Home / Puzzle / Color Gate Slide
Color Gate Slide is a free colour block sliding puzzle you play straight in the browser, with no download and no account. A handful of coloured blocks sit on a small grid, and the rim of that grid is dotted with coloured gates. Drag a block and it slides until a wall or another block stops it; any part of it that lands on a gate of its own colour is pulled out through it. Clear the grid to finish the level. Two rules turn that into something to think about. A gate is spent once it is used — every board carries exactly one gate slot per block cell, so there is no slack anywhere and no gate you can afford to waste. And a block that loses its middle to a gate splits into two separate blocks, which then need gates of their own. That is why a board that looks two moves from finished can still be a real puzzle: the pieces you make on the way out are part of the problem. Twelve levels run from a four-by-four grid with three blocks and two colours up to a six-by-six with five blocks and all four, and every board is generated by unsolving a full grid one cell at a time, so a solution is guaranteed to exist rather than merely hoped for. Nothing is timed and nothing is lost by experimenting: undo is unlimited, Reset restores the board exactly, and New Board deals a fresh puzzle at the same level whenever you want one. Hint knows the solution each board was built from, and says so plainly when you have wandered off it onto a line of your own.
How to play Color Gate Slide
- The grid holds a few coloured blocks. Around its edge sit coloured bars — those are the gates, and each one faces outward from the cell it sits on.
- Drag a block in any of the four directions, or select it and use the arrow keys. It slides that way until it hits a wall or another block; there is no partial move and no way to stop it halfway.
- When a block lands, any of its cells resting on a gate of the same colour are pulled out through it. A block only leaves through a gate it is actually touching, on the side it moved toward.
- A gate facing up only takes blocks arriving from below it. Sliding a red block sideways past a red gate on the top edge does nothing — direction matters as much as colour.
- Each gate is spent when it is used. A gate showing two colours takes one block of each, and loses a stripe each time, so watch which colours a shared gate still has left.
- If a gate takes the middle of a block, the two halves left behind become separate blocks. Each of them now needs a gate of its own, so splitting is something to plan rather than stumble into.
- Clear every block from the grid to finish the level. There is no score to chase and no timer running.
- Moves are counted against a par, which is the length of the solution the board was generated from. Matching par or beating it earns three stars; stars are the only thing the count affects.
- Undo takes back as many moves as you like, one at a time. Reset puts the board back exactly as it started.
- New Board deals a different puzzle at the same level, so any level can be replayed as often as you want without repeating itself.
- Hint highlights the next move of the solution the board was built from. If you have found a different line it will tell you so rather than drag you back onto its own.
- Twelve levels unlock in order, growing from a four-by-four grid with three blocks and two colours to a six-by-six with five blocks and four colours.
Tips
- Count before you move. Every board has exactly one gate slot for every block cell, so nothing is spare — if a gate is gone and a block of that colour is still on the grid, the board is finished with you.
- Work out which blocks are trapped before you move the ones that are not. A block sitting against the rim is often the wall that another block needs to stop against, and moving it early throws that away.
- Look at the gate a block would reach, not the one nearest to it. Blocks travel until something blocks them, so the natural stopping point is usually further than it looks.
- Two-colour gates are the tightest resource on the board. They are the only place two different blocks compete for the same opening, and getting the order wrong there is the most common way a level goes unwinnable.
- Splitting is a tool, not an accident. Pulling the middle out of a long block gives you two small ones that fit through gaps and stop in places the whole block never could.
- When a block needs to stop in the middle of the grid, find something to stop it against first. Sliding another block into position as a wall is a normal move here, not a wasted one.
- If a move feels wrong, undo immediately rather than playing on. There is no penalty at all, and a board can become unwinnable several moves before it becomes obvious.
- Stuck for a while? Reset costs nothing and the board is identical every time, so a second run knowing where the trouble is usually goes much faster than grinding at it.
- On the four-colour boards, plan the rarest colour first. If only one block is green, its gate is the least flexible thing on the grid and everything else should be arranged around it.
FAQ
Is Color Gate Slide free to play?
Yes. It runs in your browser with no download, no sign-up and nothing to buy. All twelve levels are there, unlocking in order as you clear them.
Is this the same as Color Block Jam?
No — it is not that game and is not connected to it. The family resemblance is real: both are colour block sliding puzzles where you move blocks to matching coloured gates. The differences are the ones you feel while playing. Nothing here is timed, undo is unlimited, gates are spent once and each board carries exactly one gate slot per block cell, so the puzzle is about the order you clear them in rather than about speed.
Is there a time limit?
None. There is no clock, no move limit and no way to lose. Moves are counted against a par for the star rating, but going over par costs you nothing except the extra stars.
Why did my block slide past a gate of its own colour?
A gate only takes blocks arriving from inside the grid, moving toward it. A gate on the top edge faces up, so it takes blocks sliding up into it and ignores blocks sliding left or right across it — even ones of exactly the right colour. If a block passed a matching gate, it was travelling the wrong way for that gate.
What does a gate with two colours mean?
It accepts one block of each colour it shows, one stripe per colour. Using it with a red block removes the red stripe and leaves the other colour still available. Those shared gates are the tightest spots on any board, because two different blocks have to pass through the same opening in the right order.
What happens when a block gets split in half?
The two halves become independent blocks of the same colour, and each one then needs its own gate. This happens whenever a gate pulls out a middle cell rather than an end. It is a normal part of the puzzle rather than a mistake — small blocks fit through gaps and stop in places a long block cannot.
Can a level become impossible to finish?
Yes, and that is deliberate. Because gates are spent when used and each board has exactly one gate slot per block cell, spending one on the wrong block can leave another with nowhere to go. Nothing is lost when it happens: undo is unlimited and steps back move by move, and Reset restores the board exactly as it started.
Is every board actually solvable?
Yes, and it is guaranteed by how boards are made rather than checked afterwards. Each one is built by taking a full grid and unsolving it — sliding a block to the rim, deleting one cell and leaving a gate behind — until the grid is empty. Those moves run backwards into a solution, and the generator replays that solution forward and confirms it empties the grid before the board is ever shown. The test suite checks this on every level across several seeds.
What does the Hint button do?
It highlights the block to move next and names the direction, following the one solution the board was generated from. Most boards have several solutions, so if you have found your own line the hint will say it does not recognise the position rather than pushing you back onto its route — your line may well work.
How many levels are there?
Twelve, growing from a four-by-four grid with three blocks and two colours to a six-by-six with five blocks and all four colours. New Board also deals a fresh puzzle at any level, so there is no fixed end to it.
Does Color Gate Slide work on mobile?
Yes. Dragging a block with a finger works exactly as with a mouse, and the board is drawn as vector artwork that scales to the screen, so it stays sharp at any size. The grid is square and reads well in portrait, so there is no need to turn your phone.
Can I play without a mouse or touchscreen?
Yes. Tab to the grid, then press an arrow key to select a block and the arrow keys again to slide it. Space cycles to a different block. Every control is labelled, so the level picker, hint, undo and reset all work with a screen reader.