How to play Color Link, with tips
Read from the top and you will be ready to play. It takes about three minutes.
1What is Color Link?
Color Link is a puzzle of coloured dots on a grid. Join each pair of dots of the same colour with a line that goes square to square, across or down, never on the slant. When every colour is joined and every square has a line through it, the puzzle is solved.
Joining the colours is not enough: one empty square left means it is not solved yet. Every puzzle is made to have exactly one answer.
How long does one take?
The target times for a star are 30 seconds on easy, 1 min 30 s on normal, 4 minutes on hard, 8 minutes on Oni and 12 on master. An easy one fits into any spare moment.
From what age?
All you do is trace with a finger, so the easy 5×5 puzzles suit children from about 6. The Oni 11×11 grids make adults think hard too. With five levels from easy to master, there is one for every age.
What does it teach?
Before drawing a line you ask what it would do to the squares around it, so you learn to think ahead, and to settle what is certain first and build on it, a habit of step-by-step reasoning.
2Joining the dots
Here is a small 5×5 puzzle from start to finish.
Join the blue dot on the top row to the blue dot on the left edge by a short way, and all four colours are joined, yet the two squares in the top right corner stay empty (picture 2). That corner has no dot, so any line through it must turn there, through the two squares beside it. Send the blue line, which passes right next to it, round the corner, and every square is filled (picture 3).
When lines meet
A line can't pass over another colour's dot. Cross another colour's line and that line is cut where you crossed it. Go back in the same stroke and the cut line comes back; let go, and it stays cut.
One answer only
Every puzzle has only one way of joining that fills every square. So each time you find a square that can only go one way, the answer is settled one step further. Building from what is certain beats guessing (more in How to solve).
3Rules
- Join each pair with one lineThe two dots of each colour are joined by a single line, going to the next square across or down. Never on the slant.
- Lines never cross or share a squareNo two lines overlap, and no line passes over another colour's dot.
- Every square has a line through itEven with every colour joined, empty squares mean it is not solved. There is one answer.
4Controls
| To | Phone or tablet | Computer |
|---|---|---|
| Draw a line | Trace from a dot with your finger | Drag from a dot with the mouse |
| Shorten it | Go back along the way you came and the line shrinks | |
| Redraw part of it | Press on a line you drew to redraw it from that square. Press on a dot and its colour's line starts again from that dot | |
| Cross another line | The line you cross is cut there. Go back in the same stroke and it comes back | |
| Undo | Undo takes back one step | Ctrl＋Z |
| Hint | Hint shows the way one line goes, as a dashed guide | |
| Start over | Press Start over twice and every line is cleared | |
A line stops when it reaches the other dot. When every colour is joined and every square is filled, the whole board lights up.
Lines can't be drawn with the keyboard; on a computer, trace with the mouse. "New here?" on the title screen gives you a one-minute practice.
5Difficulty and stars
Difficulty (five roads)
The bigger the grid, the harder. Master is on the Oni grid, with few colours and long lines.
| Easy | 5×5 to 6×6, 260 puzzles. A first try |
|---|---|
| Normal | 7×7 to 8×8, 300 puzzles. A little thought |
| Hard | 9×9 to 10×10, 300 puzzles. A good long think |
| Oni | 11×11, 367 puzzles. Tough for adults |
| Master | 11×11, 42 puzzles. How every line gets round the others |
Stars (three a stage)
| First | Solve it |
|---|---|
| Second | Solve it without a hint |
| Third | Solve it within the target time (easy 30 s, normal 1 min 30 s, hard 4 min, Oni 8 min, master 12 min) |
Hints
Hint picks one line and shows the way it goes on the board as a dashed guide; you trace it yourself. Colours you have not drawn yet come first. You can use up to half as many hints as the puzzle has colours (three on a six-colour puzzle); the number on the button's corner shows how many are left. Only on today's puzzle does each hint add 30 seconds to your time.
6Ways to play
Today's puzzle
- An 8×8 puzzle, new at midnight Japan time. Everyone solves the same one.
- The server keeps the time. Your first solve of the day goes on the ranking.
- Each hint adds 30 seconds to your time.
- Play every day to grow your streak.
Solo
- 1,269 puzzles on five roads: easy, normal, hard, Oni and master.
- Start on any road. Along a road, smaller grids come first. Open are the first one you have not solved and the two after it.
- Free: the first 60 easy, the first 30 normal, hard and Oni, and the first 10 master (160 in all).
- Past them, one ticket opens the next puzzles along that road (5 easy, 4 normal, 3 hard, 3 Oni or 2 master). The Lounge Pass opens them all.
Solving earns experience, which raises your level across the whole Puzzle Lounge.
7How to solve
Start from empty corners and dots with one way out, remember that a line with both dots on one wall often runs straight along it, and don't take a shortcut that shuts another colour in. How to think through a board on real positions, with a whole puzzle solved step by step, is in How to solve Color Link. If squares are left over at the end, bend the line beside them through them; if that won't do, a hint shows the way of one line, and the rest follows from there.
8Questions
Do I have to fill every square?
Yes. A puzzle is solved not only when every colour is joined, but when every square has a line through it. If the colours are joined and squares are still empty, send a line that runs beside them the long way round.
Does every puzzle have one answer?
Yes. Each puzzle is made so that only one way of joining fills every square. When stuck, look for a square that can only go one way because everything around it is taken: one step decides the next.
Can lines cross?
No. Lines never cross or share a square, and no line passes over another colour's dot. Cross another colour's line while drawing and that line is cut where you crossed it.
What happens if I go wrong?
You are not told on the spot. When every colour is joined and every square is filled, it is right. Press on a line you drew to redraw it from there; Undo takes back one step, and pressing Start over twice clears every line.
Can I see the answer?
Not all at once. While you play, Hint shows the way one line goes as a dashed guide, one at a time, colours you have not drawn yet first. You can use up to half as many hints as the puzzle has colours (on today's puzzle each hint adds 30 seconds).
How do I get on today's ranking?
Solve it with a Puzzle Lounge account (a guest one will do), and your first solve of the day goes on it. Each hint adds 30 seconds to your time.
From what age can children play?
All you do is trace with a finger, so the easy 5×5 puzzles suit children from about 6. There are five levels, easy, normal, hard, Oni and master, so there is one for every age.
What is the Lounge Pass?
A subscription that takes the ads away in every game and opens everything that would need the Pass or a ticket. Here, all 1,269 puzzles. Without it, one ticket opens the next puzzles along a road (5 easy, 4 normal, 3 hard, 3 Oni or 2 master). ¥500 a month or ¥5,000 a year, tax included, with a 7-day free trial the first time. The first 100 founding members pay ¥300 a month or ¥3,000 a year, for as long as they keep it.
Do I need an app?
No. It plays in the browser on phones, tablets and computers.
Is it free? Do I have to sign up?
Free to play, with no sign-up and nothing to download. 160 of the 1,269 puzzles are free; the rest come with the Lounge Pass or tickets. Today's puzzle and its ranking are free too. Signed in with Google, tickets come free as a daily gift, for solving today's puzzle, and more.