Dot Link

Dot Link is a line puzzle. The grid is scattered with pairs of dots — each pair has its own colour and its own number — and your job is to join every pair with a line. A line runs from cell to cell, up, down, left or right, never corner to corner.

There are two catches. Lines may never cross or share a cell, and when every pair is joined, every cell of the grid must be used. The first rule makes the lines get in each other’s way; the second means that a short, lazy line that leaves empty cells behind is never the answer.

Grids grow with the difficulty: 5 × 5 for easy, 7 × 7 for medium and 8 × 8 for hard, with four to eight pairs. Our server makes every puzzle and checks, with a full solver, that it has exactly one answer before anyone sees it.

How to start a game

1. 1Open Dot Link on Alex Play Zone and press Start Puzzle; the clock starts when the grid opens.
2. 2Put your finger (or mouse) on a dot and drag to draw its line. Drag back along the line to rub part of it out.
3. 3Start from the middle of a line you drew to carry on from there, or tap a dot to clear its whole line.
4. 4A line cannot run through another line — it stops at it. To go that way, rub the other line out first (drag back along it, or tap its dot).
5. 5Undo steps back and Clear removes every line. Hint takes one line one cell further for you and shows, with arrows, which way it goes next.

The rules of Dot Link

The rules

• Each pair of dots — same colour, same number — is joined by one line.
• Lines move up, down, left or right from cell to cell.
• Lines may not cross each other or share a cell, and may not run over another colour’s dot.
• The puzzle is solved when every pair is joined and every cell of the grid is used.

A new puzzle every two hours

• One new puzzle is made every two hours, and it is the same for every player.
• You get one go at each puzzle. Leave and come back whenever you like: your grid is kept and the clock only runs while the puzzle is open.
• When the next puzzle arrives, an unfinished one is closed and shows as abandoned in your Battle Log.

Rewards

• The faster you finish, the more XP and coins you earn.
• Up to 35 for an easy puzzle, 55 for a medium and 75 for a hard one.
• Each hint takes 10% off the reward.

How to play well

Corners and edges first

A dot in a corner has only two ways out, and a dot on an edge only three. Lines that start there are the easiest to pin down — and the moment one is drawn, it becomes a new wall for the lines around it.

Hug the walls

When two dots of the same colour sit along the edge of the grid, their line very often runs right along that edge. A line that cuts through the middle instead usually leaves a strip of cells against the wall that nothing else can reach.

Look for cells only one line can reach

Every cell must be filled. When an empty cell is walled in so that just one colour could ever pass through it, that line must go there — even if it means a longer path than you expected. Dead-end pockets are the clue the harder grids are built on.

Lines do not double back

In a puzzle with a single answer, a line almost never runs back alongside itself. If your line makes a tight U-turn next to its own cells, there is usually a better route that leaves room for another colour.

Remember: Start with dots in the corners and along the edges: they have the fewest ways to go, so their lines are often the first you can be sure of.

Common mistakes

• Joining a pair by the shortest route and leaving cells nobody can reach.
• Starting with the pair in the middle of the grid instead of the ones pinned against the walls.
• Forgetting that every cell counts: all pairs joined is not solved until the grid is full.
• Fighting the board: if two lines keep getting in each other’s way, rub one out and try the other side.

Questions and answers

Is there always exactly one answer?

Yes. Every grid is checked by the server’s solver before it is used, and only grids with a single answer are kept.

Do I have to fill every cell?

Yes. The puzzle is solved only when every pair is joined and no cell is left empty.

What does a hint do?

It takes one line one cell further — first cutting a wrong line back to where it was right — and points arrows at the cell it goes to next. The arrows stay until you touch the board again. Each hint takes 10% off the reward.

Can I play on my phone?

Yes. Drawing with your finger is the easiest way to play; on a computer you drag with the mouse.