Sliding Puzzle
Arrange eight numbered tiles by sliding them into the empty space. Solve a shuffled three-by-three puzzle with simple taps and a little forward planning.
How to play Sliding Puzzle
- Find the empty space on the 3 × 3 board.
- Tap a tile directly above, below, left, or right of that space.
- Keep sliding until tiles read 1 to 8 across the rows, with the gap last.
- Use Reset to retry the same arrangement or Shuffle to start another.
Controls: Click or tap a tile next to the gap. Tab and Enter can activate a tile.
Sliding Puzzle asks you to restore order one small move at a time. Eight numbered tiles occupy a three-by-three board, leaving one empty space. Only a tile beside that space can slide, so moving one number into place often means moving another out of the way. The goal is the sequence one through eight, read across the rows, with the empty space in the lower right corner. Every shuffle is created through legal moves from a solved board, which keeps the puzzle solvable. Reset returns to your current starting arrangement, while Shuffle offers a different challenge and clears your move count.
A few useful tips
- Aim to finish the top row before working on the lower rows.
- Think about where the empty space needs to go next.
- Rotate groups of tiles around a square to change their positions.
Find your next puzzle
Frequently asked questions
Are all shuffled boards solvable?
Yes. Shuffling uses legal slides from the solved arrangement, so a route back always exists.
Why can I not move a particular tile?
Only tiles sharing an edge with the empty space can move. Diagonal tiles must wait.
What is the difference between Reset and Shuffle?
Reset restores the starting board for your current round. Shuffle creates a new solvable starting board.