Play Fifteen puzzle (Fifteen) online Works — plays right here, unlimited puzzles
Guide updated October 2026 · Runs via WebAssembly (native port)
The Fifteen puzzle is the classic sliding-tile game from the 1870s: fifteen numbered tiles and one gap in a 4×4 frame. Slide tiles into the gap until they read 1 to 15 in order. The puzzle is ready below; click a tile in the same row or column as the gap to slide it.
Controls — what does what
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse / touch |
|---|---|---|
| Slide tiles towards the gap | Arrow keys move one tile in that direction | Click a tile in the gap's row or column (moves several at once) |
| Suggested move | H (repeat to solve) | — |
| Undo / redo | U / R (or Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+R) | Game menu buttons |
FREE This is the complete game, free. Open source under the MIT licence: the complete puzzle, with a new grid every time.
Fifteen is from Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection, © Simon Tatham and contributors, used under the MIT licence. Built from source by scripts/build-puzzles.mjs.
How to play
- Only a tile next to the gap can move, sliding into it.
- The puzzle is solved when the top row reads 1, 2, 3, 4, the next 5–8 and so on, ending 13, 14, 15 with the gap in the bottom-right corner.
Sizes and difficulty
The standard board is 4×4. Custom lets you choose any width and height, smaller for a quick game or bigger for a long one. Preferences can make the arrow keys move the gap instead of the tile.
Solving tips
Solve the top row first, then the second row, and leave the last two rows as a block. Place the final tile of each row with the standard trick: park it below its target, bring the second-last tile into place beside it, then rotate both in. Once only a 2×4 block remains, solve it a column at a time from the left, two tiles at a time.
Where this puzzle comes from
Fifteen is part of Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection, a set of about forty logic puzzles written by Simon Tatham and contributors and released under the MIT licence. Every grid is generated on the spot, so the supply never runs out, and for the grid-logic puzzles the generator makes sure each has exactly one solution, reachable by reasoning rather than guessing. The version here is the collection's own code compiled to WebAssembly; the Game menu can save a puzzle to a file and load it again, and the Type menu changes the size and difficulty.
Frequently asked questions
Is every shuffle solvable?
Yes. The game only deals positions that can be reached from the solved state; half of all random arrangements could not be.
Can I get help if I am stuck?
Press H to have the game make one suggested move. Pressing it repeatedly will finish the puzzle, though it may disturb what you had in place.
Is Fifteen free to play here?
Yes, with no limit on the number of puzzles. Fifteen is open-source software under the MIT licence, and every grid is generated fresh when you press New game.
Does it work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. A tap works as a click and the puzzle resizes to fit the screen. Puzzles whose controls use the right mouse button are easier with a mouse.
More you can play in your browser
Related guides
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Want a game like this on your own site?
Fifteen puzzle (Fifteen) isn't ours to give away — we host it, we didn't write it. But eleven of the games here we did write from scratch, and those are free for anyone to put on their own page: one line of HTML, no account, no permission, no attribution beyond a credit line.