Frequently Asked Questions
Clear Arrows – Puzzle Escape
Clear Arrows is a free logic puzzle in your browser: remove the arrows from the grid, with no sign-up and no installation. Here are the answers to the most common questions. The full explanation is in How to Play, and the eight difficulty mechanics are on the Mechanics page.
How do I remove an arrow?
Tap an arrow to remove it. That works when its path in the direction it points is clear all the way to the edge. If another arrow still stands in that direction, it is blocked, and tapping it costs a life.
What do the arrow colours mean?
Normal arrows get their own colour by the direction they point: up lime, right green, down lavender blue, left rose (with a purchased skin, the skin’s colour applies). In levels with coloured arrows a fixed order counts instead: red first, then blue, then green; the wrong colour first costs a life. The colour does not show whether an arrow is blocked – you see that from its path.
What is the Shifting Grid?
With this mechanic, every arrow turns by 90 degrees after a certain number of moves. An orange bar shows how many moves are left until the next shift. Shift-immune arrows – turquoise border and shield symbol – keep their direction.
What is Hidden Mode?
In Hidden Mode most arrows are hidden and appear as question marks. When you tap an arrow, the arrows in the neighbouring cells become visible for two moves. Work your way inwards from the edges.
How do I earn coins?
For every level you complete, you get 10, 20 or 35 coins for one, two or three stars, plus 5 more coins for every five levels: from level 6 that is 5 more, and from level 11, 10 more. The first time you complete a level, you get an extra 15 coins. If you complete a level without a misclick and without any assist, there is a perfect bonus of 10, 20, 30 or 50 coins, depending on difficulty. Once a day you get 5 coins as a daily reward, and the Daily Challenge brings a streak bonus. You start with 30 coins. Achievements and combos do not give coins.
What is Magic Solve?
Magic Solve plays the next valid move for you, without you risking a life. If you have bought Magic Solves in the Shop, one from your stock is used first. Without stock it costs 15, 30, 50 or 75 coins, depending on difficulty. It does not change your stars, but the level no longer counts as perfect afterwards, and in the play style feedback it counts as an assist.
How does the Daily Challenge work?
Every day the game picks one of the 57 levels based on the date, so everyone plays the same level on the same day. The Daily Challenge always runs with a clock. If you complete it and also completed it the day before, your streak grows by one day; otherwise it starts again at 1. Besides the coins for your stars, there is a streak bonus: 3 coins from the second day, 10 on every 3rd day of the streak, 25 on every 7th day of the streak, 50 on every 14th day of the streak and 100 on every 30th day of the streak. If more than one applies, the highest value counts. The streak bonus is paid once per day: replaying the challenge on the same day does not pay it again.
What are Deadlocks?
A deadlock occurs when every remaining arrow blocks every other one after a shift. The game spots it and clears up to three arrows for free – it costs neither a life nor coins.
Why doesn’t my device vibrate?
Clear Arrows gives haptic feedback on every move, on mistakes and on traps – but only on devices that support it. That mainly means Android phones and tablets. Desktop browsers offer no vibration, and iPhone and iPad support it in no browser at all. The switch in the settings can still be toggled; on those devices it simply has no effect.
How do I change the background music?
Via the genre icon at the top right (on the start, menu and game screens), or in the settings under “Choose soundtrack”. The speaker next to it turns the background music on and off. Tap a genre once to preview it for five seconds; tapping again selects it. The chosen track then loops until you change it.
Is Clear Arrows free and can I play without signing up?
Yes. Clear Arrows is completely free, with no sign-up, no account and no registration. You open the page and start playing. Your progress is stored on your device, not on a server.
Do I have to download or install anything?
No. Clear Arrows runs straight in the browser, on phones as well as desktops. You can additionally add it to your home screen – it is a Progressive Web App and needs no app store.
Can I play without an internet connection?
Yes. After the first visit Clear Arrows caches its program files in the browser and then runs offline too. All 57 levels, your coins and your progress stay available; only the daily challenge needs the current date.
Where is my progress stored?
Only in your browser, on your device. Your progress is not stored on any server, and there is no account. If you clear your browser data or switch devices, the game starts over.
Does the shop cost money, and what are coins good for?
No. The shop is free: you pay only with coins you earn in the game – there is no real money in Clear Arrows. With coins you buy Hints and Magic Solves for your stock, which is used up first in a level: a Hint from your stock costs no life, a Magic Solve from your stock costs no coins. There are also skins for your arrows, and you can unlock levels early without finishing the previous ones.
How do I get three stars?
Stars count only two things: misclicks and Hints. You get three stars with no misclick, two with at most one, otherwise one. After a Hint you get at most one star. A misclick is a tap on a blocked arrow and, in levels with coloured arrows, the wrong colour. Time, the clock running out, Solution moves, Magic Solves and Continue with +1 life do not count. More stars bring more coins: 10, 20 or 35.
How many lives do I have, and what costs a life?
Every level starts with 3 lives. You lose a life by tapping a blocked arrow, by tapping the wrong colour in levels with coloured arrows, when the clock runs out, and by using a Hint when you have none in stock. If the blocked arrow is a trap, in levels with cascade traps it costs one extra life for every armed trap directly next to it. Tapping an empty cell costs nothing. Once all lives are gone, the attempt has failed. You can restart the level or use Continue with +1 life once.
What is “Continue with +1 life”?
If an attempt fails because all your lives are gone, the game offers “Continue with +1 life” once per attempt. You get one life back and carry on from the same position; if the clock had run out, it starts again with the full time. It costs as much as a Magic Solve: 15, 30, 50 or 75 coins, depending on difficulty. It counts neither as a misclick nor as an assist, so it changes neither your stars nor your play style feedback.
What does the play style feedback mean?
After every level you complete, the game assigns your run to one of five styles: “Steady Hand”, “Look Before You Tap”, “Trial and Error”, “Safety Net” or “Full Throttle”. It is based on two shares: how many of your taps missed (threshold 12 percent) and how much help you took per removed arrow (threshold 8 weighted assists per 100 arrows). From 5 completed runs, the game also names your most frequent style of the last 10. The feedback describes a run. It is not a verdict and not a personality test. The guide article “Plan ahead or just start tapping?” explains it in detail.
Which languages is Clear Arrows available in?
In six languages: German, English, French, Spanish, Turkish and Italian. On first launch the game uses your browser’s language if it offers it, otherwise English. You can choose the language on first launch and change it at any time in the Settings (gear icon). The How to Play guide, the mechanics, the frequently asked questions and the guide articles on this website are also available in all six languages.
Is Clear Arrows the same app as “Clear Arrows: Clear Your Route” on the App Store or Google Play?
No. Clear Arrows – Puzzle Escape is a standalone game by Werner Productions Media. It runs only in the browser at clear-arrows.com and can be added to your home screen as a web app. There is no version on the App Store or Google Play, and it has no connection to apps of the same name in those stores.