What Is an Arrow Puzzle?
An arrow puzzle, often just called the arrow game, is a grid packed with arrows that you clear one tap at a time. Each arrow can only fly off in the direction it points, and only when nothing blocks its way.
- One rule: an arrow leaves only if the line from its head to the edge is empty.
- Also known as arrow out, arrow escape or tap away.
- No level can become impossible: removing arrows only opens space.
- Our 30 levels are generated backwards, so every one has a solution, then checked by a solver.
A logic puzzle you play with one finger
Arrow puzzles belong to the family of logic puzzles: you never guess, you work out which arrow can move from what you see on the board.
A logic puzzle is a puzzle deriving from the mathematical field of deduction.
As a video game it is a classic puzzle game, and the version on this site is a browser game: open a page and play, with nothing to install.
A browser game is a video game that is played over the Internet using a web browser, typically without the need for dedicated hardware or software installation.
How the arrow game works
Tap an arrow and look from its head straight to the edge. If that line is empty, the arrow slides off along its own path, body following head. If another arrow sits on the line, yours bumps into it and returns. You solve the level by finding an order that clears every arrow. The how-to-play guide covers controls and first moves, and the strategy guide covers hard boards.
Many names, one rule
Players search for this kind of game as the arrow game, arrow puzzles, arrow out, arrow escape or tap away. The names come from different apps, but they describe the same mechanic: a piece moves in one fixed direction when tapped, and only if its path is clear. Some versions use 3D blocks on a rotating shape instead of flat arrows on a grid.
Where the genre comes from
One of the best-known earlier games built on this idea is Tap Away 3D, released for iPhone by Popcore GmbH in May 2021. It uses blocks rather than arrows. Its App Store description puts the rule in two sentences:
Tap the blocks to make them fly away and clear the screen. But the blocks will only fly in one direction
The flat arrow version took off with Arrows – Puzzle Escape by Lessmore GmbH, released on the App Store in August 2025, which describes itself as follows:
a minimalist puzzle game that challenges your logic, planning, and spatial thinking. Your goal is simple: extract each arrow without causing a collision.
Within a year the genre was a hit. Tencent's results for the second quarter of 2026, citing Sensor Tower data, reported:
Arrows – Puzzle Escape became the most downloaded mobile game globally in 2Q2026
Arrow Puzzles is not affiliated with any of these games or their publishers. Every level on this site is original and made by our own generator.
Why a level can never become impossible
Removing an arrow only ever empties cells. So an arrow that is free stays free, and an arrow that is blocked can only become free as others leave. There are no traps: if a level has a solution, any free arrow you tap keeps it solvable, and you can always finish by tapping free arrows until the board is empty.
How our levels are made
Each level is built backwards. Our generator places arrows one at a time, and every new arrow must have a clear way out at the moment it is placed. Taking them away in reverse order always works, so every board has a solution by construction. A second check then clears each level automatically before it is published.
The randomness comes from mulberry32, a small seeded pseudorandom number generator written in 2017 by Tommy Ettinger and dedicated to the public domain. The same seed always produces the same board, so a level never changes once it is live. For every level we generate 60 candidate boards and pick one to fit a difficulty curve: an easy first level, a surprise spike at level 2, and waves that rise with a spike every five levels.
Are puzzles good for your brain?
We make no claim that arrow puzzles train your brain. Research on spatial skills in general is encouraging, though. A 2013 meta-analysis of spatial training studies found:
Training also transferred to other spatial tasks that were not directly trained.
That study looked at spatial training of many kinds, not arrow puzzles. Play them because they are fun.
Common questions
- What is an arrow puzzle?
- A logic puzzle on a grid full of arrows. Each arrow can only leave the board in the direction it points, and only when no other arrow is in its way. You win by clearing every arrow.
- Is the arrow game the same as arrow out, arrow escape or tap away?
- They are names for the same idea: tap a piece and it leaves in one direction if its path is clear. Some versions use 3D blocks instead of flat arrows, but the rule is the same.
- Can an arrow puzzle become impossible?
- No. Removing an arrow only empties cells, so a free arrow stays free and blocked arrows can only become free. If a level has a solution, no sequence of taps can take it away.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Logic puzzle
- Wikipedia: Puzzle video game
- Wikipedia: Browser game
- App Store: Tap Away 3D (Popcore GmbH, 2021)
- App Store: Arrows – Puzzle Escape (Lessmore GmbH, 2025)
- Tencent: 2026 second quarter results (PR Newswire, Aug 12, 2026)
- Tommy Ettinger: Mulberry32 PRNG (GitHub Gist, 2017, CC0)
- Uttal et al. (2013), The malleability of spatial skills: a meta-analysis of training studies, Psychological Bulletin 139(2)