How to solve blocked arrows without guessing
A blocked arrow is not a dead end. It is a clue that points to the path you should inspect next. By turning each obstruction into a dependency chain, you can work backward from an impossible-looking move until you reach an arrow with a genuinely open exit.
Worked case: one arrow, two blockers
A points right. Both B and C cross its exit ray. Remove B and notice that A still cannot leave: C is farther along the same row. Step through this small board to see exactly when A becomes safe. You can also remove C before B; both orders work.
Red: next arrow & dotted exit ray. Purple: paths this move will free. Numbers count columns and rows from the top-left.
Find the red arrowhead at column 5, row 3, pointing up (path B).
Its dotted line reaches the edge without crossing any remaining path, so it can escape safely.
No additional exits open after this move. The other paths keep their previous blocked or clear status; re-check them before continuing.
A separate teaching board—not a hint that spends lives or changes your save.
Read the obstruction as a relationship
Suppose an arrow points right, but another path crosses the straight ray beyond its arrowhead. Do not keep testing the blocked arrow. Trace the crossing path to its arrowhead and check that exit instead.
If the crossing path is also blocked, continue tracing the next blocker. Keep following the chain until one arrow's ray reaches the edge without crossing a remaining path. That final arrow is the first safe move in the chain.
Do not confuse a gap with an exit
Nightmare boards deliberately place six or more empty cells between an arrowhead and some blockers. Your eye may register the long gap as freedom, but the game checks the entire straight ray. Keep your scan in the same row or column until it leaves the board.
Zoom in when two paths nearly touch. A visual near miss is safe; an actual crossing is a blocker. Following each line through the intersection prevents you from assigning the obstruction to the wrong path.
Use removals to shorten the chain
After you clear the last arrow in a dependency chain, do not assume the chain unwinds automatically. Re-check the board. The removal may free the previous arrow, but it might also expose another crossing farther along its ray.
- Remove the verified clear arrow.
- Return to the arrow it was blocking.
- Scan the complete exit ray again.
- Continue only if the updated ray is fully open.
Can a safe move ruin the solution?
Not under this game's removal rule. A successful move removes occupied cells and does not add new ones or turn another path. That means an already-clear arrow stays clear, and a blocked arrow may become clear. If two complete exit rays are open, either safe arrow may go first.
The important distinction is between a genuinely safe move and one that only looks safe. In the worked case, B and C are both valid first choices. A is not: removing only one of its blockers is insufficient. The same reasoning applies when several long paths cross a row on a Journey board.
Questions about how to solve blocked arrows in arrow puzzle
An arrow is blocked when any remaining path crosses the straight exit ray extending from its arrowhead to the board edge.
Yes. Empty cells do not end the check; a path farther along the same straight ray still blocks the arrow.
Only after tracing the blocking path to its own arrowhead and confirming that its complete exit ray is clear.
Continue with another Arrow Puzzle guide
Choose the next question that matches what stopped you on the board, or browse the complete Arrow Puzzle guide library.
Try the pattern on a real board
Play free in the browser, keep the full exit ray visible, and turn every blocked arrow into your next clue.
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