Arrow Escape
Arrow Escape is a free browser puzzle where every arrow on the grid slides off the board in the direction it points — unless another arrow sits in its path. Tapping a blocked arrow costs a move, so the game is about reading the dependency order and releasing arrows in the right sequence. Daily boards in three difficulties are identical for every player (midnight-UTC reset), par equals one tap per arrow, and every board is machine-verified solvable. No download, no signup.
Every board is a little knot: this arrow waits for that one, which waits for another. Pull the right thread first and the whole thing unravels at one tap per arrow — pull the wrong one and it just shakes. Par is always achievable; finding it is the puzzle.
Laying out today’s arrows…
How to play
- Tap any arrow: if its path to the edge is clear, it slides off the board.
- If something is in its way, the arrow shakes and the move still counts — blocked taps are the only way to lose points against par.
- Removing an arrow can free the arrows that were waiting behind it. Work out the dependency chain before you start tapping.
- Clear every arrow. Par equals the number of arrows — a perfect game is one tap each, in a correct order, for three stars.
Rules
- Arrows only move in the direction they point and only when tapped.
- An arrow escapes if no other remaining arrow sits anywhere on its straight path to the edge.
- Tapping a blocked arrow costs a move; nothing else changes.
- Every board is verified solvable before you see it — some order of taps always clears it.
- Daily boards (easy 5×5·6 arrows, medium 6×6·10, hard 6×6·14) reset at midnight UTC and are the same for everyone; the archive holds two weeks. Stars: par = ★★★, up to two over = ★★, any clear = ★.
Scoring & streaks
Your result is your move count against par (par = arrow count). Finishing exactly at par earns three stars, up to two over earns two, and any clear earns one. Solving any daily board on its real day extends your on-device streak; practice boards are unlimited and never affect it.
Strategy tips
- Scan the edges first: arrows pointing directly off the board with nothing ahead are always safe openers.
- Trace paths backwards from each blocked arrow to see exactly which arrow is holding it — most boards are a few short dependency chains, not one big tangle.
- Two arrows facing each other can never block-release themselves — one of them must be freed sideways first. Spot those pairs early.
- When unsure, prefer arrows whose path crosses few occupied cells — fewer occupants means fewer things that must leave first.
- Blocked taps are pure information loss: a five-second look ahead is always cheaper than a shake.
Difficulty
Easy boards untangle in under a minute and teach the reading. Medium adds enough arrows that chains overlap. Hard packs 14 arrows into the 6×6 — expect several interlocking chains and a real plan to hit par. No board ever requires luck; the order always exists.
Controls
- Tap or click an arrow to send it on its way; a shake means it's blocked and the move counted.
- Restart board resets the same layout with a zeroed move counter.
- The picker above switches days or to unlimited practice; the difficulty selector works in both modes.
Accessibility
Every arrow is a real button labeled with its direction and position, block feedback pairs the shake animation with a live-region announcement, arrow glyphs stay high-contrast in both themes, and the board fits phone screens without horizontal scrolling.
Frequently asked questions
Are the daily boards the same for everyone?
Yes. Each day's boards are derived deterministically from the date per difficulty, so every player worldwide untangles the identical layouts.
Is every board actually solvable?
Yes. The generator simulates a full solution before accepting a board — a valid clearing order always exists, and par (one tap per arrow) is always achievable.
Do blocked taps end the game?
No. A blocked arrow just shakes and the move is counted. The only pressure is your move count against par — there is no fail state.
Can two arrows block each other forever?
Facing pairs can't release each other, but boards are built so some outside arrow always breaks the standoff. If everything seems stuck, an edge arrow you've overlooked is usually the key.
What do the stars mean?
Three stars for clearing at par, two for up to two moves over, one for any clear. Retries are free and reset the board to the same layout.
Does it work offline?
Once the page is loaded, the whole game runs in your browser — a connection is only needed to load the page.