Sliding Picture Puzzle
The classic 15-puzzle, played with a picture. Slide the tiles one gap at a time until your photo is back in one piece.
How to Play
- Choose a board size from 3x3 to 6x6.
- Pick one of the built-in photos (filter by Animals, Nature, Places, Food, Famous art or Space), upload your own, or generate abstract art. With your own photo, drag the preview to move it and zoom with the slider, the mouse wheel or a pinch to frame the part you want.
- One square is empty. Click a tile in the same row or column as the gap to slide it (and any tiles between) into the gap.
- With a keyboard, the arrow keys slide the tile next to the gap into it. On a phone, swipe.
- Finish with the gap in the bottom-right corner and every tile in place. Numbers shows each tile's number, and Peek shows the finished picture.
Tips & Strategy
- Solve the top row first, then the left column. What's left is a smaller puzzle of the same kind.
- Put the last two tiles of a row in together: park them one below the other, then rotate them into place.
- Save the final 2x3 block for last and cycle its tiles round the gap.
- Turn on Numbers for bigger boards, where neighbouring tiles can look alike.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Exactly half of all tile arrangements can't be solved, and the game checks every shuffle and fixes it before you start.
No. Your photo is cut into tiles inside your browser and never leaves your device. It isn't saved either.
Every built-in picture is free of copyright restrictions: photos released under CC0 or marked public domain, and paintings old enough to be in the public domain, such as works by Van Gogh, Monet and Hokusai. They come from Wikimedia Commons, rawpixel and StockSnap.
Each tile that slides counts as one move, so sliding three tiles at once is three moves.
The 15-puzzle became a worldwide craze in the 1880s. Picture versions followed soon after.
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