Split Push

About the game

Split Push is a box-pushing puzzle with a twist: the screen is split into two boards, side by side, and your little orange square can walk from one to the other. On each board there are targets to cover, a star to reach and boxes that you can only push, never pull. The goal of every level is the usual one, to put the boxes on their marks and then step on the star, but the two boards are not glued together.

The twist is in the title of the jam, "Balance". The player and every box have a weight, and walking or pushing a box from one board to the other makes the destination board heavier. The heavy board sinks and the light one rises, so the rows no longer line up. A box that left on the fourth row can arrive on the third or the fifth, and a gap you walked through a moment ago is now somewhere else. You have to plan not only where things go, but how the whole picture tilts after each crossing.

The first levels teach you the controls with text written on the boards, then the crossing, and then they pile on boxes, tighter rooms and mixed targets, up to eight levels. After the last one an end screen lets you go back to the start or try a bonus level that is marked as hard. The look is simple and friendly, with soft blue and orange boards and thick rounded tiles, so it is easy to sit and think for a while.

Playing it here

Click Play and wait for the page to load (about 3 MB). The game needs a keyboard. It is drawn for a large window, so inside the player the whole picture is scaled down to fit; if it feels small, use the full width of your browser window. It does not save your progress, and it makes no requests outside this site.

Controls

Tips

Undo is your friend. Pressing U takes back a move, including the shift of the boards, so you can test a crossing and return.

Watch the sinking board. After you cross, look at where the row you wanted went. The same trick can put a blocked box in line or take a path away.

Count the weight. You weigh as much as a box. Carrying one over in front of you moves the balance by both of you.

Restart without shame. A box pushed into a corner cannot be pulled out again, and R is faster than thinking about it.

FAQ

How many levels are there? Eight levels, an end screen and a bonus level marked as hard, which you can choose there.

Is there a time limit or a move counter? No. Take as long as you like.

Does it have sound? Yes, a music track and small sound effects; there is no volume control in the game, so use the volume of your device.

Does it work on a phone? No, it needs arrow keys or WASD and a screen big enough for two boards.

Credits and licence

Split Push was made by Florian Castel for Gamedev.js Jam 2025. The code is under the MIT licence and uses Phaser 3 (MIT). All the visuals and sound effects were made by the author and are under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. The music, "Brain Teaser 3", is by Eric Matyas (soundimage.org) and used under the Soundimage International Public License, which is CC BY 4.0 with one extra rule: it must not be used in obscene or pornographic media. The page fonts, Poppins and Roboto Mono, are under the SIL Open Font License and are served from this site. The code page says it was written with the help of GitHub Copilot. The licence texts, the source and the patch of this build are linked from this page.