6×6 35 puzzle

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Time00:00

How to play the 15 puzzle

The 15 puzzle is a sliding number puzzle, known in China as 数字华容道. Fifteen numbered tiles sit in a 4×4 frame with one empty cell. Your goal is to put the tiles back in order: 1 to 15, reading row by row, with the empty cell at the bottom right.

Moving tiles

Only a tile next to the empty cell can move, and it slides into the empty cell. If you tap a tile further along the same row or column, every tile between it and the empty cell slides together, so a whole run moves in one go.

Sizes

  • 3×3 (the 8 puzzle): eight tiles. A good place to learn; most boards take a minute or two.
  • 4×4 (the 15 puzzle): the classic.
  • 5×5 (the 24 puzzle): twenty-four tiles for a longer game.

Can every board be solved?

Not every arrangement of the tiles can be solved: swap any two tiles of a solved board and no amount of sliding will fix it. Every board on this site is checked before you see it, so it can always be solved.

Tips

  • Solve the top row first, then the left column. What is left is a smaller puzzle of the same kind.
  • Place the last two tiles of a row together: first park them one below the other, then turn them into place.
  • Do not worry about tiles you have already placed moving for a moment; you can put them back.

For the full rules see how to play, and for a step-by-step method see how to solve the 15 puzzle.