15 Puzzle
Play 15 Puzzle free online — slide tiles into order on three scramble levels. Fewer moves and less time beat your best score. No download.
Puzzle
15 Puzzle
More Games
See all games
📖 How to Play
Click or tap a tile next to the empty space to slide it. Use arrow keys on desktop. Arrange tiles 1–15 in order from left to right, top to bottom. Fewer moves = higher score!
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How do you win the 15 Puzzle?
Arrange all 15 numbered tiles in order from 1 to 15, reading left to right and top to bottom, with the empty space in the bottom-right corner.
Are all 15 Puzzle configurations solvable?
Not all random arrangements are solvable — about half are unsolvable. In this game, the board is always generated by shuffling from the solved state, guaranteeing every puzzle is solvable.
What is the best strategy for the 15 Puzzle?
Solve the top two rows first by placing tiles 1–4 then 5–8. Then solve the bottom two rows simultaneously using cycling patterns. Hard mode requires 200+ shuffle moves, so careful planning beats brute force.
How do the 15 Puzzle difficulty levels work?
Easy, Medium and Hard scramble the solved board with 30, 80 and 200 legal slides. Because every puzzle starts from the solved state, it is always solvable. Hard is not a different grid — just a deeper scramble.
How is the score calculated in the 15 Puzzle?
A solve scores a base of 300 (Easy), 600 (Medium) or 1000 (Hard), minus 2 points per move and 1 point per second, with a floor of 0. Fewer moves and a faster clock both raise the HUD — brute-force sliding burns the score quickly.
Is there an 8-puzzle or 5×5 mode?
No. This is always a 4×4 (tiles 1–15, empty bottom-right when solved). Easy/Medium/Hard only change scramble depth (30/80/200 legal slides from solved). Arrow keys work on desktop; tap a tile next to the gap on mobile.
Can two people play, and is the best score saved?
Solo only. Score = 300/600/1000 minus 2 per move minus 1 per second, floor 0. Best score is stored in this browser on this device. Free, no download, no account.
Can tiles jump or slide diagonally in the 15 Puzzle?
No. Only a tile orthogonally next to the empty cell can slide into it — no diagonals and no jumping two cells. Arrow keys move the neighbor of the gap; on a phone, tap that neighbor. There is no undo. MENU returns to Easy/Medium/Hard; NEW re-scrambles the same level (30/80/200 legal slides from solved). Always 4×4, solo.
Do correctly placed 15 Puzzle tiles change color, and does the clock pause?
A tile that sits in its solved cell (1 top-left through 15, empty bottom-right) draws green. The clock never pauses -- elapsed seconds keep subtracting 1 point per second while you play, including the short slide animation. Score is 300/600/1000 (Easy/Medium/Hard) minus 2 per move minus 1 per second, floor 0. Always 4x4; scramble is 30/80/200 legal slides from solved so every deal is solvable. Orthogonal neighbor of the gap only; no diagonals, no undo. MENU returns to the level picker; NEW re-scrambles the same level. Solo.