---
title: "Grid lane movement: API"
package: "@phaser-ae/grid-move"
tier: Free
version: 3.0.0-4
released: 2026-10-14
updated: 2026-10-19
description: "Four-way movement along the lanes of a tile grid, centre to centre and turning only at junctions, for maze chases, bomb-laying games and other grid action games."
url: https://phaser.io/packs/grid-move/api
site: Phaser - https://phaser.io
---

# Grid lane movement: API

`@phaser-ae/grid-move` — Four-way lane movement on a tile grid: a roster lane component and a pure tile-unit walker with arcade cornering and wrap portals, as in Pac-Man and Bomberman.

## The pack

### `gridMove`

```ts
function gridMove(opts: GridMoveOptions = {}): Pack<{ grid: GridMoveApi }, {}, { grid: GridData }>
```

Lane movement on a tile grid. Runs before `physics-2d`: with a body it sets `body.vx/vy`, without one it moves `x`/`y` itself.

## Types

### `GridData`

```ts
interface GridData
```

The `grid` columns: the direction moving and the direction wanted, each −1, 0 or 1 per axis.

- `readonly dx: number` — x direction moving: −1, 0, 1.
- `readonly dy: number` — y direction moving: −1, 0, 1.
- `readonly wx: number` — x direction wanted: −1, 0, 1.
- `readonly wy: number` — y direction wanted: −1, 0, 1.

### `GridKeys`

```ts
interface GridKeys
```

Key codes per direction for a lane read from the keyboard.

- `up?: string[]` — Keys that steer up (y −1).
- `down?: string[]` — Keys that steer down (y +1).
- `left?: string[]` — Keys that steer left (x −1).
- `right?: string[]` — Keys that steer right (x +1).

### `GridMoveApi`

```ts
interface GridMoveApi
```

`game.grid`. Every call but `lane` throws `grid-move: <id> is not on a lane` for a handle that was never laned.

- `createGridWalker: typeof createGridWalker` — Pure, renderer-independent arcade lane walker; positions use tile centres.
- `lane(h: Handle, spec: LaneSpec): void` — Put a handle on the lanes. Undone when the scene exits or the handle dies.
- `want(h: Handle, dx: number, dy: number): void` — Set the wanted direction (for `input: 'manual'`; with `keys` it holds only while no key is down). Signs are taken.
- `halt(h: Handle): void` — Stop (zeroing the body's velocity if it has one) and forget the wanted direction.
- `cell(h: Handle): { c: number; r: number }` — The tile the handle's nearest lane centre is in.
- `centre(h: Handle, c: number, r: number): { x: number; y: number }` — The world position of a tile's centre.
- `free(h: Handle, dx: number, dy: number): boolean` — Could the handle move one tile that way from its nearest lane? (the game's walls, not the physics)
- `canGo(h: Handle, dx: number, dy: number): boolean` — May it move that way from where it is right now? `free`, or the lane centre is still ahead.
- `laneX(h: Handle): number` — Nearest lane centre x to the handle, world units.
- `laneY(h: Handle): number` — Nearest lane centre y to the handle, world units.

### `GridMoveOptions`

```ts
interface GridMoveOptions
```

Manifest options; every one may be overridden per lane.

- `tile?: number` — Tile size in px. Default 16.
- `originX?: number` — World x of tile (0,0)'s top-left corner. Default 0.
- `originY?: number` — World y of tile (0,0)'s top-left corner. Default 0.
- `turnTolerance?: number` — How far off the lane (px) a turn is still taken. Default 3.
- `assist?: number` — Cornering assist reach: slide toward the lane when within this many px of it. 0 disables. Default tile/2.

### `LaneSpec`

```ts
interface LaneSpec
```

What `lane()` takes: the walls, the speed and how it is steered.

- `walls: (c: number, r: number) => boolean` — Is tile (c, r) solid? Called every step, for cells outside the grid too.
- `speed: number` — px/s.
- `mode?: 'remember' | 'held'` — `remember`: a press keeps going until a wall (Pac-Man). `held`: move while held, stop on release. Default `remember`.
- `input?: 'keys' | 'manual'` — `keys`: the pack steers from the keyboard itself (most recent key wins; `keys` names them, default arrows and WASD). `manual`: the game calls `want()`. Default `keys`.
- `tile?: number` — Tile size in px, overriding the pack option.
- `originX?: number` — World x of tile (0,0)'s top-left, overriding the pack option.
- `originY?: number` — World y of tile (0,0)'s top-left, overriding the pack option.
- `turnTolerance?: number` — Turn tolerance in px, overriding the pack option.
- `assist?: number` — Cornering assist reach in px, overriding the pack option.
- `keys?: GridKeys` — The key codes (`KeyboardEvent.code`) for each direction when `input` is `keys`. Default arrows plus WASD; a direction left out has no keys.

---

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