questions regarding the use of A* with the 15-square puzzle

Question

I\'m trying to build an A* solver for a 15-square puzzle.

The goal is to re-arrange the tiles so that they appear in their natural positions. You can only sli

Answer 1

Maybe it will converge quicker if you shoot for intermediate goals first. For instance, only score the top and right rows. It shouldn't take very long to get those rows in place, then you can solve the remaining 3x3.