Gate Jam: clear the yard in fewer moves
Updated September 24, 2026. Figures come from the live game.
The short answer
Slide carts and beams along their length until the gate row is clear and the lime wagon rolls out. One drag is one move, whatever the distance. Work backwards from the gate: list what blocks the row, then what blocks each blocker. Par is the true minimum.
What Gate Jam decides
Gate Jam is the puzzle behind every Watchtower build and upgrade, and every road gate upgrade. Builds play at your Gate Jam skill; upgrades play at your skill plus the level you're building. The grade sets the time and the building's quality for good. Gate Jam replaced Signal Lamps in September 2026.
The rules
- The yard is 6 × 6. The lime supply wagon lies on the gate row, the third row down, and leaves through the gate on the right edge.
- Carts are 2 cells long and barricade beams are 3. Each piece slides only along its length: lying pieces left and right, standing pieces up and down.
- Drag a piece as far as the free cells allow. One drag is one move, however far it goes. Two drags of the same piece in a row count as one.
- Undo takes back the last move for free, but it still counts as a move. Restart undoes every move, and each one counts.
- Nothing but the wagon ever lies across the gate row, so every yard can be cleared.
A level 8 yard, 12 moves from the gate, with a cart held mid-drag.
- The supply wagon: clear the gate row and it rolls out through the gate
- A beam standing across the gate row: 3 long, so it can only clear downwards
- Par: the fewest moves that clear the gate
How it's scored
| Part | Points | How to max it |
|---|---|---|
| Cleared | 450 | Any cleared yard is at least a C. |
| Moves | Up to 350 | 350 at par, 266 at one over, 154 at two over, 14 at three over, 0 after that. |
| Time | Up to 200 | Full marks within 4 seconds plus 2.5 seconds per par move. It falls to 0 at three times that. |
- Par is the true minimum number of moves for that yard, found by searching every position.
- An S needs par or one over, at a steady pace. Two over is an A; three over is a B.
- From level 13 there is a move budget: par plus some slack. Go over it and the run ends unsolved.
- Dragging faster than 200 ms per move on average counts as unsolved.
| Skill level | Pieces besides the wagon | Beams | Par | Move budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | 5 | 1 | 4–6 | None |
| 4–7 | 7 | 1 | 6–9 | None |
| 8–12 | 8 | 2 | 9–13 | None |
| 13–18 | 9 | 2 | 13–17 | Par + 12 |
| 19–24 | 10 | 3 | 17–22 | Par + 10 |
| 25–30 | 11 | 3 | 21–30 | Par + 8 |
Working backwards from the gate
- List every piece standing across the gate row between the wagon and the gate. Those are the blockers.
- For each blocker, decide which way it must leave the row: up or down. Count the free cells it needs on that side.
- Whatever sits in those cells is the next layer of blockers. Repeat until you reach a piece that can move right now.
- Make the moves from the bottom of that chain upwards, then roll the wagon out.
- Slide pieces all the way when it costs nothing. A piece pushed to the fence is rarely in the way later.
- Before a move, check it doesn't block something your chain still needs. Undo fixes it but costs a move.
- Leave the wagon where it is until the row is clear. Every drag counts, and one long roll to the gate is a single move.
Questions players ask
What does Gate Jam gate in Voxhorde?
Watchtower builds and upgrades, and road gate upgrades.
Is Gate Jam the same as Rush Hour?
It's the same family of sliding-block puzzles: clear a path so one piece can leave. Gate Jam adds 3-long barricade beams, grades by moves against par and time, and deals a fresh yard every run.
Is every Gate Jam yard solvable?
Yes. Every yard is dealt from a search of all its positions, so it always clears, and par is the true minimum.
What happened to Signal Lamps?
Gate Jam replaced it in September 2026. Watchtowers and road gates now play Gate Jam, and your Gate Jam skill starts at level 1.