Color Links

Color Links is a path-drawing puzzle. Pairs of matching dots are scattered on a grid, and you connect each pair with a winding line, until the lines fill every square of the board.

How to play

The goal is to join each pair of dots of the same color with a path, so that every square of the board ends up on a path.

• Drawing: touch a dot and drag to the matching dot. You can also tap a dot and then tap a square in the same row or column to draw a straight piece in one go.
• Directions: a path moves up, down, left or right from square to square. It never goes diagonally.
• No crossing: two paths may never cross or share a square.
• Cutting: if you draw over another path, it is cut at that spot, and you can run your new path through. To take a path back, touch it and drag, or use Undo.
• Filling the board: in this version every square must be used. A board with an empty square is not finished, even if every pair is linked.
• Symbols: each pair has its own color and its own shape on the dots, so you can tell the pairs apart without relying on color.

On a computer, you can also use the keys. Press a number key to pick a pair, from 1 up to 9 and 0 for the tenth, then use the arrow keys to extend its path. Backspace takes a step back. Undo, Clear and Hint are in the toolbar.

Every puzzle has exactly one answer, and a solver checked each one, so a path that looks right but leaves a gap is a clue that something needs to change.

The levels

The levels change the size of the board and the number of pairs. Larger boards also have longer and more winding paths.

• Easy: a 5 by 5 board with 4 to 6 pairs. Hints are unlimited.
• Medium: 7 by 7, with 6 to 8 pairs. A few places need a little thinking. You have 5 hints.
• Hard: 8 by 8, with 7 to 10 pairs. Think a few moves ahead. You have 3 hints.
• Expert: 9 by 9, with 8 to 10 pairs and long winding paths. You have 2 hints.

Today's game

The daily game is a Medium puzzle. Everyone who plays on the same calendar day gets the same board and the same pairs.

Tips

1. Start with dots in a corner or along the edge. A path there often has only one way to go.
2. Think about the corners. A corner square has only two neighbors, so a path that covers it must turn there, unless a dot sits in it.
3. Draw the short, obvious paths first. Once they are down, the room left for the long ones becomes clearer.
4. Count the free squares around a dot. A dot with only one free neighbor has just one way to leave.
5. Every square has to be used, so a gap is a sign to change a path. Look for a path that could take a detour through the empty squares.
6. Do not hug the edge by habit. Sometimes the right path cuts straight across the middle of the board.
7. Use Undo freely. It is easier to try an idea and take it back than to wonder whether it would work.

A bit of history

Connect-the-pairs puzzles are a modern kind of grid puzzle, and they became common on phones, where drawing with a finger fits the game very well.

Questions

Do I have to fill every square? Yes. On this site the puzzle is finished only when every square is on a path.

What happens if I draw over another path? It is cut at that square, and the piece that was cut off is removed. Your new line stays.

Can a path go next to itself? Yes. A path may touch itself along the sides. It just cannot use the same square twice.

Is there more than one solution? No. Each board has exactly one answer, found by a solver before the board was kept.