Flow Free - Connect the Dots
How to play: Each colored dot has a matching dot somewhere on the grid. Click and drag from one dot to its match to draw a path. Paths cannot cross each other or themselves. To win you must (1) connect EVERY pair AND (2) cover EVERY cell on the grid - no empty cells. Drag from a dot to retrace and undo. The puzzle is solved when both conditions are met.
About Flow Free
Flow Free is the addictive path-connection puzzle that took mobile gaming by storm in the 2010s. The premise is elegantly simple: pairs of colored dots are scattered on a grid, and you connect each pair with a path. The constraint is brutal: paths cannot cross each other or themselves, and you must fill EVERY single cell on the grid — no empty squares allowed. The interaction between filling and connecting forces a unique solution that’s both relaxing and tactical to discover.
Our online version ships with 8 puzzles ranging from 5×5 to 8×8, with mouse drag and touch support.
How to Play
- Each puzzle has pairs of colored dots. Your goal is to connect every pair with a path.
- Click and drag from a colored dot to its matching partner. Touch devices: tap-and-drag.
- Paths can only move horizontally or vertically (no diagonals).
- Paths cannot cross each other or themselves.
- To win you must (1) connect EVERY pair AND (2) fill EVERY cell on the grid — no empty cells.
- Drawing a new path that crosses an old one will erase the old one from the crossing point onward.
- Drag back along a path to undo it. Drag from a dot to start that color over.
Strategy Tips
- Edges first. Paths along the edges have fewer options, so solving them first reduces the search space for the middle.
- Corners are critical. A corner cell only has 2 neighbors. The path passing through a corner is heavily constrained.
- Don’t take shortest paths. The shortest path between dots often leaves cells unreachable. Make paths longer to use more cells.
- Think about coverage. Every cell must be filled. Visualize how each color’s path needs to weave to cover its share of the grid.
- Color isolation. If two colors must pass through the same chokepoint, one of them has to go around. Identify chokepoints early.
- Restart if stuck. Some configurations have no solution. If you can’t connect everyone with full coverage, restart and rethink.
A Brief History
Flow Free was released in 2012 by Big Duck Games and quickly became one of the most-downloaded mobile puzzle games of all time. The path-and-cover mechanic existed earlier in academic puzzle research (Number Link, originally a Japanese puzzle from the 1990s) but Flow Free’s clean color-coded UI and infinite procedural levels made it a phenomenon. Mathematically, Number Link is NP-complete — some puzzles are genuinely hard to solve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do I need to fill every cell?
Without the full-coverage rule, the puzzles would be trivial — you’d just connect each pair with the shortest path. Forcing 100% coverage means paths must weave creatively, which is what makes the puzzle interesting.
What happens if my new path crosses an existing one?
The existing path gets cut at the crossing point. You may need to redo it.
Can paths cross themselves?
No. A path can only revisit a cell to truncate — going back along your own path erases it from that point.
How do I undo just one step?
Drag back one cell along your path. The path shortens.
Are diagonal moves allowed?
No. Paths only move horizontally or vertically between adjacent cells.
Why do some puzzles feel impossible?
They’re not — every puzzle in the pack has at least one solution. If you’re stuck, hit Reset and approach from a different angle (try edge colors first, or visualize the grid as zones).
Can I play on mobile?
Yes. Tap-and-drag from a dot to draw paths. The grid scales to your screen.
How is this different from Number Link or Hashi?
Number Link is the original Japanese version (numbers instead of colors, sometimes without full-coverage rule). Hashi (Bridges) connects “island” cells with bridges of weighted thickness — different mechanic entirely. Flow Free’s signature is the color-pair + full-coverage combo.