Slide numbered tiles around the empty space until they're back in order — or upload a photo and solve it to reveal the picture.
Click a tile next to the blank space to slide it.
Every shuffle is generated using real legal slides, so there's always a path back to solved.
Track how many moves you take and how long you take to compare your attempts.
Upload any image and the puzzle swaps numbers for a 4x4 slice of your picture.
Fifteen numbered tiles sit on a 4x4 grid with one empty space. Slide tiles into the empty space to sort them back into order.
The 15 puzzle is one of the oldest mechanical puzzles still played today, dating back to the 1870s. It's a favorite for studying problem-solving because a scrambled position can look hopeless, yet a clear strategy — solving row by row and column by column — makes it very manageable.
Placing the top row and left column correctly first, then reducing the puzzle to a smaller grid, is the standard beginner strategy.
Not every scrambled arrangement of tiles is solvable, which is why this tool always shuffles using legal slides instead of pure randomness.
Swapping numbers for a photo turns the same logic puzzle into a fun way to reassemble a picture piece by piece.
Move count and time both tend to drop quickly once you settle on a consistent solving order.
Common questions about moves, solvability and the image mode.
Click or tap any tile next to the empty space. It slides into the blank spot. You can only move a tile that is directly above, below, left or right of the blank.
Yes. The shuffle works by making hundreds of random legal slides starting from the solved position, so every puzzle you get can always be solved back to the original order.
Yes. Upload an image and it is automatically split into 16 tiles in place of the numbers, so you can solve the puzzle to reveal your photo.
You win the moment every tile is back in numeric order (or the correct photo position) with the blank space in the bottom-right corner.
No. The timer and move counter are just for tracking your own progress and comparing attempts — there is no penalty or scoring beyond that.