What is Link Line?
Link Line is a browser-based logic puzzle built around a square grid of colored dots. Each dot has a partner of the same color, and your job is to join every pair with a drawn line. The catch is that the lines cannot intersect, and when you are finished, every square in the matrix has to be covered by a line. It is a calm, methodical kind of puzzle rather than a fast one, and it suits players who like working out a grid step by step.
The board size changes with the level and with the difficulty you pick: the matrix can be 5x5, 6x6, 7x7, 8x8, 9x9, or 10x10. As you move up, more color dots appear, which makes the routing harder. The official description says there are thousands of levels to work through, so there is plenty of room to improve. It is free to play in the browser, and you begin simply by tapping a dot and drawing a line to its matching partner.
How to Play
The rules are short, but they combine into a genuinely tricky constraint puzzle. Your mission is to connect two dots of the same color by drawing a line between them. The level is complete only when all three of these conditions are met:
- All same-colored dots are connected in pairs.
- No lines intersect each other.
- All the squares in the matrix are filled with lines.
That third condition is what turns a simple matching task into a routing problem. It is not enough to link each pair; the paths have to be laid out so that together they cover the whole grid, with no gaps and no crossings.
To draw, tap any colored dot and then draw a line to the dot of the same color. If your new line crosses an existing one, the existing line breaks. That means a careless drag can undo work you have already done, so it pays to think about where each path will run before you commit to it. The official instructions put it plainly: try to draw the lines in a way that avoids any intersection between them, and try to fill all the squares of the grid matrix.
Because the board grows from 5x5 up to 10x10, the amount of space you have to route through increases along with the number of colors. A small board gives you few dots and short paths; a large one gives you many pairs competing for the same squares. The difficulty rises as more color dots appear at higher levels.
Controls
Link Line’s official instructions tell you to tap a color dot, then draw a line to the matching dot. They do not name a mouse. There are no key bindings or menus listed.
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
| Tap | Select a color dot, then draw a line to the same-color dot |
| Draw a line | Connect matching dots; an existing line breaks if a new line intersects it |
That is the whole documented control scheme: pick a dot, draw to its partner, and repeat. If a line you draw intersects an existing line, the existing line breaks and you will need to redraw it. The game is laid out in portrait (750x1334) and is flagged as mobile-friendly, so a finger on a phone screen is a natural fit. A desktop mouse might work the same way, but that is not stated on the official page.
Beginner Strategy
On the smaller boards, it is tempting to connect pairs as quickly as possible and hope the rest works out. A steadier approach is to look at the whole grid before you draw anything.
Start by finding the pairs that are closest together. Short connections use few squares and are easy to keep out of each other’s way. Once those are placed, you have a clearer picture of the open space left for the longer routes.
Pay attention to dots near the edges and corners. A dot in a corner has fewer directions to travel, so its line is often forced along the border. Getting those paths down early can stop you from blocking them later.
It also helps to remember the fill rule from the start. If you leave a pocket of empty squares enclosed by lines, you may find no pair can reach it. In grid puzzles like this, it is worth checking after each connection whether the remaining empty space still forms one connected area.
If a line breaks because it crossed another, do not panic. Redraw the broken line along a different route rather than repeating the same crossing. In matching and routing games such as Puzzle Draw, the same habit of pausing before each stroke tends to save time overall.
Intermediate Tips
Once the basic rules feel natural, the challenge becomes planning several lines at once.
One useful habit is to work from the outside in. Border and near-border paths have less freedom, so placing them first leaves the flexible middle of the board for the pairs that need to wind around. On a 7x7 or 8x8 grid, this ordering can make the difference between a clean solve and a tangle.
Another is to treat each color as a corridor. Ask yourself which squares a pair must pass through and which it can avoid. If two pairs both need the same narrow gap, one of them will have to take a longer route, so decide which one gets the shortcut before you draw either.
Watch for colors that appear only once in a region. A lone dot surrounded by other colors’ paths is a warning sign: its partner may be cut off if you are not careful. Reserving a lane for it early is often cheaper than rerouting later.
Finally, use the break rule as information. If a line snaps because it crossed another, you have learned that those two routes conflict. Rather than forcing them, look for a different shape for one of them. Players who enjoy this kind of spatial reasoning often get on well with TideRoll: Block Puzzle, which also rewards thinking about space before acting.
Advanced Strategy
At the larger sizes, Link Line becomes a planning exercise where the order of your moves matters as much as the paths themselves.
A strong approach is to sketch the full solution mentally before drawing. Identify the pairs whose routes are most constrained — the ones with few viable paths — and place them first. The pairs with lots of open space can be routed last, because they have the most options to fill whatever gaps remain.
Keep the fill condition in view at all times. Every square must end up covered, so a solution that connects all pairs but leaves a hole is not finished. When you have a choice between two routes of similar length, prefer the one that sweeps through empty squares rather than running alongside an existing line.
On dense boards, it can help to think in terms of regions. Divide the grid into zones and ask which pairs belong to which zone. If a pair spans two zones, its line becomes a bridge, and bridges are the most likely places for crossings. Handle those early.
If you get stuck, step back and look for the pair with the least freedom. Very often the blockage is caused by one line that took a slightly wrong turn near the start. Undoing that single path and rerouting it can unlock the rest of the board. The same patience pays off in Goods Sort Match Puzzle, where a single misplaced item can stall an otherwise simple sort.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
The most frequent mistake is drawing lines too fast. Because a crossing breaks an existing line, a hasty drag can destroy a path you spent time on. Slow down near crowded parts of the grid.
A second mistake is ignoring the fill rule until the end. Players often connect every pair and then discover empty squares that no line can reach. Check the empty space as you go, not just at the finish.
A third is starting with the longest, most flexible pairs. They are the easiest to place, so saving them for last gives you more freedom to fill awkward gaps. Constrained pairs should generally go first.
It is also easy to forget that a broken line stays broken. If you see a line disappear, redraw it deliberately rather than assuming it will come back.
Finally, avoid treating a bigger board as just a bigger version of a small one. On a 9x9 or 10x10 grid, the number of colors and the length of the routes both increase, so the planning you did on a 5x5 will not carry over directly. Expect to think further ahead.
Is Link Line Right for You?
Link Line is a good fit if you enjoy quiet logic puzzles where the satisfaction comes from finding a clean, complete solution. The rules are simple to learn — connect matching dots, avoid crossings, fill the grid — but the combination of constraints gives the puzzle real depth, especially as the matrix grows.
It is less suited to players who want speed, action, or constant novelty in the mechanics. The core loop stays the same from level to level; what changes is the size of the board and the number of colors. If that gradual increase in difficulty appeals to you, the thousands of levels give you a long runway.
Because it is free, mobile-friendly, and played entirely with taps and drags, it works well as a short-session game on a phone. If you like this style of puzzle, you can find more in the Match & Merge Games category, or try related titles such as Clever Match and 2244 Number Match for a different take on pairing and planning.
