Sokoban — Japanese for “warehouse keeper” — is the puzzle where you push boxes around a small warehouse until every one sits on a marked goal. The rules fit in one sentence: you can push a box but never pull it, and only one at a time. That is enough to make a box in a corner stuck forever, and to turn a room with three boxes into a real problem.
On this page you can play Sokoban online for free, with nothing to install. There are 31 levels in three tiers, every one of them checked by a solver: each is solvable, and the solver also found the fewest pushes it takes, which is the three-star target you see above the board. Move with the arrow keys, swipe on a phone, or click a free square and the keeper walks there for you. Undo is unlimited.
How to play Sokoban Online
- You are the round keeper. Move one square at a time with the arrow keys or W A S D, the on-screen pad, or a swipe on a touch screen.
- Walk into a box to push it one square, as long as the square behind it is empty. You can’t pull a box, and you can’t push two at once.
- Get every box onto a goal (the squares with a dot). A box on a goal turns green. When all of them are on goals, the level is solved.
- To cross a room quickly, click or tap an open floor square: the keeper walks the shortest route there without pushing anything.
- Made a mistake? Undo (U) takes back one move at a time, as far back as you like. Reset (R) starts the level again.
- Your score is the number of pushes. Match the Best possible count for three stars.
Sokoban Online controls
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Move / push | ← or ↑ or → or ↓ or W or A or S or D | On-screen pad | Swipe, or the pad |
| Walk to a square | — | Click open floor | Tap open floor |
| Undo a move | U or Ctrl + Z | Undo button | Undo button |
| Restart the level | R | Reset button | Reset button |
| Pick a level | — | Levels button | Levels button |
Sokoban Online tips & strategy
- Never push a box into a corner unless that corner is a goal. A box in a corner can’t be moved again.
- Watch the walls. A box pushed against a wall can only slide along it; if there is no goal on that wall, it is stuck there.
- Two boxes side by side against a wall are stuck — neither can be pushed away from it.
- Plan the last box first. Work out which goal will be filled last and keep the path to it clear.
- Count pushes, not steps. Walking is free; only pushes count toward your stars, so take the long way round if it saves a push.
- Use undo to explore. It’s unlimited, so try an idea, see where it leads, and step back.
The 31 levels of this Sokoban online
The levels were made by working backwards: starting from the solved position, a generator pulled the boxes away from their goals. Every pull is a push played in reverse, so the start position is guaranteed to be solvable. A solver then searched each level for the fewest pushes, which became its target, and dropped any level that was too easy.
| Tier | Levels | Fewest pushes |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | 1–10 | 6–7 |
| Easy | 11–20 | 12–14 |
| Hard | 21–31 | 18–24 |
Each level has two to four boxes in a room up to 10 × 8 squares — small enough to see at once on a phone, big enough that the order of the pushes matters. The Levels button shows every level with its target, and the stars you have earned.
How Sokoban online stars work
| Stars | Pushes used |
|---|---|
| ★★★ | The fewest possible (the target shown above the board) |
| ★★☆ | Up to about a third more than the target |
| ★☆☆ | Any other solution |
Only your best result on each level is kept, so you can go back to an old level and improve it without losing anything. Moves are counted too and shown on the results screen, but they don’t affect the stars.
About the original Sokoban
Sokoban was designed by Hiroyuki Imabayashi and released in Japan by his company Thinking Rabbit in 1982. It spread to almost every computer of the 1980s and has never really gone away: there are thousands of fan-made levels, and computer scientists use it as a benchmark because deciding whether a Sokoban level can be solved is a famously hard problem. The classic rule set — push, never pull, one box at a time — is exactly the one used here.
Sokoban online on a phone or Chromebook
On a touch screen, swipe in the direction you want to move, or use the arrow pad under the board; tapping a free square walks the keeper there. On a laptop or Chromebook, the arrow keys are fastest, with U to undo and R to restart. The level you reached and your best result on every level are saved in this browser, so you can close the tab and carry on later.
Sokoban Online FAQ
Can I play Sokoban online for free?
Yes. This Sokoban runs in your browser for free, with no download or sign-up.
Are all the levels solvable?
Yes. Every level was built backwards from its solution and then checked by a solver, which also found the fewest pushes it needs.
Can I undo a move?
Yes, as many times as you like — with the Undo button, U, or Ctrl+Z. Reset or R restarts the level.
What does “Best possible” mean?
It is the fewest pushes anyone can solve that level in, found by a solver. Matching it earns three stars.
Who invented Sokoban?
Hiroyuki Imabayashi, who released it through his company Thinking Rabbit in Japan in 1982.
Is my progress saved?
Yes. The level you are on and your best pushes and stars for each level are stored in your browser on that device.
Sokoban was created by Hiroyuki Imabayashi and published by Thinking Rabbit in 1982; the name is a trademark of its owner. igame9 is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by them. The playable game on this page is an original browser game made for igame9 in the classic Sokoban style.
