Sweep the corners wide
The whole attempt lives or dies on one unbroken stroke, which means there is no recovering a route once the line is already underway. Everything worth optimising therefore happens before your cursor touches the screen, while the plan is still yours to change.
Sweep the corners on a broad arc
One continuous stroke, no lifting
The arm follows the line you draw, so the whole route has to be committed in a single gesture. Deciding the path as you go is what produces the wobble that clips a corner, and a wobble cannot be edited out afterwards.
Read the full route before you touch down
Pick both ends first (the hand and the target) and trace the corridor between them with your eyes. The opening stroke should already be the final line, because the level gives you no second pass at the same plan.
Clear every turn in one wide sweep
A broad arc carries the arm through a bend in a single motion, while a sharp turn forces the swing outward and clips whatever sits beside it. The fast route and the clean route are the same route here: wider is quicker.
Enter through the widest part of the gap
Aim your stroke at the gap that stays open longest rather than the one nearest the target. Threading a narrow opening sometimes works, but the margin needed to thread it is larger than the gap looks, so the wide entrance is the better investment.
Use the numbered level list to jump back
The selection screen lists numbered entries (12, 14, 18 and a run from 24 to 28 in the set we checked), which is the fastest way back to a board you want to retry. Re-clearing earlier levels to reach one wastes the same stroke you are practising.
On a collision, change one turn only
Find the single bend where the arm clipped and add clearance on that side, keeping the rest of the route identical. Rewriting the whole path hides which change actually worked, and one corrected turn is usually enough.
Why an open path still snags
How do I control Thief Puzzle Online?
Press at the starting point, hold, and trace one continuous line to the target, then release. The arm follows the drawn stroke, so the line has to stay unbroken from beginning to end.
Can I redraw partway through?
No. The attempt is a single gesture, which is why the route should be decided before you touch down. Lifting abandons the stroke rather than pausing it.
Why does a clear-looking line still hit something?
The arm takes up more room than the line, so it swings past the stroke on turns. Aim the line at the centre of the safe corridor and leave margin on both sides of every bend.
What if a route keeps failing at the same spot?
Adjust that one turn instead of the whole path. Move the line into the open space beside the obstacle and give it a wider arc, then check whether the same bend fails again.
Treat each board as a single attempt rather than a series of tries. Decide both ends before you press, trace the corridor with your eyes from the hand to the target, and only then touch down. If the stroke fails, the useful response is to stop and re-read the whole board instead of immediately drawing again, because a second attempt made in the same frame of mind usually repeats the same choice of gap.
The margin at every bend is the part that decides whether a route survives. The page already notes that the arm swings past the drawn stroke on turns, so the line should sit in the middle of the safe corridor rather than hugging the wall you are passing. When a gap looks tempting because it is close to the target, remember that the room you need is larger than the room you can see, and take the wider entrance instead.
A useful session pattern on this title is to attempt the board, note the single bend that failed, and change only that bend next time. Rewriting the whole route after a failure hides which decision caused it, and it usually reintroduces an error somewhere that was already clean. One corrected turn per attempt is a slow way to work, but it is the only way the information from a failed stroke actually carries forward. It suits a visitor who enjoys planning before acting; anyone hoping to improvise the line as they go will find the single-stroke rule unforgiving.
