15 Puzzle
Slide the tiles home, 1 to 15, in few moves
How to play
This is the 15 Puzzle, the classic free online sliding puzzle, played with candy tiles: slide the fifteen numbered tiles back into order in as few moves as you can. It runs in any browser on phone or desktop and inside Telegram via @MatsuriGamesBot, with no download. Play the daily scramble everyone shares, practise at three difficulties, climb the levels, or send a friend the same board.
This is the classic 15 puzzle (the sliding number puzzle, also called Gem Puzzle or Boss Puzzle), played with candy tiles. Tap a tile in the same row or column as the gap and the whole line slides; you can also drag, swipe or use the arrow keys. Put the tiles back in order, 1 to 15, with the gap in the bottom-right corner. Each tile is coloured by the row it belongs in and glows once it is home. Time does not count, moves do: a solve scores 1000 plus up to 1000 more for coming close to par, the fewest moves that solve the board, worked out by an optimal solver. The daily board is the same for everyone, so you can rank on the leaderboard or send a friend the very same scramble.
- Click a tile in the same row or column as the gap and the whole line slides; or drag, swipe, or use the arrow keys / WASD.
- Put the tiles back in order, 1 to 15, gap in the bottom-right; each tile wears its home row's colour and glows once it's home.
- Time doesn't count, moves do: a solve is 1000 plus up to 1000 more for coming close to ⭐ par, the fewest moves possible.
How to solve the 15 sliding puzzle
The board is 4 by 4 with fifteen tiles and one gap. Tap any tile in the same row or column as the gap and every tile between them slides one step toward it; you can also drag, swipe or use the arrow keys. The puzzle is solved when the tiles read 1 to 15 in order, row by row, with the gap in the bottom-right corner. Each tile is coloured by the row it belongs in and glows once it is home.
Moves are counted the standard way, per tile: a tap that pushes three tiles is three moves. Time does not count. A solve scores 1000 plus up to 1000 more for coming close to par, the fewest moves that solve the board, found by an optimal solver: the bonus is 1000 times par divided by your moves. You can hand in an unsolved board, which scores 10 points for each tile already home.
Every board is scrambled by sliding tiles away from the solved position, so it can always be solved.
Sliding puzzle strategy and tips
- Solve the top row first, then the second, and never disturb them again. The bottom two rows are then finished column by column from the left, which keeps the hard part to a small area.
- Place the last two tiles of a row together: put the row's final tile where the one before it belongs, that tile directly below it, then bring the gap to the corner and two slides finish the row.
- Move the gap, not the tile. Before each slide, think about where the gap must be for the next tile to step the right way; routing the gap around finished tiles saves a lot of back and forth.
- When two tiles that belong in the same row sit in it in the wrong order, one of them must leave the row and come back. Spot these swaps early, before the row around them is finished.
- Aim for the stars on your shared result: four for a solve within a third over par, five for matching par. A slow but steady solve still scores far above any unsolved board.
Modes and difficulty
The daily board is a medium scramble whose shortest solution is 36 to 44 moves, the same for everyone and changing at 00:00 UTC; only your first try counts on its leaderboard. Practice offers easy (par 16 to 24), medium and hard (par 46 to 52). The level ladder starts with boards that take about ten moves and adds two moves a level, reaching the hardest boards by level 21; every tenth level pays a candy bonus. Any run can be sent to a friend as a challenge.
Playing 15 Puzzle on Matsuri
Most sliding puzzle apps rank by time, which a browser cannot check fairly. Here the server replays every tap and scores only your moves against the board's true optimum, so a thoughtful solve on a phone counts as much as one on a keyboard. A solve shared to a chat shows your moves against par and a five-star rating without giving the scramble away.
A little history
The 15 puzzle caused a craze in America and Europe around 1880. It is usually credited to Noyes Chapman, a postmaster in New York State, though the puzzle writer Sam Loyd later claimed it. Mathematicians showed in 1879 that only half of all arrangements can be solved, which is why a board made by sliding, like every board here, always can.
In the same series: 2048 and merge puzzles
- 2048: Swipe and merge sweets all the way to the crown
- Dessert Merge: Two alike bump and grow, all the way to a crown
Update log
- · A good solve counts on the leaderboard at once, even your very first.
- · Pick any level you have already reached on the level ladder, not just the next one.
- · Mocha cheers a finished solve.
- · Easy, medium and hard practice boards, and a level ladder.
- · 15 Puzzle arrives, scored against the shortest solution.
Questions
- Is the 15 puzzle here free, and can I play it on my phone?
- Yes. It is free with no download or sign-up, and it runs in any browser on phone or desktop as well as inside Telegram through @MatsuriGamesBot.
- Is there a daily 15 puzzle?
- Yes. Every day there is one new board that is the same for everyone, with a leaderboard, and you can send a friend that exact scramble as a challenge.
- Is every board solvable?
- Yes. Each board is scrambled by sliding tiles from the solved position, so it can always be solved, and its shortest solution is always 36 to 44 moves.
- How is the score calculated?
- Time does not count, only moves. A solve is worth 1000 points plus up to 1000 more the closer you get to par, the fewest moves that solve the board.