About Sliding Puzzle
The classic sliding tile puzzle (the 15 puzzle) on a keeper's ward-tablet: numbered rune-stones, one empty socket, and an order they belong in. Slate 3×3, Tablet 4×4, Gate 5×5 — ten boards each, plus a new Daily Ward every day.
Every board carries two public records to beat: the fastest time and the fewest moves — set by anyone, kept independently. Your own best time and fewest moves are kept too. Each stone that slides counts one move, so a far tap can cost several at once.
All thirty boards and every daily are solver-verified before they ship: an exact solver proves each one finishable, so you will never meet an impossible tablet.
How to play
- Tap any stone in the gap's row or column — it and the stones between slide one step each.
- Put every stone home: 1, 2, 3… ending at the empty socket. Each stone that slides counts one move.
- Two public records wait per board: fewest moves and fastest time. There is no wrong move, only a longer path.
Controls
| Tap a stone in the gap's row or column | Slide |
|---|---|
| Arrow keys | Slide one stone |
| R | Restart the board |
| Esc | Back |
Tips for Sliding Puzzle
- Finish rows, then columns. Most tablets come home row by row: settle the top row first and never touch it again.
- The gap is your tool. Parking the socket beside the stone you want is most of the work.
- Chase one record at a time. Fewest moves and fastest time are kept apart — a slow perfect path and a fast messy one both count.
Questions about this game
Can a board be impossible?
No. Half of all random arrangements of this puzzle are unsolvable, which is why ours come from a walk away from the solved tablet — and an exact solver re-proves every board before it ships.
What are the two records?
Every board keeps a public best time and a public fewest moves, set by anyone and kept independently — the speedrun and the perfect path are different sports. Your personal both are kept per board as well.
Are the boards the same for everyone?
Yes — every Slate, Tablet and Gate board is a fixed scramble, and the Daily Ward is the same 4×4 for the whole site each day, so any record on them means the same thing for everyone.
Is my progress saved?
Yes, in this browser. An unfinished board comes back when you press Continue.
Every board is fixed and solver-verified — shows its measured shortest depth. Progress is saved in this browser.
