How to solve arrow puzzles
In an arrow escape puzzle you tap arrows to slide them off the board. The rule is short, the order is the puzzle. Try the small sheet below, then read the method.
Try a small sheet
Tap an arrow. If nothing is in front of its head, it leaves. If something is, it bounces and counts as a mistake. Eight arrows, one way to learn it.
Free arrows have nothing between their head and the edge.
The method in five steps
- Look only at the headAn arrow leaves the sheet in the direction its head points. The body, the bends and the tail do not matter for the exit: draw an imaginary line from the head to the edge of the board.
- Check the line for anything in the wayIf every cell on that line is empty, the arrow is free. If any part of another arrow sits on the line, even its tail end, the arrow is blocked by that arrow.
- Tap a free arrow firstA free arrow always leaves safely, and removing an arrow can only open space, never close it, so taking a free arrow can never make the sheet unsolvable.
- Pick the free arrow that unlocks the mostWhen several arrows are free, prefer the one that is the only thing blocking other arrows. Removing it frees those arrows at once. The in-game hint uses the same idea.
- Do not tap to testTapping a blocked arrow costs a heart (there are three per sheet) and counts as a mistake. Hold an arrow instead to see its path first; holding never costs a heart.
What the small sheet teaches
At the start only two arrows can leave. One of them sits on the line of three others, so it is the right first move: once it is gone, a whole group is free. The arrow that bends is a good reminder that only its head counts for leaving, while its whole body can still be in somebody else's way.
Whenever you feel stuck on a bigger sheet, list the free arrows, then ask of each one: how many arrows have it as their only blocker?
Questions people ask
What happens when I tap a blocked arrow?
The arrow slides up to the first thing in its way and bounces back. It counts as a mistake and, in the normal mode, one of your three hearts is spent.
Can a sheet be impossible?
No. Every sheet is generated by building it backwards from an empty board, so a way to clear it always exists. If nothing looks free, re-check the line from each arrow head to the edge.
How are stars awarded?
A sheet with no mistakes earns 3 stars, one mistake 2 stars, and more than that 1 star.
Is there a mode without hearts?
Yes. Zen mode has no hearts; it only counts your mistakes.
Does an arrow's body matter?
Only as an obstacle for other arrows. For whether an arrow itself can leave, only the cell in front of its head and the cells beyond it matter.
If you want more sheets
Foldaway is a mobile arrow puzzle where each solved sheet adds a fold to a paper origami figure. Sheets are generated so they can always be cleared; you get three hearts per sheet, a hold-to-preview path, a hint, and a Zen mode without hearts. It works offline and shows ads (a banner below the board and an occasional full-screen ad between sheets, never in the middle of one). Available on Google Play.