Dockside Valet

Dockside Valet is a sliding-vehicle puzzle set in a busy harbor parking lot. Every car, bus and container truck is wedged into a six-by-six grid and can only roll back and forth along its own lane. Your red valet roadster is boxed in, and the only way out is the exit gate at the edge of the lot. Slide the traffic out of the way, clear the lane, and watch the roadster speed off to a shower of confetti.

Dragging feels natural: a vehicle follows your finger, stops dead when it bumps into something, and snaps neatly into the nearest bay when you let go. Prefer fewer gestures? With tap-slide switched on (the default), a single tap sends a vehicle as far as it can go in the direction you touched. Undo any move, reset the lot, or ask for a hint that points at the next move of the shortest solution.

There are 128 levels in four districts: Easy, Medium, Hard and Expert. Every level was solved by a search program that found the minimum number of moves, so the par shown on screen is always achievable. Finish close to par to earn three stars; sloppy detours still solve the puzzle but earn fewer. Levels within each district rise steadily in difficulty, from a single blocking taxi on the pier to tangled container yards that take dozens of moves.

You get three hints per level, and a short optional video adds three more. Progress, stars and your best scores are saved on your device. Play with a mouse, a finger or a trackpad on phones, tablets and desktops. Dockside Valet is a calm, thoughtful puzzle for anyone who likes planning a few moves ahead.