Games Like Flow Free: Connect-the-Pairs Puzzles Online
Updated
Games like Flow Free are path puzzles: you draw a line between each pair of matching dots, the lines may not cross, and every square of the grid has to end up filled. Flow Free is a mobile puzzle game by Big Duck Games, released in 2012, according to Wikipedia. The games below are original titles by independent studios: some join colored pairs, the others fill the grid with one unbroken line.
How Flow Free plays
Each Flow Free puzzle is a grid with pairs of colored dots. You drag from one dot to its twin and leave a pipe of that color behind. Pipes cannot cross, and when all the pairs are joined, no square may stay empty.
The last rule is the one that makes it hard. A pipe that joins its pair but cuts off a corner leaves squares that no other pipe can reach, so you plan every route with the whole grid in mind.
| What you do in Flow Free | Games that ask the same |
|---|---|
| Join each pair of matching colors | Puzzle Box: Connect, Cloudline Connect |
| Keep the paths from crossing | Puzzle Box: Connect, Cloudline Connect, Pipe connection, Connect Dots Game |
| Fill every square of the grid | Fast Connect: One Line Blitz, Fill Line, Ziply |
| Plan around walls and blocked squares | Fast Connect: One Line Blitz, Ziply |
The first section below holds the nearest matches, games that connect colors or dots without crossing. The second keeps only the fill-everything rule and gives you one line to draw.
Games that connect colors and dots without crossing
Puzzle Box: Connect is the closest match. You click and drag with the left mouse button from a colored tile to its matching tile, then release to complete the connection. The paths cannot overlap, and the board has to end up filled.
Cloudline Connect puts colored points on floating pillars in the sky. You draw a path between matching colors, paths cannot cross or overlap, and you have to use all the space to connect every pair. Later levels bring more colors and tighter spaces.
Pipe connection is a short one: its description asks you to make pipe lines without crossing, and it lists a tap on the screen as the control.
Connect Dots Game asks you to connect all the dots into lines without crossing other lines, with a mouse or a tap. Its description says the levels get harder as you go.
Games that fill the whole grid with one line
Flow Free covers the grid with several pipes. These keep the cover-everything rule but give you a single line to draw.
Fast Connect: One Line Blitz has you draw one continuous path from start to finish, fill every tile and stay off the forbidden blocks without crossing your own path. It runs against the clock, pays a higher score for time left over and keeps a global leaderboard. You play it with the mouse.
Fill Line starts you on a marked block and asks you to drag through every remaining block. You cannot overlap the line or visit a block twice. Its description lists grids from 4x4 up and says there is no time pressure.
Ziply connects numbers in order, 1, 2, 3 and on, drawing colored pipes around dark wall blocks until every empty tile is filled. It has 1,500 levels on 5x5, 6x6 and 8x8 grids and a Time Rush mode. You drag with the mouse, or swipe on a touch screen.
If you prefer a rotating pipe puzzle where water has to reach a goal, open the puzzle games category, and see puzzle games online for the other kinds.
Tips for path puzzles
- Start from the corners and the edges. A dot in a corner has only two ways out, and a pipe that hugs the edge leaves the middle free for the others.
- Look for a square with only one free neighbor. A pipe has to start, end or pass there, and that often fixes part of the route.
- Do not seal off a pocket. If a move leaves one empty square that no other pipe can reach, the puzzle can no longer be solved, because every square has to be filled.
- In the one-line games, trace the line in your head before you drag. Fill Line does not let you overlap the line or revisit a block, and Fast Connect forbids crossing your own path, so one early detour can strand the rest.
Games like Flow Free FAQ
Are there puzzle games like Flow Free online?
Yes. Puzzle Box: Connect and Cloudline Connect join pairs of colors, and Fast Connect, Fill Line and Ziply fill a grid with one line. They play free in the browser, with no install and no registration. More boards are in the brain games collection.
How do you play Flow Free?
Draw a path between each pair of matching dots. The paths cannot cross, and every square of the grid has to be covered when you finish. The section above sets out the rule, and the tips cover how to keep from boxing yourself in.
Can I play a Flow Free-style puzzle online without downloading it?
Yes. Flow Free itself is a mobile game, but the games above run in the browser and play free, with no install and no registration. Fill Line takes a finger drag, Ziply takes a swipe on a touch screen, and Connect Dots Game takes a mouse or a tap. Puzzle Box: Connect and Fast Connect list the mouse, so check each game's controls first. The site works in the browser of a phone, a tablet and a computer.
Start with the corners, watch for squares you can no longer reach, and fill the grid one path at a time.
