Slide numbered tiles into the gap until they read 1, 2, 3… in order, in Sian the woodcarver's riverside studio. Every board is made by scrambling a solved board with real moves, so it can always be solved. There are four sizes from 3×3 to 6×6, and turning on picture tiles swaps the numbers for pieces of a picture.
How to play
- Choose a board size on the start screen. Only the eight-tile 3×3 board is open at first.
- Tap any tile in the same row or column as the gap and every tile between it and the gap slides at once. Tiles that can move are outlined.
- Arrow keys or WASD on a keyboard, or the gamepad D-pad, push the tile next to the gap one step in that direction. For example, ← moves the tile to the right of the gap leftward.
- Fill from the top left in order and finish with the gap in the bottom right. Tiles sitting in their home cell change colour.
- Solving a board unlocks the next size. The Picture tiles button below the board switches picture mode on or off, and the choice is remembered next time.
Strategy tips
- Sliding several tiles along a line at once still counts as a single move. Tapping a tile far from the gap can cut your move count sharply.
- Finish the top row first, then the left column. What remains is a smaller puzzle you can solve the same way.
- Placing the last two tiles of a row one by one disturbs the ones already set. Line the two up side by side first, then slide them in together.
- Three stars need no more moves than were used to scramble the board, two stars up to twice that. The three-star marks are 40 moves on 3×3, 140 on 4×4, 260 on 5×5 and 420 on 6×6.
- Picture tiles keep a small number in the corner. Use it for look-alike areas such as sky or floor.