Arrow Escape

Arrow Escape — how to play and tips

Arrow Escape is a calm, clever logic puzzle that you play in your browser on a phone, tablet or computer, with nothing to download. Every level has its own shape, 100 in all, from a circle, an oval and every kind of triangle to polygons with up to twenty sides, 3D solids such as a cube, a cone or a torus, a gear, a ribbon, a flame and a snowflake, and it is filled with arrows. Each arrow can only leave the board the way its head points. Tap an arrow whose way out is clear and it slides away. Tap one that has something in front of it and it bumps. Find the right order, clear every arrow, and the picture fills with colour.

How to Play Arrow Escape

• Look before you tap. Follow the line in front of an arrow's head all the way to the edge of the board. If nothing stands on that line, the arrow can escape.

• Press, then let go. When you press an arrow, its path lights up: green when it is clear, orange up to the piece that blocks it. The move happens when you lift your finger on the same arrow. You can also swipe an arrow the way it points to send it; a swipe in any other direction does nothing, so a slip of the finger never costs a life. A tap on an empty spot picks the nearest arrow.

• Lives. In Normal mode you have three lives per level and each bump costs one. Expert mode gives you one life, and Relax mode has no lives at all.

• Clear every arrow to finish the level and reveal its shape.

New pieces as you go

Level 1 teaches the idea with three arrows and a pointing hand. From level 2 every board holds more than 50 arrows, and each level adds about one more, up to around 150. Many of them are snake arrows that bend around corners: the head leads and the body follows its own path. Level 31 adds stones, which never move and can never be passed. From level 41, locked arrows show a number and open only after that many other arrows have left. From level 61, rotating arrows turn a quarter turn clockwise every time another arrow leaves, so timing matters. From level 81, two arrows with a gold ring form a colour pair: they leave together, and both need a clear path. A short card explains each new piece the first time you meet it.

Worlds, stars and the daily puzzle

There are 100 levels in five worlds, Sunrise, Nature, Ocean, Galaxy and Festival, each with its own colours. Every fifth level is an easier breather with a big shape, and every tenth level is a larger boss board with a gold frame. You earn one star for clearing a level, two if you lose no life, and three if you also use no hint. Stars open the next worlds, so it is worth replaying a level for a better result. Every board is built backwards from a solution and checked by a solver, so every level can be cleared.

The Daily Challenge is one board per day, the same for everyone. A calendar shows the days you have solved, and solving every day of a month wins that month's trophy. There is also a daily reward that grows with your streak, coins for each level, and achievements such as clearing 100 arrows in a row without a mistake. Coins buy extra hints, an extra life, extra undos and arrow skins (Candy, Neon, Wood and Gems). There are no ads inside the game.

Controls

• Hint lights up an arrow that can go right now, usually the one that frees the most others. You start with three hints.

• Undo puts the last arrow back, or gives back the life you lost on your last tap. The first undo in a level is free.

• Retry starts the board again and asks first if you have already made progress.

• Zoom: on big boards, pinch with two fingers or use the mouse wheel; double-click to zoom out again.

• Keyboard: arrow keys choose an arrow, Enter taps it, U is undo, H is hint, R is retry and Esc opens the map.

Arrow Escape Tips

• Arrows at the edge that point outward are often free. Clear them to make room.

• Look for an arrow that sits in front of several others; removing it opens a whole area.

• Before you tap a rotating arrow, count how many arrows must leave before it points the right way.

• Save hints for boss levels, and use undo if a tap went wrong.

The game can be played in English, Gujarati and Hindi, has a dark theme and a colour-blind-safe palette, and every arrow also shows its direction by its shape. Reduced motion is switched on automatically when your device asks for it. Your progress, coins and settings are saved only on your own device.