Rotating Block Puzzle

This game is a bit like that delightful little puzzle the Rubik's Cube. Except, of course, this puzzle is in two dimensions, rather than three.

Object of the Game

The puzzle contains sixteen square blocks, in a four by four array. Four of these blocks are red, four are green, four are blue, and four are purple.

The blocks are arranged so each color lies in a different quadrant of the square (for example, all the purples in the upper left corner, all the greens in the upper right corner, as shown in the picture to the left).

The puzzle blocks are scrambled by the computer, and your job is to unscramble the blocks, separating each of the colors and returning them to a corner.

In order to move pieces, hover the mouse over one of the center blocks. When you do, you will notice that a small black dot appears in the center of that square. This is to let you know that you can click on that square. When you click a square, a 3x3 square around the block you clicked will rotate 90 degrees clockwise.

Game Tips

If you realize you made a bad move, you can "undo" your move by click the same block three more times, since this results in a full 360 degree rotation of the square.

Just like with the Rubik's Cube, the longer you play with this, the more you will notice patterns to the moves; certain sequences of moves will produce useful results. It's just a matter of discovering those sequences!

You can choose how much the computer scrambles the puzzle by choosing a difficulty level. If you choose a difficulty level of "Novice", it is possible to solve the puzzle in just one move. However, if you make the wrong move, the puzzle quickly becomes scrambled.

Similarly, if you select a difficulty level of "Easy" it is possible to solve the puzzle in two moves, and if you select "Harder", it is possible to solve the puzzle in three moves.

If you choose "Hardest", the computer thoroughly scrambles the puzzle.

You can return the puzzle to its original state by clicking the "Restart" button.