Dot Link

Dot Link is a calm little brain teaser played on a six by six board of round, friendly dots. Drag through neighbouring dots of the same colour, up, down, left or right but never diagonally, and let go: the linked dots pop with a soft sound and new ones drop in from the top. Bring the link back round to a dot you have already used and you have closed a square. A bell rings, a ripple runs across the board, every dot of that colour disappears at once, and the dots that fall in to replace them leave that colour out.

Levels mode has sixty levels, each with a move limit and one to three goals: clear twenty blue dots, close a few squares, or free the anchors by clearing the dots underneath them until they drop off the bottom of the board. Every level is played through by a simulation before you see it, so the goals can always be reached inside the moves you are given, and finishing with moves to spare earns up to three stars. A fresh daily level arrives every day, the same board for everyone.

Timed mode is a quick sixty seconds in which every dot is a point and a square counts double, and your high score is saved in your browser. Endless has no limits at all, so you can relax and see how long the combo goes: every link of four or more dots keeps it going and multiplies the points. Play with a mouse, a finger or the arrow keys. If you stop for a while, a gentle pulse points out a good link.