An ordering puzzle
Arrows Escape is about order. Every arrow on the board can leave. The only question is when. An arrow can leave once the straight line in front of its head is empty all the way to the edge. Until then, it bumps into whatever is in the way.
One thing makes this puzzle kinder than it looks. Removing an arrow only ever opens space. It never blocks anything new. So you can't make a level impossible by tapping the wrong free arrow. If an arrow can leave, sending it off is always safe. The only mistake the game counts is a blocked tap, when you send an arrow whose lane isn't clear.
Read the lane, not the body
Many arrows bend through several squares, which makes the board look crowded. But only the head matters. When you tap, the whole shape follows the head's path, so nothing beside the bends gets in the way. To check an arrow, find its head and look straight ahead in the direction it points. If you reach the edge without meeting another arrow, it is free.
Colour helps you scan faster. Blue arrows point up, coral point down, lilac point left and amber point right. A good routine is to take one colour at a time. For amber, look along each row to the right of every amber head. For blue, look up each column above every blue head. Checking one direction at a time is far quicker than judging each arrow on its own.
On a computer, hovering over an arrow previews its lane. Green dashes mean free and red means blocked. Use the preview before you click, and you will rarely tap a blocked arrow.
Where to look first
- The outer ring. An arrow near the edge pointing outward has a short lane, often an empty one. These are usually the first to go.
- Long empty rows and columns. As arrows leave, whole lines open up. After each escape, look along the line the arrow just left. Any head pointing into that line may now be free.
- Follow the blocker. If you want a particular arrow gone, trace its lane to the first arrow in the way. Then check that arrow's lane. Keep following until you reach one that is free. That is your next tap, and the chain clears back toward your target.
Here is a short example on the 7×7 Easy board. Say an amber arrow in the right-hand column points right. Its lane is just the edge, so it leaves at once. Now the row it sat in is a little emptier. A second amber arrow further left in that row may now have a clear run to the edge. Tap it next. Then check the columns those two arrows covered. Any blue head below them, pointing up, might be free too.
Taps that cost you
- Tapping the arrow you want, not the one that is free. A blocked tap only bumps the arrow and flashes the blocker. Nothing is lost, but blocked taps are counted, and a board with one won't post a time to the online top-10.
- Forgetting the head's direction on bent arrows. A long arrow that winds down and then left travels left. Read the arrowhead, not the longest part of the body.
- Using Hint before scanning. Hint lights one arrow that can leave right now. It is counted too, and a hinted board isn't eligible for the top-10. Try one full colour-by-colour scan first.
From short arrows to long snakes
Easy is a 7×7 board of short arrows, and several orders usually work. Medium is 10×10 with arrows up to seven squares long. Hard is 13×13 with winding shapes of up to eleven squares, and the order is often forced. Every board is filled densely, so the colour scan matters more as boards grow. On bigger boards, Full screen mode gives you more room to read the lanes. Reset replays the same level, which makes it a good drill. Clear it once, then reset and try again with no blocked taps and no hints.
