Squad Car Escape

About the game

Squad Car Escape is a free sliding-block puzzle game with a police twist. Every level is a crowded parking lot seen from above. The black-and-white patrol car is stuck somewhere on the third row, and the only way out is the exit gate on the right-hand side. Between the patrol car and the exit, cars, vans and delivery trucks are parked every which way.

Vehicles can only roll forwards and backwards — never sideways, and they cannot jump over each other. So to clear the patrol car's path you often have to move a truck, which means first moving the car that blocks the truck, which means moving something else first. Working out that chain is the whole puzzle, and it is surprisingly satisfying when it clicks.

There are 40 hand-picked levels in four ranks: Rookie, Officer, Detective and Chief. Early levels can be solved in three or four moves; the final Chief level needs more than thirty. Every level has been checked by a computer solver, so each one is guaranteed to have a solution, and the Par number shown above the board is the true minimum number of moves.

How to play

1. Drag a vehicle with your mouse or finger to slide it along its lane. It stops when it reaches another vehicle or the wall.
2. Clear the third row. The patrol car has to reach the right edge of the lot, where the exit gate is.
3. Drive out. As soon as the patrol car reaches the exit, the gate lifts, the sirens sound and the level is complete.
4. Use the buttons when you need them: Undo takes back your last move, Restart resets the level, and Levels opens the level map.
5. Keyboard players can click a vehicle to select it (it gets a yellow outline) and move it with the arrow keys. Press Tab to select the next vehicle.

Moves, par and stars

A move is one slide of one vehicle, however far it travels. Sliding a car three spaces in one go counts as a single move, just like sliding it one space.

• 3 stars: solve the level in par — the minimum possible number of moves.
• 2 stars: solve it within about one and a half times par (plus two moves of breathing room).
• 1 star: any other solution. Every solve unlocks the next level.

There are 120 stars to collect in total. Your stars and unlocked levels are saved in your browser, so you can come back and continue at any time.

Stuck? Use a hint

The Hint button asks the built-in solver for the best next move from your current position. The vehicle to move glows blue and a dashed outline shows where it should go. Hints are unlimited, but a level solved with a hint can earn at most two stars — so you can always come back later and try for a perfect solve.

Tips for solving

• Work backwards. Start from the patrol car and ask: what is directly in its way? Then: what stops that vehicle from moving? Follow the chain until you find something that can move freely.
• Trucks are the real problem. Three-space trucks standing upright across the third row usually need a lot of room above or below them. Plan where they will go first.
• Slide all the way. Because a long slide costs the same as a short one, pushing a car right to the end of its lane often saves moves later.
• Don't fear undo. Experimenting is part of the fun. Undo as often as you like; only the final number of moves counts.

Frequently asked questions