How to play Arrowmere

Arrowmere is an arrow puzzle in a lakeside town of painters. Every canvas is crowded with long ink arrows. Slide them away in the right order and the painting underneath blooms into color.

This is our guide to playing Arrowmere. Want to jump straight in? Play Arrowmere right here in your browser.

Play Arrowmere free Leaderboard

PlayersSolo

Plays onPhone, tablet, computer

Levels200 canvases in 10 places, then endless

PriceFree

How it plays

Keyboard

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Quick answers

Do I need an account to play Arrowmere?

No. Just open it and play, with no sign-up. If you like, a free account (username only, no email, for players 13 and older) puts your scores on the leaderboards and backs up your progress so it follows you to any device.

Is there a daily challenge in Arrowmere?

Yes. Arrowmere has a new daily challenge every day, the same one for every player, with its own daily leaderboard. Find it alongside the others on our daily challenges page.

Does Arrowmere save my progress?

Yes. It saves on this device on its own, so you can close the page and pick up where you left off. Sign in with a free account to keep the same progress on your phone and your computer.

Is Arrowmere OK for kids?

Yes, players of any age can enjoy it. There is no chat and no way to message other players, and nobody needs an account to play. Accounts are for players 13 and older, so younger players just play and their progress stays on their device. For ages 4 to 11 we also have learning games in their own kids area, with no ads, no accounts and no tracking.

What is Arrowmere?

Arrow puzzles are about order. Every arrow wants to leave the board the way it points, but it can only go if nothing is in its path. Each arrow you clear opens the way for others, and a board that looked like a tangle slowly turns into calm empty space.

Ours is set beside a lake. Each level is a canvas on an easel, cut into the shape of the picture it hides: a fish, a teapot, a sailboat, an owl. As arrows leave, the paint below them shows through, and by the last arrow you have uncovered the whole painting. Arrowmere is free and plays in your browser on phone, tablet or computer, with no download.

How to play

Tap an arrow. It slides along its own body and out of the canvas the way its head points.
Long arrows bend. They follow their own trail out, so look at where the head is going, not where the tail starts.
If another arrow is in the way, the arrow slides up to it, bumps, and slides back home. Nothing is lost.
Clear every arrow to finish the canvas and see the painting.

There are no hearts, no timers on the journey and no fail screen. Taking an arrow away only ever frees up space, so a canvas can never get stuck. Turn on Look first in Settings if you would like the first tap to show the way out and the second tap to send it.

Stars

Stars are about bumps. The star meter at the top shows what you are on right now.

Stars	Bumps on the canvas
3	None
2	1 or 2
1	3 or more

Helpers never cost you a star. Every canvas is built backward from an empty board and checked by a solver, so every one can be cleared with three stars. Your total stars are your score on the all-time Stars leaderboard.

The places and their twists

The journey runs around the lake through 10 places of 20 canvases each. Every place adds one new idea.

Place	What's new
Sketchbook Shore	Straight arrows, then short bends
Orchard Lane	Long arrows that bend and follow their own trail
Signpost Hill	Wooden signposts turn any arrow that slides over them
The Boathouse	Keys and locks: a locked arrow waits until the arrow carrying its key has left
Dye Works	Colored gates let only arrows of their own color through
Paper Mill	Thin paper arrows lie on top. Arrows under them wait until they are gone
Old Canal	Tunnels: an arrow that slides into one hole comes out of its twin
Bell Tower	Signposts and locks together
Lantern Night	Gates and paper layers by lantern light
Summit Studio	Every trick from the lake on the biggest canvases

After canvas 200 the Open Studio gives you a fresh mixed canvas every time, for as long as you like.

Helpers

Glimmer shows one arrow that is free to go right now.
Clear View lights up every free arrow for a few seconds.
Lift takes any one arrow off the canvas, even a blocked one.

You earn helpers by playing: your first clear of the day, three daily goals, finishing a place, and painting the Daily Canvas. They are never sold, and there is no energy to wait for.

Daily Canvas and leaderboards

The Daily Canvas is the same board for everyone on the same UTC day. Your score adds up the arrows on the canvas, a quick-finish bonus and a small base, minus a little for each bump and each helper. Only your first finished run of the day posts to the Daily board. Replays are practice.

Play on following days to grow a streak. Once a week a missed day is forgiven as a rest day. The all-time board ranks total stars.

The gallery and the village

Every painting you uncover goes into the Gallery. Clear a canvas with three stars and its painting gets a gold frame.

Arrowmere itself has lost its color. Every 10 stars you earn paints one more piece of the lakeside village back in, from the easel on the jetty and the rowboat to the bell tower and the lanterns, 36 pieces in all.

Controls

Touch or mouse: tap or click an arrow to send it. Taps are forgiving, so a touch near an arrow picks it.
Keyboard: the arrow keys move a highlight from arrow to arrow, Enter or Space sends it.
G, V and L use Glimmer, Clear View and Lift. Escape pauses.

Tips and strategy

Start at the edges. Arrows near the rim that point outward are usually free.
Follow a head, not a tail. Trace the path in front of the arrowhead all the way to the rim.
When an arrow bumps, look at what stopped it. That arrow is the one to free next.
On lock canvases, find the key first. Sending the key arrow out opens its lock.
Paper arrows are often the place to begin, since everything under them is waiting.