Block Escape — Slide the Red Block to Freedom
Slide blocks to clear a path for the red block to escape through the right side.
How to play
- Click the red block (or any block) to select it — it glows when selected.
- Press the arrow keys to slide the selected block in its direction.
- Horizontal blocks slide left/right; vertical blocks slide up/down.
- Slide other blocks out of the way to clear a path for the red block.
- Get the red block to the right edge (the green arrow) to escape.
Slide the red block to the right edge to escape! Click a block to select it, then use arrow keys to slide it. Horizontal blocks slide left/right; vertical blocks slide up/down. Only one block moves at a time.
How it works
Block Escape (also known as Unblock Me or Rush Hour) presents a grid of horizontal and vertical blocks. A special red block must be slid to the exit on the right edge of the grid. All other blocks can only slide along their own axis — horizontal blocks move left and right; vertical blocks move up and down — and no block can pass through another.
To free the red block, you must slide the obstructing blocks out of its path. This often requires moving other blocks first to create the space needed to shift an obstructing block, which may in turn require clearing other blocks, creating a chain of prerequisite moves.
Start by tracing the red block's exit path horizontally to the right. Identify every block directly in that path. For each blocker, determine which direction it can slide and what must be moved to give it room. Work backwards from the exit to find the minimum sequence of moves.
Block Escape is a pure spatial reasoning puzzle that rewards systematic thinking over random trying.
Worked example
Clearing a two-blocker path
- Slide the red block right as far as it goes — it is stopped by a vertical block in column 5.
- The vertical blocker can slide upward if the cell above it is empty — slide it up two spaces.
- The red block can now advance but is stopped by a second horizontal block at the exit column.
- Slide the second horizontal block left to clear the exit row.
- Slide the red block all the way to the right through the exit.
Red block escapes in five moves by clearing two sequential blockers.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Moving blocks randomly without first identifying which specific blocks are actually in the red block's exit path.
- Sliding a blocker in a direction that opens one path while creating a new obstacle elsewhere.
- Forgetting that a vertical block only needs to slide far enough to clear the exit row — it does not need to reach the grid edge.
Key terms
- Red block
- The target block that must reach the exit; it can only move horizontally.
- Blocker
- Any block occupying a cell in the red block's direct path to the exit.
- Axis constraint
- The rule that horizontal blocks can only slide left/right and vertical blocks can only slide up/down.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I move a block?
- Click a block to select it, then press the arrow keys in the direction it can slide. Horizontal blocks move left/right; vertical blocks move up/down.
- Can blocks pass through each other?
- No — you must clear the path by moving other blocks out of the way.