How to Play an Arrow Puzzle: Rules and Tips for Sliplines

By Nesim Razon, independent Android developer

Every arrow wants out. In an arrow escape puzzle you clear the board by sliding each arrow off its edge, and the trick is finding the right order. This guide explains the rules of Sliplines and the way to read a board.

The rules

Each board is packed with winding arrows. Tap an arrow and, if nothing blocks its head all the way to the edge, it slides off the board along its own path. If another arrow is in the way, you lose a heart. Clear the whole board to escape the level.

How to read the board

• Follow the arrow's head in the direction it points and check every cell up to the edge of the board.
• An arrow that already has a clear lane to the edge is always safe to remove.
• If an arrow is blocked, find the arrow that blocks it, and ask what blocks that one in turn. You are looking for a chain that ends in a free arrow.
• Removing an arrow often frees several others at once, so start with the arrows that unblock the most.

Tips

• Begin near the edges, where lanes are shortest.
• Do not guess in the middle of a tangle: trace the paths first, because a wrong tap costs a heart.
• Precise touch helps: a near-miss picks the closest arrow, so stray taps are forgiven.
• Stuck? Get a hint or an extra heart by watching a short optional ad, or skip a hard level.
• Every level is checked to be solvable, so a solution always exists.

Daily puzzle and stars

A new puzzle appears every day and the board is the same for everyone. Clear a level without losing a heart to earn 3 stars, and keep your streak going to fill your calendar.