3D Arrow Puzzles Explained

Three ways to put arrows in 3D

All three give you three hearts per level, and a blocked tap costs one. All three are free and run in the browser with no download.

Arrow Cube 3D: blocks that fly out

The arrow cube game is the most direct translation of the flat puzzle. A shape is built from 8 to 125 unit blocks, and every block points along one of six directions. Tap a block and it slides out in that direction, as long as no other block lies anywhere on that line, however far away.

Each block shows its direction on every side: an arrow on the faces beside the line, a dot on the face it moves toward, a ring on the face it moves away from. A dot facing you means the block will fly straight at the camera. Because blocks hide behind blocks, these shapes are the deepest puzzles on the site: spike shapes take 27.3 rounds on average, against 11 on flat spike boards (see the difficulty report).

Arrow Escape 3D: arrows on a fixed frame

Here the shape never changes. Arrows are drawn on the surface of a frame, from plain cubes to voxel models like a house, a castle or a robot, 25 frames in all. An arrow slides along its own face in the direction of its head. When the head reaches an outer edge with nothing in front of it, the arrow flies off.

Two things make this mode different. First, arrows bend: 47% of them wrap over at least one edge onto another face. Second, inner corners are walls. An arrow never points into one, but an arrow lying across a wall can still be in the way of others. Taps only reach arrows that face you, so turning the frame is part of every move.

Arrow Match 3D: arrows plus a tray

The match mode uses the cube rule and adds a 7 slot tray. Every block that leaves drops into it, three of one colour clear, and if the last slot fills without a match the level is over. With up to 8 colours in play, the question is no longer only which block can move but which one you want next. It is the one 3D mode where a series of free moves can still lose.

Controls that work in all three

Every arrow 3D game here uses the same controls, so what you learn in one carries over to the others.

• Drag with a finger or the mouse to spin the shape freely, in any direction and all the way around.
• Pinch or scroll to zoom in on a crowded corner.
• Tap quickly without dragging to move a piece. A slow press or a drag only rotates, so you will not tap by accident while turning.
• Hint lights up a piece that is safe to move. In the match mode it also checks that the move still leads to a full clear.

Tips for 3D arrow puzzles

1. Spin first, tap second. Before every tap, turn the shape so you can see the whole line in front of the piece. A blocker on the far side is easy to miss from the front.
2. Peel from the outside. Pieces on the surface that point outward are usually free. Clearing them opens lines for the layer underneath.
3. On frames, follow the head. Only the squares in front of the head matter. Trace them across the face to the next outer edge and ignore the rest of the body.
4. Use wrapping arrows. A long arrow that bends around a corner frees two faces at once when it leaves.
5. In the match mode, finish pairs. The third tile of a colour clears two slots. Before you start a new colour, check where its other blocks are and whether they can get out soon.

Is an arrow 3D game harder than a flat one?

Deeper, yes. A flat board shows you every arrow at once; a 3D shape hides some pieces behind others, so the chain of blockers can be much longer. The deepest Arrow Cube 3D shape takes 36 rounds, against at most 12 on flat classic boards. Arrow Escape 3D frames are shallower (at most 8 rounds) but ask you to keep the whole surface in mind. If you are new to the genre, start with the rules of the flat game: everything there carries over to 3D.

Frequently asked questions