Sliding Puzzle

How it works

Eight numbered tiles sit scrambled on a 3×3 board with one empty space. Click any tile next to the gap to slide it in. Order the tiles 1 through 8 (with the gap in the bottom-right) to win. Our shuffle makes only legal moves from the solved state — so every scramble is guaranteed solvable, unlike random arrangements, two-thirds of which are impossible.

Strategy

• Solve the top row first, then the left column. Reducing a 3×3 to a 2×2 makes the endgame trivial.
• Think in cycles: tiles rotate around the blank in three-cycles. Rather than moving a tile directly, ask which rotation brings two tiles closer at once.
• Avoid corner-trapping: a tile placed correctly in a corner can become impossible to remove without disturbing the solved area — leave corners for last within each section.

A bragging-rights benchmark

A casual first solve takes 60–150 moves. Under 40 is skilled. The theoretical optimum for most 3×3 shuffles is under 25 moves — chasing it is a genuinely fun obsession. Your best count is saved in your browser.