Sokoban Game Online
Sokoban is free and open source (AGPL-3.0). Original project: github.com/obfusk/sokobang.git
How to Play Sokoban
Push every crate onto a marked target square. You can only push — never pull — and one crate at a time. Use the arrow keys to move. Levels are small but lethal to careless thinking: a crate pushed into a corner can never be moved again, and one bad push can make a level unsolvable, so plan the whole route before you take the first step. Undo is your friend; restart is sometimes smarter.
Sokoban History & Background
Sokoban — Japanese for 'warehouse keeper' — was created in 1981 by Hiroyuki Imabayashi and published in 1982 by Thinking Rabbit. It has since been proven NP-hard, spawned thousands of level packs, and remains a benchmark puzzle design: one mechanic (push, never pull), infinite depth.
Sokoban Tips & Strategy
Never push a crate against a wall unless it belongs there — wall-hugging crates lose their side access forever. Solve from the goal backwards: look at each target and ask which corridor the crate must arrive from. Keep the order of operations in mind; most levels are sequences disguised as mazes. If a position feels stuck, undo three moves — the mistake is usually earlier than it feels.
Why Play Sokoban?
Zero friction is the biggest one: Sokoban runs right here in your browser — no download, no installer, no account, and nothing to pay. Because it is an open-source game (AGPL-3.0), you get an authentic experience with no ads inside the game, no energy timers, and no upsells. It loads in seconds on any modern device, works alongside other tabs without eating your disk, and you can play it at home, at school or on the go as long as you have a browser.
Key Features of Sokoban
- Instant play — the whole game streams into your browser tab in seconds.
- Completely free — open-source (AGPL-3.0), with no payments or locked features.
- Free to play in your browser — nothing to install, nothing to sign up for.
- Runs anywhere — Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on desktop and mobile.
- Local saves — your progress stays in your own browser's storage.
- Full screen ready — one click switches to an immersive fullscreen view.
How Sokoban Works
Sokoban is built with web technologies and delivered through this page in an embedded frame. When you press play, your browser downloads the game's code and assets — a few kilobytes to a few megabytes — and runs them locally at full speed. All the processing happens on your own device: input goes straight from your keyboard and mouse to the game, and rendering happens on your GPU. That is why browser games like Sokoban start instantly and feel just as responsive as downloaded ones.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Sokoban?
A puzzle genre born in 1982: you are a warehouse keeper pushing crates onto marked target squares. Pushing only — crates never pull, which is exactly what makes a full storage room a trap of your own making.
What happens if I push a crate into a corner?
It is stuck forever — a crate against two walls can never be moved again. Ruining the level this way is a rite of passage; restart (or use undo) and treat corners as lava.
Is there an undo button?
Most implementations, including this one, offer undo and restart. Purists play without undo for the perfect-push score, but while learning, undo is how you actually understand why a sequence failed.
How many Sokoban levels are there?
The original set had 50 levels, but the genre spawned decades of community level packs — effectively unlimited. Difficulty ramps from trivial pushes to puzzles that take serious planning to solve.