BOXXY
RULES & BEGINNER STRATEGY

How to play Sokoban

Your goal is to push every box onto a target square. You can walk around the board and push a box one square at a time, but you cannot pull a box back towards you.

PLAY BOXXYHOW TO PLAY
BOXXY box pushing puzzle game artworkBOXXY — PUSHBOX PUZZLE

The basic rules

  1. Move around the open floor. Walls block both you and the boxes.
  2. Push boxes from behind. The square beyond the box must be empty before you can push it.
  3. Put every box on a target. The puzzle is solved when all boxes are correctly placed.
  4. Protect your escape routes. A box in the wrong corner or against the wrong wall may be impossible to recover.

BOXXY controls

Desktop

Use the arrow keys or WASD to move. U or Z undoes a move, R restarts the puzzle, and the interface also provides on-screen controls.

Phone and tablet

Use BOXXY's touch controls to move around the board. The interface adapts to smaller screens and includes options intended for comfortable phone play.

Beginner tips

Count pushes, not footsteps

Walking around is often harmless. Pushing a box changes the puzzle. Stop for a moment before committing to a push.

Watch the corners

Never push a box into a corner unless that corner is its target. Many early Sokoban deadlocks come from this single mistake.

Leave room behind boxes

To push a box again later, you need somewhere to stand. A route that looks open for the box may still fail if you cannot reach the pushing side.

Consider the final move first

Look at a target and picture the last push that would place a box there. This can reveal which approach directions must remain open.