Harbor Escape guides

About these guides

Harbor Escape is a free 3D boat puzzle that runs in your web browser on phones, tablets and computers. The basic idea fits in one sentence — tap boats to sail them out of a crowded harbor — but the game has grown several modes, special boats and a small economy of stars around it. These guides explain all of it in more depth than the in-game tips can.

Every rule, number and level reference here is checked against the game itself: level counts, unlock levels, star rules, booster prices and the level where each special boat first appears. Where something can differ between versions of the game (for example, things that depend on whether ads are shown), the guide says so. If you spot something that no longer matches what you see in the game, the contact address at the bottom of the page reaches the team.

Where to start

If you are new, read the Berth Sort beginner guide first. Berth Sort is the main mode, and its rules — boats sail straight ahead, matching colors board the freighter, everything else parks in a berth — are the base for Tide Challenge, Harbor Rush and the Daily Harbor puzzle. After that, pick whatever matches where you are in the game:

• Stuck on a level with a banner saying "Hard Level!" or "Super Hard Level!"? Go to tips for hard levels.
• Seeing question marks, locks, ice or fog on the board? The special boats guide explains each piece.
• Wondering whether to spend stars on a booster or a building? Read boosters explained and rebuilding your harbor.
• Just unlocked something under More Modes? Each mode has its own guide below.

When each mode unlocks

Everything is unlocked by progress in Berth Sort. Classic and the Daily Harbor open after level 8, Cargo Match after level 10, Tide Challenge after level 15 and Harbor Rush after level 20. Boosters arrive along the way: Undo at level 4, Call boat at level 6, Extra berth at level 8 and Freeze at level 9.

All guides

• Berth Sort beginner guide

  The core rules of the main mode, how stars and par work, and the beginner mistakes that fill your berths.

• Classic mode guide

  240 levels of pure exit-order puzzles: numbered boats, bombs, timers and how Classic differs from Berth Sort.

• Harbor Rush guide

  The endless survival mode: how combos and wave multipliers score, and how to keep the harbor from jamming.

• Cargo Match guide

  The match-three side mode: swaps, special pieces (crane, dynamite, lighthouse) and saving moves for stars.

• Tide Challenge guide

  Endless Berth Sort in waves: how boats sail in, how points and stars are counted, and how to survive longer.

• Daily Harbor puzzle and streaks

  The shared puzzle of the day: weekday difficulty, streaks and streak freezes, rewards and how the leaderboard ranks you.

• Special boats and obstacles

  Mystery boats, garages, locks and keys, sandbars, ice, deadline boats, fog, bombs — what each one does and how to beat it.

• Boosters explained

  Undo, Call boat, Extra berth, Freeze, Remove and Defuse: what they do, where to get them and when to spend them.

• Tips for hard levels

  A repeatable method for Hard and Super Hard levels: read exits first, count colors, protect your berths, retry smart.

• Chapters, stars and rebuilding your harbor

  Where stars come from, what the six buildings cost, how harbor income works, and what the Harbor Shop sells.

Prefer the short version? The How to play page summarizes the rules of each mode on a single page.