About the game
The sliding puzzle — sometimes called the 15-puzzle — has been quietly frustrating and delighting people since 1874. A board of numbered tiles has exactly one empty square, and you slide tiles into that gap until the numbers run in order. It's the purest possible puzzle format: one rule, one goal, zero luck.
This version lets you choose your board size and image, and clocks your time so every game is a race against your own best run. The beauty of the format is that it scales perfectly from a gentle 8-puzzle warm-up to a genuinely brain-straining 24-puzzle marathon.
How to play
- Pick a puzzle size and image to start.
- Slide numbered tiles into the single empty square by clicking or dragging.
- Arrange the tiles in order (1, 2, 3… left to right, top to bottom).
- The timer runs until the board is solved — finish fast to set a new personal best.
Controls
| Move a tile | Click the tile, then click its target square — or drag it |
| Touch screens | Tap a tile, then tap the empty spot; or drag with your finger |
| Restart / new puzzle | Use the in-game buttons |
Five techniques that will make you fast
1. Solve the top row first
Get tiles 1, 2, 3 (and 4 on larger boards) into their final spots and leave them there. Everything below can be shuffled freely, but the top row locks the puzzle's skeleton.
2. Then fix the left column — not the second row
After the top row, finish the left column down to the last row. Fixing the outer edges first shrinks the unsolved area into a smaller box, and small boxes are far easier to think about.
3. Use the corner method for the last tiles
When only two or three tiles remain in a mini-box, rotate them in a tight cycle around the blank. Learning one 3-tile loop solves the final stage of every single puzzle.
4. Don't shuffle the solved section
It's tempting to sweep a tile through the finished top row to shortcut a move. Resist — every pass through solved territory costs twice the moves to repair.
5. Bigger boards punish planless sliding
On hard sizes, random clicking swirls tiles into chaos. Before every move, ask which tile you're parking and where its final home is. Faster players move in chains, not clicks.
Why you'll like it
The sliding puzzle is a meditation with a timer. There's no pressure to beat anyone — the opponent is your own last run. It's calm, satisfying, endlessly replayable, and the exact game to play while running a podcast or waiting for a kettle.
Frequently asked questions
Is every puzzle solvable?
The game generates solvable boards, so there's always a path. If you scramble it too far by hand, hit the restart button for a fresh one.
Are my best times saved?
Yes, locally on your device in your browser's storage. Nothing is uploaded.
Can I change the image?
Yes — the game lets you pick from its built-in pictures and board sizes before you start.
Is this game free?
Yes. It's an open source (MIT) sliding-puzzle game by Tomás Malbran, license included.
Game credit: Sliding Puzzle by Tomás Malbran (github.com/TomMalbran/games), open source under the MIT license.