Free The Key
Free The Key
Free The Key is a sliding block puzzle wearing a temple adventure as costume. A key sits behind a wall of blocks, the blocks can only slide along their own axis, and your job is to clear a path to the exit.
The family it belongs to is old and well studied. Blocks that lie horizontally move left and right only, blocks that lie vertically move up and down only, and nothing ever rotates. Every level is therefore a fixed problem with a fixed shortest answer, and the scoring cares how close you get to it.
How to play Free The Key
- Drag a block to slide it along its own axis.
- Horizontal blocks move sideways, vertical blocks move up and down.
- Blocks cannot turn and cannot pass through each other.
- Move the key to the exit to finish the level.
- A lower move count scores higher, so the elegant route is worth finding.
Why it is harder than it looks
The blocking piece is almost never the one next to the key. It is two or three removes away, holding the block that holds the block that is in your way.
That is what makes trial and error so unproductive here. You can spend twenty moves shuffling the pieces around the key without ever touching the one that actually matters.
Tips and strategy
Solve it backwards
Start at the exit and work back. Ask what has to be out of the way for the key to leave, then what has to be out of the way for that piece to move, and keep going until you reach something you can move right now.
That first move is the answer, and it usually looks irrelevant.
Reading the board
- Find the long blocks first. They have the least freedom and they dictate everything else.
- Count empty squares in each row and column. A block needs somewhere to go, and empty space is the only thing that lets it move.
- A piece pinned at both ends is fixed until something else moves. Treat it as a wall until it is not.
Move economy
- Undo is cheaper than persistence. When a route stops working, back up rather than trying to rescue it.
- If you are more than a handful of moves past what the level looks like it should need, restart. A tangled board is harder to read than a fresh one.
- Note which move opened things up. Many levels in a series reuse the same trick.
Common errors
- Pushing the key toward the exit before the path exists.
- Moving the piece nearest the key because it is the one you are looking at.
- Confusing progress with movement. A board where you have moved eight blocks and freed nothing is a board you have made worse.
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Frequently asked questions
How do you play Free The Key?
Slide blocks along their own axis to open a path, then move the key to the exit. Blocks never rotate and never pass through each other.
Do moves count against me?
Yes. Finishing in fewer moves scores higher, so there is a reason to look for the clean solution rather than the first one that works.
What is the best way to approach a hard level?
Work backwards from the exit. Decide what must move for the key to escape, then what must move to allow that, until you reach a block you can move immediately.
Can I restart a level?
Yes, and it is often the fastest fix. A board you have shuffled at random is harder to read than a fresh one.
Is Free The Key free to play?
Yes. It runs in the browser with nothing to install and no account.