How to Solve the Arrows Puzzle

How the Arrows puzzle works and how to clear a packed board fast: reading the way out, starting at the edges, chains of blockers and avoiding mistakes.

By the DailyGameClub teamUpdated October 16, 20265 min read

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Arrows fills a board with arrows that bend at right angles, packed so tightly that at first glance nothing seems able to move. Tap an arrow and it slides forward the way its head points, its whole body following its own bends like a train on a track, until it leaves the board. It can only go if every square in front of its head is empty all the way to the edge. If anything is there, it bumps into it, slides back and you are charged a mistake. The goal is simple to say and satisfying to do: clear every arrow, as fast as you can, with as few bumps as possible.

The one rule that matters

Only the squares ahead of the head count. The body does not need a clear path, because it follows the arrow's own route through squares the arrow already fills. A long, twisting arrow whose head points at the edge with nothing in front of it is just as free as a short straight one.

That is why reading an arrow means looking past its head. Trace the straight line from the arrowhead to the edge of the board. If that line crosses any part of another arrow, this one has to wait. If the line is clear, tap it now.

Why the order is the whole puzzle

Removing an arrow never blocks anything. It only ever opens lines. So the board can never get worse, and any arrow that is free now will still be free later. Two consequences follow:

There are no traps. Clearing a free arrow is never a wrong move. You cannot paint yourself into a corner the way you can in a sliding block puzzle.
Speed comes from seeing. Because no move is harmful, the challenge is to spot the free arrows quickly and to understand which blocked arrows are about to open up.

Every daily board is made so that it can be cleared, and the server checks that before it publishes the puzzle.

Where to start

The rim. Look along the four edges for arrowheads pointing straight out. Their way out is zero or one square long, so they are almost always free.
Long open lanes. An arrow pointing across a row or column that happens to be empty of other arrows is free no matter how far away the edge is.
The arrows you just uncovered. After every removal, check the arrows whose way out ran through the squares that just emptied. This is where chains start.

A small chain

Picture three arrows in a row of the board. Arrow A points right and its way out passes over the body of arrow B. Arrow B points up and its way out passes over arrow C. Arrow C points up too, and nothing is in front of it. C is free: tap it. Now B's line is clear: tap it. Now A's line is clear: tap it. Three taps, no mistakes, and you only needed to look at one arrow at a time, following the chain backwards from the blocked one to the free one.

Chains of blockers

On medium and hard boards the arrows wait on each other in long chains. The fastest players do not scan the whole board after every tap. They follow chains:

Pick a blocked arrow you want to clear.
Look at the first arrow sitting in its way out. Is that one free? If not, look at what blocks it, and so on.
When you reach a free arrow, clear the chain from that end.

A useful habit is to find the arrow that blocks the most others, usually a long one lying across the middle of the board. Freeing it often releases several arrows at once.

How mistakes happen (and how to avoid them)

Looking at the wrong end. Arrowheads are small. Before you tap, make sure you know which end is the head.
Missing a short arrow. A two-square arrow sitting in the way is easy to overlook in a dense corner.
Tapping in a hurry after a removal. The arrow you just removed may not have been the only thing in another arrow's way.
Assuming the body matters. It does not. An arrow whose body is surrounded on all sides can still be free.

Hints are there when you are stuck: a hint highlights an arrow that can leave right now. It counts as one mistake, the same as a bump.

Difficulty, scoring and the leaderboard

Level	Board	Arrows
Easy	8 × 10 squares	short, 2 to 6 squares
Medium	11 × 14 squares	2 to 9 squares
Hard	14 × 18 squares	2 to 12 squares, long chains

Arrows is ranked by time, fastest first; players with the same time are ordered by fewer mistakes. Only a member's first attempt of the day is ranked. Undo puts the last arrow back on the board, which is handy if you want to replay a chain, but it does not take back a mistake.

A routine for fast clears

Sweep the rim once and clear every arrow pointing straight out.
Clear the long open lanes.
Pick the biggest blocked group and follow its chain to a free arrow.
After each removal, glance at the arrows whose way out ran through the cleared squares.
Repeat until the board is empty. If nothing looks free, take a hint rather than guessing: a hint costs the same as a mistake, and it ends the search at once.

Play it now

Every game is free in your browser, with nothing to download; the daily puzzles change at midnight and the archive keeps the last 60 days. See all the logic games.

Questions and answers

Can every Arrows board be cleared?

Yes. Every board is checked by a solver when it is made, and removing an arrow never blocks another, so the board is always solvable from any position.

Does the body of an arrow have to be free?

No. Only the squares ahead of the arrowhead, all the way to the edge, have to be empty. The body follows its own path.

What counts as a mistake?

Tapping an arrow whose way out is blocked. A hint also counts as one mistake.

Does undo remove a mistake?

No. Undo puts the last arrow back on the board, but the mistake count stays.

How is it ranked?

Fastest time first, then fewer mistakes. Only a member’s first attempt of the day is ranked.

Written by the DailyGameClub team from the rules as DailyGameClub plays them. Updated October 16, 2026. New to a word? See the glossary. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.