The 24 puzzle is the 5×5 sliding puzzle: 24 numbered tiles and a gap, shuffled with 500 real moves so every start can be solved. It uses the same method as the 15 puzzle, with an extra row and column to work through first. Free, with no app, no sign-up and no interstitial before play; it works offline and plays from the keyboard.
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The 5×5 board has about 7.8 septillion solvable positions, far too many for a quick optimal search. The human method scales well, though: each finished row and column turns the board into the next smaller puzzle.
Place 1, 2 and 3 directly. Then park 5 where 4 belongs, bring 4 underneath it, route the gap into the top-right corner and slide 5 right and 4 up.
Place 6 and 11 below 1. Park 21 where 16 belongs, 16 to its right, bring the gap below 21, then slide 21 down and 16 left. You now have a 15 puzzle in the lower-right 4×4.
Most wasted moves on 5×5 come from dragging the gap across the board. Bring each tile in along the shortest route that does not cross your finished rows.
On 5×5 the full search only finishes near the end of a solve. Before that the hint shows the Closest move, a slide that brings the tiles nearer to home; treat it as a nudge, not a route.
The move counter and timer start with your first slide, and the timer pauses when you switch tabs. Stats are kept per board size in your browser: played, won, win rate, best and average time. The 5×5 board keeps its own best time.
Undo and redo are unlimited. The first two hints in each puzzle are free; if ads are switched on later, further hints offer a short ad or a 30-second wait. Every shuffle has a puzzle code such as A7K3Q, so ?p= replays the same start, and Share result copies your time and moves. There is no daily sliding puzzle and no printable version.
The 24 puzzle fits a phone screen without scrolling, and the arrow keys move the tile next to the gap so you can solve it without a mouse. Tidy Puzzles runs entirely in your browser: there is no app to install, no account to create and no interstitial before you can play. After the first visit the game also works offline, because each puzzle is generated on your device from a seed. Every board can be played with the keyboard alone, on a phone or a desktop, and your stats and unfinished puzzles stay in this browser rather than on a server.
Finish the top row and the left column, placing the last two tiles of each as a pair. That leaves a 15 puzzle; repeat until only a 2×2 corner is left.
Expect several hundred moves by hand. The game is saved on your device, so you can finish it later.
Yes. Each shuffle is 500 random moves from the solved board, so it can always be solved.
No. It marks one tile at a time, usually the move that brings the tiles closest to home, and an optimal move near the end.
It takes longer rather than needing new ideas. Solve one row and one column and you are back to the 15 puzzle.
Last updated 2026-09-27. Written and maintained by the Tidy Puzzles team; puzzles are generated on your device. How it works.