Quick start

To start playing, select a puzzle collection from the left-hand panel and then a puzzle from the list on the right.

Use the arrow keys to move the pusher, and use the pusher to push the boxes.

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Introduction

Crossoban supports 2 main types of game.

• Sokoban puzzles (including Multiban)
• Interlock puzzles

Sokoban – the objective is to push all the boxes onto the goals, like this example push from left to right...



Interlock – for each colour, push all boxes of that colour together so that they are all touching – either horizontally or vertically – and form a single group, like this...



Interlock introduces many different types of cell – please refer to the Interlock rules section (below) for further details.

You can also create and import your own puzzles.  Select the Import link at the top of the list of puzzle collections and paste the text definition(s) into the box provided.  Auto-detected puzzles will then be listed on the right.  For further information, please refer to this technical document.

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Game controls

Keyboard


Mouse



Note that boxes can only be pushed, not pulled, although you can undo a move using the u / Backspace keys if you should make a mistake.  You can repeatedly undo moves back to the beginning, and also re-do moves using the r / Insert keys.

You can adjust the appearance of the game board by using Page Up and Page Down to zoom in and out, and by using Shift-Up and Shift-Down to adjust the vertical position.  For a Sokoban (not Interlock) puzzle, you can change the colours of the boxes using the c key, and use Shift-C to cycle the pusher colour.  You can disable/re-enable the pusher blink using Shift-B.

Press k to show/hide the key help, and press i to show/hide these instructions.  Other controls are shown in the key help section whilst playing.

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Multiban rules

Multiban puzzles feature multiple pushers which must work together to reach the solution.

You can switch between pushers by pressing Space or by clicking on an inactive pusher.  As a shortcut, if an attempt is made to move to the location of an inactive pusher, control will automatically switch to it (pushers may not be used to move each other).

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Interlock rules

As explained above, the objective in Interlock is to push the coloured boxes together so that all boxes of a given colour are touching.

The Amiga version of Interlock introduces 2 game features not found in Sokoban puzzles, as follows.

Coloured filters	A filter only allows boxes of the same colour to pass over it.
Black holes	Moving the pusher into a black hole, or pushing a box into one, will cause the game to restart and the move history to be lost – so be careful when they are present!

The PC version of Interlock introduces even more game features on later levels, as follows.

Multiple pushers	As with Multiban, some puzzles may have multiple pushers which have to work together.  In Interlock, however, an active pusher can move any inactive pushers around as though they were boxes.  You can switch between pushers by pressing Space or by clicking on an inactive pusher.
Conveyors	If a pusher or box lands on a conveyor, it will be forced to move in the direction of the conveyor until the end is reached or a blockage is encountered.  If a blockage is removed, the pusher/box will continue on its way.
Ice	If a pusher or box goes onto ice, it will continue moving in the same direction until the end is reached or an obstruction is encountered.  If the obstruction is removed, the pusher/box will not be affected.
Locks	If a pusher or a box is on a lock, it will be unable to move.  It is still possible to use a locked box to complete the puzzle, however, if the other boxes of the same colour can reach it.
Linked pushers	In some cases, two or more pushers may be linked so that they are active simultaneously.  Each move you make affects all of them at the same time.  The separation between pushers can be altered if one pusher is unable to move whilst another can.
Weak tiles	When a pusher or box passes over a weakened floor tile (and moves off it), the tile will break further.  A tile may be slightly weak or very weak, but moving off a very weak tile will cause it to turn into a black hole – preventing further passage over it.
Coloured pushers	A coloured pusher is only able to push boxes that have the same colour, and is only able to pass over matching filters as well.  However, it may move any other pusher in the normal way.

Please note that on puzzles featuring weak floor tiles, you can only use the arrow keys to move past those cells.  It is not possible to use the mouse nor the keyboard hop mode because you need to choose your own path and decide which tile(s) to break.

Similarly, only the arrow keys may be used for movement when multiple pushers are active.

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