Arrowtix - Train Your Brain

Arrowtix opens with a pile of arrows crammed into a grid. You have to get them all out, but an arrow can only slide when the path in its direction is completely empty. Free to play in your browser.

About Arrowtix

That rule turns the game into an ordering puzzle. You start with the free arrows at the edge, and as they leave, the ones inside open up. So the right answer is not a single arrow, it is the right sequence. Tapping a blocked arrow is not free either: you lose a life, and when three lives are gone the level restarts.

There are sixty levels spread across three difficulty tiers. On normal the grid is sparse and solves in a couple of glances. On hard the arrows interlock, and seeing which arrow closes which path genuinely takes attention. For the moments you jam there is a hint icon; it points out a safe arrow and shows you where the chain begins.

Levels are short and retrying is fast. Looking at the same grid a second time, you already know which arrow is the trap, so the answer usually arrives at once.

Why kids like this game

The rules are understood at a glance but the solution needs thought. Thanks to the difficulty tiers, everyone can start at their own level.

Is this game safe for kids?

Yes. Plain graphics, no violence and no jarring sound. The game runs straight in the browser and asks for no sign-up.

1. Study the arrows in the grid and the directions they point.
2. Check whether an arrow has a clear path all the way to the grid edge.
3. Tap an arrow whose path is open; it slides out of the grid.
4. Do not tap a blocked arrow, it costs you a life.
5. When your three lives are gone, the level restarts.
6. After every arrow that leaves, look again at which arrows are now free.
7. When you jam, press the hint icon to learn a safe arrow.

• Start at the edges: arrows facing the grid edge are almost always the opening moves.
• Scan the path with your eyes: check every square in front of the arrow before tapping, that is the only cause of life loss.
• Think about the chain: working out which arrow is freed when another leaves solves the level from the start.
• Save the hint for the hard tier: use it on the interlocked grids rather than spending it on normal levels.
• Stop if your lives run low: on your last life, looking at the grid afresh beats guessing.
• Climb in order: jumping to the hard tier before finishing normal just makes things needlessly tough.

• 60 levels: spread across three tiers of normal, medium and hard.
• Clear-path rule: an arrow only leaves when its way is completely open.
• Life system: wrong taps are limited, so care is rewarded.
• Hint icon: points out a safe arrow when you get stuck.
• Plain visual style: a clean grid with nothing to distract you.
• Plays the same on mouse and touch screens.