🧮 15 Puzzle
🧩 Puzzle · 0 plays15 Puzzle
Slide the tiles into order — the timeless brain teaser.
About 15 Puzzle
The pocket puzzle that has fascinated people since the 1870s. Slide numbered tiles into the empty space until they sit in perfect order. Every shuffle is guaranteed solvable — no impossible boards. Three sizes from a quick 3×3 to a demanding 5×5, with move counting and timing to race your best.
How to Play
Tap a tile next to the gap to slide it (tap farther along a row to slide the whole segment). Arrange the numbers in order, left to right, top to bottom. Fewer moves and faster times set your records.
💡 Tips & Strategy
Solve in layers, not by chasing single numbers. Complete the top row first, then the second row, and never touch a finished row again — the puzzle shrinks with every locked row, and a 4×4 eventually becomes a trivial 2×3 strip.
The corner trick is the skill that changes everything: the last two tiles of each row (say 3 and 4) can't be walked in one at a time. Instead, park 3 where 4 belongs (the corner), tuck 4 directly beneath it, then rotate both into place with one turning move. The same maneuver finishes the left column pairs later.
Once the top two rows are locked on a 4×4, turn 90 degrees in your head: solve the left column of the remaining strip with the identical corner trick, and what's left is a 2×2 rotation — just spin the gap until it clicks.
Move the gap with intent: to bring a tile left, the gap must reach its left side without disturbing solved tiles, so route the blank the long way around when needed. Racing for time? Fewer, planned moves beat fast, reactive ones — read two moves ahead and your counter will drop by a third.