. Following the chain usually leads you to the one arrow that can move now. The hint button does the same thing for you and shows a free arrow with its path, twice per stage.
Slow down for stars. There is no clock in the stage journey, so a careful player loses no hearts. Use the stage map to replay earlier stages and turn one or two stars into three.
Race friends online
Pick Race friends, enter your name and create a room. Share the six letter code or the invite link with up to three friends. The host chooses Easy, Medium, Hard or Expert and the room size. When the race starts, everyone gets exactly the same board, a three second countdown and three hearts. The live panel shows how many arrows each player has cleared and how many hearts they have left. The first player to clear the board wins. The host's game checks every tap, so nobody can fake a move.
Why arrow puzzles are good for your brain
Arrow Slide Puzzle trains planning and visual attention. To clear a dense board you have to hold a few steps in mind, notice which piece blocks which, and resist the urge to tap too early. It is a calm brain break between tasks, a good warm up for logic games such as Sudoku, and a fun quiet challenge for kids and adults alike.
Arrow Slide Puzzle FAQ
Is Arrow Slide Puzzle free to play?
Yes. Arrow Slide Puzzle is completely free and runs in your web browser on phones, tablets and computers. There is nothing to download and you do not need an account.
How do the long and bent arrows move?
Tap any cell of an arrow. Its head travels straight ahead in the direction it points and the rest of the arrow follows its own path like a snake until the whole arrow has left the board. It can only go if every cell from the head to the edge of the board is empty.
Is every board solvable?
Yes. Every board is built backward from an empty grid, and each arrow is only placed where its exit path is clear of the arrows placed before it. Removing them in reverse order always works, and a solver checks every stage before release.
How do hearts and stars work?
You get three hearts per stage. Tapping a blocked arrow costs one heart, and losing all three ends the attempt. Clear the board with three hearts left for three stars, two hearts for two stars and one heart for one star.
How many stages are there?
There are 30 stages in five chapters of six: Warm up with single arrows, Long arrows, Bends, Tangles and Master. Clearing a stage unlocks the next one, and you can replay any unlocked stage from the stage map to improve your stars.
What does the hint button do?
Each stage gives you two hints. A hint highlights one arrow that can leave right now and shows its clear path to the edge. Hints never cost hearts or stars, and they are switched off in races with friends.
How do I race my friends?
Choose Race friends, enter your name and create a room. Share the six letter code or the invite link with up to three friends. The host picks the board difficulty, everyone gets the same board, and the first player to clear it wins.
What happens if every racer runs out of hearts?
A player who loses all three hearts is out but can keep watching. If everyone is out, the player who cleared the most arrows wins, and on a tie the player who reached that number first wins. The last player still in has 60 seconds to finish.
More puzzle and brain games
Love logic puzzles? Read the Mastermind strategy guide or browse more tips on the OnlineGames2Play blog.