Tile Slide Puzzle
The fifteen-puzzle: slide numbered tiles into order with the fewest moves you can manage.
About this game
Tile Slide Puzzle is the fifteen-puzzle — fifteen numbered tiles on a four-by-four board with one empty square. Slide a tile into the gap and the gap moves. Put every tile in numerical order and you win.
Every board is generated with a solvability check, so there is always a solution; you will never be handed an impossible arrangement. That matters because the puzzle’s reputation for frustration comes from unsolvable configurations, and removing that randomness leaves a pure planning problem.
The winning method used by speed solvers is the row-by-row approach. Solve the top row first and then never touch it again; with one row locked, the remaining three-by-three grid is far easier to reason about. Trying to solve the whole board at once is what produces the classic endgame where the last two tiles are swapped and refuse to cooperate.
Score is derived from both moves and time, with a base of 3,200 points reduced by 14 per move and 9 per second. Most players finish in 90 to 200 moves; solving in under 120 moves is a genuinely good result.
How to play
- Solve the top row first, then lock it and never move it again.
- Work on one row or column at a time; free-form sliding wastes moves.
- Keep the empty square near the tiles you are currently arranging.
- For the final two-by-two corner, rotate tiles in a small loop rather than sliding across.
- Look for two tiles you can place in a single loop before you start moving.
Questions
Is every puzzle solvable?
Yes. Each shuffle is checked before it is used, so an unsolvable board can never appear.
How is the score calculated?
You start at 3,200 points; every move costs 14 and every second costs 9.
Can I use the keyboard?
Yes, the arrow keys slide the tile next to the empty square.
What is a good score?
Finishing under 120 moves and two minutes gives a strong score.