Game modes
Everything we know about slide puzzles, organised by what you want to do — play a particular size, solve one, turn a photo into one, or read the maths behind why some boards are impossible.
What the 8 puzzle is, how to play, the standard top-row-then-left-column strategy, and why it is a foundational benchmark for AI search.
What the 15 puzzle is, where it came from, how to play and solve it, and how it compares to the 8 puzzle and the larger 24/35 boards.
The 24 puzzle (5×5 slide puzzle) explained: rules, history, solve time, what changes from the 15 puzzle, and why optimal solvers need pattern databases here.
What the 35 puzzle (6×6 slide puzzle) is, who plays it, how long it takes, and why bigger boards become a research curiosity.
What a number slide puzzle is, how it differs from picture variants, why numbers are the default for solvers, and when to pick them over photos.
What Klotski is, how it differs from the 15 puzzle, the Huarong Dao legend, the 81-move minimum solution, and a strategy that actually works.
A guide to sliding block puzzles: the tile-sorting family (8/15/24 puzzle), the block-escape family (Klotski, Rush Hour), strategy for each, and why the general problem is PSPACE-complete.
A guide to the sliding tile puzzle family: square grids, hexagonal variants, rotation puzzles, and the maths that ties them together.