Guide

How to solve arrow puzzles

Rules, tips and strategies · By Umang Labs, makers of Narrowly · 6 October 2026

Arrow puzzles (also called arrow escape, tap-away or "arrows out" puzzles) give you a board packed with arrows and one goal: tap them away until the board is empty. They look busy, but every one of them runs on a single rule. Learn that rule and a few habits, and you'll clear boards faster and lose far fewer hearts.

This guide uses Narrowly: Arrow Escape Puzzle for its examples, but the tips work for most tap-away arrow games.

The one rule of arrow puzzles

An arrow can leave the board only if the straight line in front of its head is empty, all the way to the edge of the board. Tap a free arrow and it slides out along its own path. Tap a blocked one and it bounces back.

• Only the head matters. The body can twist and turn any way it likes; it simply follows the head out.
• The line runs to the edge of the board, across empty cells and gaps in the shape. One arrow anywhere on that line is enough to block it.
• An arrow is blocked by any part of another arrow (its head, middle or tail) that sits on the line.

What happens if you tap a blocked arrow?

The arrow bumps into whatever is in its way, slides back to where it was, and you lose a heart. In Narrowly you get three hearts per level. Run out and you can restart the level or continue with an extra heart. Nothing else on the board changes, so a mistake never makes the puzzle harder.

Good news: there's no wrong order

Taking an arrow off the board can only ever open up lines. It can never block another arrow. That means any arrow that's free right now is a safe move, and you can't paint yourself into a corner. Every Narrowly level is checked to be solvable before it ships, so a way out always exists. The whole skill is spotting free arrows quickly without guessing.

10 tips to clear arrow puzzles faster

1. Start at the edges. Arrows on the outside of the shape that point outward have the shortest lines to check, and they're often free.
2. Trace the whole line, every time. Follow the head's direction all the way to the border. The classic mistake is stopping halfway and missing a blocker on the far side.
3. Ignore the tail. A long, winding arrow looks scary, but only the cell its head faces matters.
4. Watch long arrows that cross rows. A single snake-shaped arrow can block several others at once. Freeing it often opens a whole section.
5. Clear one area at a time. Each arrow you remove opens lines for its neighbours, so work through a corner or a column before moving on.
6. Re-scan after every few moves. Arrows that were blocked a moment ago may now be free. A quick sweep along each row and column finds them.
7. Preview before you commit. In Narrowly, press and hold an arrow to see its path: a blue line means free, a red line points at the blocker. It's free and never costs a heart.
8. Zoom in on big boards. Pinch to zoom on dense levels. Precise tap mode makes tiny arrows a two-step tap: the first tap selects, the second sends it.
9. Turn on the grid guide. Guide lines make it much easier to see which arrows share a row or column.
10. Save hints for the hard ones. A hint highlights one free arrow. You earn more by finishing Daily Challenges and every few campaign levels, so spend them on Hard and Expert boards.

Practise with a daily arrow puzzle

The fastest way to get better is a little practice every day. Narrowly's Daily Challenge gives you a new arrow puzzle each day, and completing every puzzle in a month earns that month's trophy. There are no timers, so you can take as long as you need.

Arrow puzzle FAQ