Sokoban, made in Japan in 1982, is simple to learn: push every crate onto a target. You can push but never pull, which makes it one of the best puzzles for learning to think before you act.
The rules
You move a little keeper around a warehouse. Walk into a crate and you push it one square, as long as the square beyond is free. You can only push one crate at a time and you can never pull. The level is solved when every crate sits on a target.
Learn the deadlocks
A deadlock is a position that can never be solved, even though it doesn’t look finished. Spotting them early is the biggest jump in skill.
A crate pushed into a corner can never come out, so it must only go there if the corner is a target. A crate pushed against a wall can only slide along that wall, so it must only go there if there is a target somewhere along that wall. Two crates side by side against a wall are stuck, and so are four crates (or crates and walls) forming a 2 × 2 square.
Teach children the corner rule first; it’s easy to see and prevents most early mistakes.
Push in the right order
When several targets are close together, fill the ones furthest from the entrance first, so the later crates don’t have to squeeze past finished ones. In a narrow corridor, the first crate in is usually the one that goes deepest.
Before pushing, ask: “After this push, can I still walk round to the other side of this crate?” If not, you may have trapped yourself.
Work backwards
A powerful trick is to look at a target and ask, “Which crate will end up here, and from which side will it be pushed in?” Then work back to where the keeper needs to stand. Thinking from the goal backwards is a classic problem-solving habit, and Sokoban makes it concrete.
Undo is part of the puzzle
Every Sokoban player uses undo constantly. Encourage children to try an idea, notice when it goes wrong and step back, rather than restarting from scratch. AmuseMind counts pushes and shows the fewest possible when a level is finished, which gives older children something to aim for.
AmuseMind’s Beginner levels have one or two crates in small rooms and suit seven year olds. Demon levels have five crates and take careful planning.
A simple routine for each new level
Look before you move. Spend a few seconds noticing the targets, the crates and the narrow spaces. Which crate is closest to a target? Which crate is in the most awkward spot?
Find the hard crate. Most levels have one crate that is tricky to reach or easy to trap. Plan around that crate first, since the others usually follow.
Push, then check. After each push, ask whether any crate is now against a wall or in a corner without a target. If so, undo straight away rather than carrying on.
Celebrate solving, then try for fewer pushes. Once a level is done, replaying it with fewer pushes is a great way to refine planning, and AmuseMind shows the best possible count to aim for. Children who enjoy this often like Tower of Hanoi for the same reason: there is a perfect score to chase.
Questions parents ask
What is a deadlock in Sokoban?
A position that can never be solved, such as a crate pushed into a corner that isn’t a target.
Can you pull crates in Sokoban?
No. You can only push one crate at a time, which is what makes planning so important.
What age is Sokoban for?
Simple one- and two-crate levels suit most children from seven; harder levels suit ten and up.
