Arrow Escape

Arrow Escape — how to play and tips

Arrow Escape is a calm logic puzzle that you play in your browser on a phone, tablet or computer, with nothing to download. The board is covered with arrows of one, two or three squares. Each arrow can only leave the board in the direction it points. Tap an arrow whose way out is clear and it slides off the board. Tap one that has another arrow in front of it and it only bumps. Your job is to find the right order and clear the whole board.

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 no other arrow stands anywhere on that line, the arrow can escape.

• Tap or click it. A free arrow speeds up and slides out. The squares it leaves behind may open the way for other arrows.

• Blocked arrows bump. If something is in the way, the arrow shakes, and its path lights up as far as the arrow that blocks it, so you can see what has to go first. The arrow stays where it is and you can keep playing.

• Clear every arrow to finish the level.

On a computer, move the mouse over an arrow to see its path before you click. On a phone, press and hold an arrow to see the path; let go on the same arrow to move it, or slide your finger away to cancel.

Controls

• Hint lights up an arrow that can escape right now, usually the one that frees the most other arrows. It does not move the arrow for you. After a hint there is a short wait of a few seconds before the next one.

• Undo puts the last arrow back on the board. You can undo as many times as you like.

• Reset starts the board again. If you have already cleared several arrows, it asks first.

• Levels opens the level map, and Settings has sound, music, vibration, reduced motion, the board theme and a short how-to-play card.

• Keyboard: arrow keys move between arrows, Enter or Space taps the selected arrow, U is undo, H is hint, R is reset and Esc closes a window.

Stars, levels and the daily puzzle

There are 40 levels. The first one teaches the rule in three short steps, and the boards then grow from a few arrows on a small grid to more than fifty arrows on a 12 by 12 board, in shapes such as a heart, a ring, a diamond, a cross and an hourglass. Every board is built backwards from a solution and then checked by a solver, so every level can be cleared.

Stars are earned for careful play, not for speed: clear a board without bumping into anything for three stars, with a few bumps for two, and with many bumps for one. There is no timer and no lives, so take your time. Every day there is also a Daily Challenge: one board that is the same for everyone on that date. Solve it on consecutive days to build a streak.

Arrow Escape Tips

• Start with arrows near the edge that point outward. They are often free.

• Look for an arrow that sits in the path of several others. Clearing it opens up a whole area.

• Think one or two moves ahead: before you tap, check what the move will free.

• Long arrows block more squares, so getting one out often helps a lot.

• Use Undo if you lose track, and Hint when you are really stuck. Hints never cost stars.

Made for every screen

The board is the biggest thing on the screen and grows to fit a phone, a tablet or a wide monitor. Four themes change the colours: Sky, Sunset, Mint and Neon. Each direction has its own colour, and every arrow also shows its direction by its shape, so the game works without telling colours apart. Reduced motion is switched on automatically when your device asks for it. Your stars, unlocked levels and settings are saved only on your own device.