Black Hole Square
Black Hole Square is a quiet black-and-white puzzle where every tap counts. Each board is a 6x6 grid with a few white tiles and some black holes, and your job is to make the white tiles disappear with a fixed number of moves.
Quinten Clause made it for the js13k 2021 contest, where an entry had to fit inside 13 kilobytes. There are 18 puzzles in all, and it plays in any browser tab with no install.
How to play Black Hole Square
Swipe left past the opening screens to reach the first board. The top left corner names the puzzle and the top right shows how many moves you still have.
Arrow tiles do the heavy lifting. Tap one and it moves one step in the way it points, shoving along any tiles that sit directly ahead. If the front tile lands on a black hole, it falls in and is gone. If the line is pressed against the edge, nothing happens and your move is not spent.
Some tiles behave differently. A tile with an X vanishes when you tap it. A tile with a small gray square in the middle turns into a fresh black hole when tapped. Plain white tiles can only be pushed. Clear everything except the holes to finish the board.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use a tile | — | Click the tile | Tap the tile |
| Next screen | — | Drag left across the board | Swipe left |
| Reset the puzzle | — | Drag right across the board | Swipe right |
| Pick a puzzle | — | Click a square in the row under the board | Tap a square in the row under the board |
Tips
- Count the white tiles and compare that number with your move limit. A tight limit means almost every tap has to drop a tile into a hole.
- Look at the order of tiles in a line. Pushing an arrow that sits behind other tiles can feed several of them into the same hole, one per tap.
- Do not turn a gray-centered tile into a hole too early. A new hole in the wrong place can block the line you need later.
- X tiles are free removals, but they also act as walls while they stand. Sometimes it pays to push against one before tapping it away.
- If a plan falls apart halfway, swipe right to start fresh instead of spending moves trying to recover.
If you like Black Hole Square, try these
Inertia Gem SlideMovement is the puzzle in this one too: your ball has no brakes, so each slide must collect gems while avoiding mines.
Hyperspace Garbage CollectionPushing objects into place stays central, now with a robot that flips between matter and antimatter to unlock chambers.
Questions
How many levels does Black Hole Square have?
There are 18 puzzles, and all of them are open, including the three harder ones near the end. The row of squares under the board lets you jump to any of them.
Does Black Hole Square remember my progress?
Yes. Solved puzzles are kept in your browser, so the progress row still shows them as done when you return on the same device.
Why did my puzzle restart on its own?
The board resets when you run out of moves, get stuck, or leave plain white tiles with no way to remove them. A short message tells you which one happened.
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