Sliding Puzzle (15 Puzzle)

The sliding puzzle — also called the 15 puzzle, the fifteen puzzle, or the mystic square — is one of the most enduring brain teasers ever made. You are given a grid of numbered tiles with a single empty space, and the tiles arrive scrambled. By sliding a tile next to the gap into that gap, one move at a time, you slowly shuffle the numbers back into order, from one in the top-left corner up to the highest number just before the empty square. It sounds simple, yet finding a short path to a tidy grid takes real planning and a little patience. You can play it here for free, right in your browser, on any size from a gentle three-by-three warm up to a genuinely fiendish five-by-five challenge.

0:000 moves

How to play

  1. Look at the scrambled grid: every tile is out of place except the single empty gap.
  2. Click or tap any tile sitting directly next to the empty gap to slide it into the gap.
  3. On a keyboard, use the arrow keys to slide a neighbouring tile into the empty space.
  4. Keep sliding tiles until the numbers read in order, with the empty space ending up last.
  5. Press Shuffle for a brand-new board, or switch between the 3x3, 4x4 and 5x5 sizes.

Frequently asked questions

Is the sliding puzzle always solvable?

Yes. Every board here is generated by shuffling a solved grid using legal moves only, so a solution always exists — you can never be handed a board that is impossible to finish.

What is the 15 puzzle?

The 15 puzzle is the classic 4x4 sliding puzzle with fifteen numbered tiles and one empty space. It is the most famous size, which is why this game opens on a 4x4 board by default.

Do I need to download or install anything?

No. The game runs entirely in your browser on phones, tablets and computers — there is nothing to install, no account, and no sign-up required.