Klotski

How to play Klotski

• Klotski is a sliding block puzzle. Slide the blocks around the box and bring the big red block down to the exit. You win when the big block reaches the middle of the bottom row, right above the exit.
• Blocks can’t be lifted. They only slide up, down, left or right into empty spaces.
• Drag (swipe) a block the way you want it to go. You can also tap a block: it moves one space toward the side you tapped (a block that can only move one way moves that way wherever you tap).
• Keep sliding the same block and it still counts as one move, however far it goes and even if it turns a corner.
• The daily puzzle is the same for everyone, with a new one every day. It’s shortest on Mondays (Japan time) and gets longer through the week. Your streak of days in a row is saved too.
• Stuck? Tap “Hint” to play the next move of a shortest solution from where you are and see how many moves are left.
• On a computer, pick a block with the Tab key and move it with the arrow keys. Ctrl+Z undoes a move. If you close the page, your puzzle is saved so you can pick up where you left off.

• How to solve Klotski in 81 movesStep through the classic layout one move at a time, with the 4 stages and tips

Puzzles and fewest moves

Play the classic layout, 40 more puzzles from easy to expert, and a new daily puzzle. In each level, puzzles 1–5 and 6–10 each start easier and get longer. The fewest moves for every puzzle was checked by a computer search of every possible move. Solve one in the fewest moves and you’re an expert.

About Klotski

Klotski is a classic sliding block puzzle on a 4×5 board. Its name comes from the Polish word klocki, “wooden blocks.” In China the same puzzle is called Huarong Dao, where the big block is the general Cao Cao escaping through Huarong Pass, and in Japan it is Hakoiri Musume, “the daughter in the box,” where the big block is a daughter and the others are family members and servants keeping her inside. The classic layout you can play here is the best-known starting position of both.