Play Rotating tiles puzzle (Twiddle) online Works — plays right here, unlimited puzzles
Guide updated October 2026 · Runs via WebAssembly (native port)
Twiddle is a number tile puzzle in which every move rotates a square block of tiles about its centre. In the basic game you turn 2x2 blocks on a 3x3 grid, and the aim is to put the numbers in ascending order. Harder settings rotate bigger blocks or make each tile's direction count. The puzzle is ready below; click where four tiles meet to rotate them.
Controls — what does what
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse / touch |
|---|---|---|
| Rotate a block anticlockwise | Arrows to move the outline, then Enter | Left-click the centre of the block |
| Rotate a block clockwise | Space | Right-click the centre of the block |
| Undo / redo | U or Ctrl+Z / R or Ctrl+R | Game menu |
| New puzzle | N | Game menu, New game |
FREE This is the complete game, free. Open source under the MIT licence: the complete puzzle, with a new grid every time.
Twiddle 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
- Each move rotates a square block of tiles (2x2 by default) a quarter turn.
- Finish with the numbers in order, reading left to right and top to bottom.
- In orientable puzzles each tile carries a triangle, and every triangle must point upwards at the end.
- In the 'rows only' variant some numbers repeat; you only need all the 1s in the first row, the 2s in the second, and so on.
Sizes and difficulty
The Type menu offers 3x3 in rows-only, normal and orientable forms, 4x4 normal and orientable, 4x4 and 5x5 rotating 3x3 blocks, and 6x6 rotating 4x4 blocks. Custom sets the grid size, block size, orientation and a limited shuffle, where the aim is to reverse a scramble of a known length.
Solving tips
For a 2x2 block, click the point where four tiles meet; for an odd-sized block, click its centre tile. Build the top rows first, then deal with the last two rows together. Turning a block four times returns it to where it started, so three turns one way equals one turn the other way. The rows-only 3x3 setting is a gentle place to learn.
Where this puzzle comes from
Twiddle 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
Where does Twiddle come from?
Simon Tatham based it on a door puzzle in the game Metroid Prime 2, and generalised it to any grid and block size.
What does orientable mean?
Each tile shows a triangle that turns with it. You must put the numbers in order and also leave every triangle pointing up, which makes the puzzle much harder.
Is Twiddle free to play here?
Yes, with no limit on the number of puzzles. Twiddle 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.
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