How to play outbound (and why the order is the whole puzzle)
outbound is a free puzzle game you play in the browser. The board is packed with small bent arrows. Tap one and it slides off the board the way its head points, unless something is in its path. Clear every arrow before the clock runs out.
No download, no account, no app. It runs on a phone on a bad connection, and it keeps working with the network switched off.
The rule, in one sentence
Tap an arrow and it leaves along its own track, body first following its head, as long as nothing sits between its head and the edge of the board.
If something is in the way, the arrow bumps forward, stops, and slides back. That costs you a heart and two seconds. Lose every heart and the board is over.
Order is the whole puzzle
Every board is guaranteed to have a solution. The arrows were placed so that there is always at least one arrow free to leave, and taking any free arrow never traps the rest. So you can never paint yourself into a corner by removing a free arrow.
What you can do is waste time. The skill is reading which arrows are free right now: look along each arrow’s head to the edge. If the line is empty, it can go. Clear those first and the arrows they were blocking open up behind them.
Stones
Grey stones are fixed. They never move and nothing passes through them. An arrow pointing at a stone can still leave, but only after you find a different order, because there is always one.
Locks
Some arrows carry a number. A locked arrow will not move until that many arrows have left the board. Tapping it early shakes it, costs two seconds, and leaves your hearts alone. The number counts down as other arrows leave, and a ring flashes when it unlocks. A formerly locked arrow is worth one and a half times the points.
The clock and combos
The clock starts a moment after the level banner, so you get a look at the board first. Every arrow you clear gives a little time back. Clear the next one within a second and a half and you build a combo; three in a row starts adding bonus time on top.
Points are the arrow’s length times ten, raised by a quarter for every step of the combo. When the board is clear you get twenty points for every second left and 150 for every heart left.
The bar turns amber under a third of the time and red near the end, and the last ten seconds tick. Hiding the tab pauses the clock.
The three difficulties
- easy: a 10 × 10 board, a few stones, the odd lock, three hearts, three hints and undo.
- medium: 13 × 13, more stones and locks and a tighter clock. The default.
- hard: 16 × 16, locks up to ten, two hearts, one hint, no undo and about a second per arrow.
Each difficulty has its own run of levels. Early levels are smaller and gentler; they fill up, add stones and locks, and tighten the clock as you climb.
Stars: three for a clean board with at least 40 percent of the clock left, two for one mistake or fewer, one for any clear.
The daily board and challenge links
Daily mode gives everyone in the world the same board for each difficulty, based on the UTC date. Your first daily attempt on each difficulty is the one that counts. Later attempts that day are marked as practice.
After a clear you can press challenge a friend. It shares a link to the exact board you just played with your score attached. Whoever opens it plays the same board and sees the score they need to beat.
Frequently asked
What is the rule? Tap an arrow and it slides off the board the way its head points. If an arrow or a stone is in its path, it bumps back instead, and that costs a heart and two seconds.
Does the order matter? It is the whole puzzle. Every board has a solution and removing a free arrow never makes it unsolvable, so the question is only how fast you can see which arrows are free right now.
What are the grey stones? Stones are fixed blocks. They never move and nothing passes through them, so an arrow pointing at a stone has to wait for a different route to open. There always is one.
What do the numbers on some arrows mean? That arrow is locked until that many arrows have left the board. Tapping it early costs two seconds but no heart. Once unlocked it scores one and a half times the points.
How do the clock and combos work? Every cleared arrow gives time back. Clear arrows within a second and a half of each other to build a combo; from three in a row each clear adds bonus time and more points. Time left and hearts left turn into bonus points when the board is clear.
What changes between easy, medium and hard? Board size, stones, locks, hearts, hints and the clock. Easy is 10 by 10 with undo, medium is 13 by 13, and hard is 16 by 16 with two hearts and no undo. Within each, the levels ramp up as you go.
Is the daily board the same for everyone? Yes. The daily board comes from the UTC date and the difficulty, so every player gets the same board on the same day, whatever their time zone. Your first attempt on each difficulty is your scored one.
How do I challenge a friend to the same board? Clear a board and press challenge a friend. The link carries the board and your score. When your friend opens it and plays that difficulty, they get the exact same board and their result shows the score to beat.
Is this like other arrow puzzle games? Yes. It is the familiar tap-the-arrows-off idea. The boards, the generator that guarantees a solution, the clock, the stones, the locks, the combos and the scoring are all our own.
Where outbound sits
outbound is the portfolio’s game about reading order under a clock. Its siblings test other kinds of nerve. graze is about how close you dare let a shot pass; updraft is about how little input it takes to stay steady; deadband is about not overcorrecting; filter is about asking better questions; overload is about spending a limited hand; closure is about which move you are forced to make next; tint is about the cost of correction; and bridge is about blocking and winning with the same move.
Every one of them is free, runs in a browser, and works offline.