Moving Day

Moving Day is a calm packing puzzle. You fit furniture-shaped boxes onto the floor of a moving truck, and every full row or column gets carried out to make room again.

How to play

The truck floor is a square of eight rows by eight columns. Three boxes of different shapes are offered at a time, and you place them one by one.

• Placing a box: drag a box onto the floor, or tap a box and then tap the place where it should go. The box must fit completely on empty squares.
• No turning: there is no rotate button. Each shape comes in the direction it must be placed.
• Carrying out: when a whole row or a whole column is full, it is cleared and the squares become empty. Clearing several lines with one box earns more.
• New boxes: once all three boxes are placed, three new ones appear.
• Nothing falls and there is no timer. The boxes stay exactly where you put them, so you can take as long as you like.
• Full trucks: clearing lines also loads the truck. When it is full, the truck drives off to the next house, and the house number goes up. This is just a counter to celebrate your progress.
• Ending: the game is over when none of the boxes you have been offered fits anywhere on the floor.

Scoring is simple. Each box square you place is worth 1 point. Each cleared line gives 10 points, and several lines at once give more. Clearing lines on turn after turn adds a streak bonus. Your best score is kept for each level.

On a phone, drag with your finger or tap twice, once on the box and once on the floor. On a computer, use the mouse in the same way.

The levels

Moving Day has three levels, and they change only which boxes you are offered.

• Easy: smaller boxes more often, and the game makes sure two of the three boxes fit when that is possible.
• Medium: the classic game. The game makes sure at least one box fits when that is possible.
• Hard: boxes are picked at random, with the big ones twice as likely, and nothing is held back for you.

The project tested the levels with a computer player that placed boxes sensibly. That player placed a middle count of about 720 boxes on Easy, about 215 on Medium and about 100 on Hard. It also found that about 2 games in 100 ended before 60 boxes on Easy, 14 in 100 on Medium and 33 in 100 on Hard.

Tips

1. Keep the floor as flat as you can. A tidy floor with no lonely holes leaves room for any shape.
2. Always leave a space for the big three-by-three box. If it has nowhere to go, you can be stuck very fast.
3. Look at all three boxes before you place any. The order matters, and one box may clear a line that makes room for another.
4. Fill rows and columns from the edges. A line that is almost full is worth finishing.
5. Avoid single holes in the middle of the floor. Only the one-square box fits in one, and it does not always come.
6. Try to clear two lines with one box. It gives a larger score and opens a lot of space at once.
7. On Hard, play safe. When the long boxes arrive, you want long empty stretches ready.

Questions

Can I turn the boxes? No. Each box keeps its shape and direction, so plan around it.

Is there a time limit? No. Nothing moves until you move it.

What is the truck bar for? Clearing lines loads the truck. A full truck moves on to the next house, which is a way of counting your progress.

Why did the game end? It ends when none of the boxes you were offered fits on the floor. A tidier floor is the best way to last longer.