How to Play Squad Car Escape: A Beginner's Guide
Squad Car Escape is a calm logic puzzle: the police car is parked in, and you have to slide the other vehicles out of the way so it can reach the exit. This guide explains the rules, the controls on every device, how moves and stars are counted, and walks through the very first level step by step so you can see exactly how a solution comes together.
The goal
Every level is a six-by-six parking lot seen from above. The black-and-white police car always sits on the third row, and the exit gate is at the right-hand end of that row. Your job is to clear every vehicle out of the police car's way and slide it all the way to the right edge. When it gets there, the barrier lifts, the sirens sound and the level is complete.
There is no timer and no way to lose. You can take as long as you like, which makes it a relaxing game for players of any age.
The only rule: vehicles move in straight lines
Each vehicle can only roll forwards and backwards along the direction it is facing:
- A vehicle lying left-to-right can only move left or right.
- A vehicle standing top-to-bottom can only move up or down.
- Nothing can turn, move sideways or pass through another vehicle or the wall.
Cars take up two spaces and trucks take up three. That extra length matters a lot: a truck standing upright across the third row needs three free spaces above or below the police car's lane before it is out of the way.
Controls
Mouse and touch
Press on a vehicle and drag it along its lane, then let go. It follows your pointer and stops at the first obstacle, then snaps neatly into the nearest space when you release it.
Keyboard
- Click a vehicle to select it (it gets a yellow outline), or press Tab to cycle through vehicles.
- Use the arrow keys to move the selected vehicle one space at a time.
- U (or Ctrl+Z) undoes the last move, R restarts the level and H shows a hint.
Moves, par and stars
A move is one slide of one vehicle, no matter how far it travels. The counter above the board shows your moves, and next to it is Par: the smallest number of moves that can possibly solve the level. Par isn't a guess — every level was checked by a computer solver (we explain how in our behind-the-scenes article).
- Three stars for solving in par.
- Two stars for solving within one and a half times par, rounded up, plus two extra moves. On a par-6 level that means up to 11 moves.
- One star for any other solution.
Undo really does take a move back, so experimenting costs you nothing. Only the moves you keep count towards your score.
Walkthrough: level 1
Level 1 has a par of three. Here is what the board looks like and how to solve it:
- Find the blocker. The police car is in the middle of the third row. The space directly to its right is empty, but the last space on the row is taken by a dark red car standing upright on the right-hand edge.
- Where can that car go? Below it is a car lying across the fourth row, jammed between other vehicles, so down is impossible. Above it is the long truck in the top row. The red car can only move up if the truck gets out of the way.
- Move the truck. The two spaces to the left of the truck are empty, so drag it to the left. That frees the top-right corner. (Move 1)
- Move the red car up into the corner. The third row is now clear. (Move 2)
- Drive out. Slide the police car to the right and the gate opens. (Move 3 — three stars!)
That little chain — the car is blocked by a car, which is blocked by a truck — is the heart of every level. Later puzzles simply have longer and more tangled chains.
Hints, levels and progress
- Hints: press Hint and the solver finds the best next move from your current position. The vehicle glows blue and a dashed outline shows where it should go. Hints are unlimited, but a level solved with a hint earns at most two stars.
- Levels: there are 40 levels in four ranks of ten — Rookie, Officer, Detective and Chief. Solving a level unlocks the next one.
- Replaying: you can replay any unlocked level from the Levels map. Your best star rating is always kept.
- Saving: stars and unlocked levels are saved in your browser automatically. A private or incognito window won't keep them after you close it.
What's next
Once the Rookie levels feel easy, read our six techniques for solving sliding-block puzzles before tackling the Officer and Detective ranks. And if you need a break from thinking, the sheriff in Catch the Robber is always looking for help.