Free Online Numberlink Puzzle

How to Play Numberlink

Numberlink is a classic logic puzzle where your goal is to connect all matching numbers with continuous lines while filling the entire grid. The challenge lies in planning ahead — every move affects the rest of the board.

Each puzzle starts with pairs of identical numbers placed on a grid. Your task is to draw paths between each matching pair so that all rules are satisfied.

Game Rules

To solve a Numberlink puzzle correctly, all of the following rules must be followed:

• Connect matching numbers
  Each pair of identical numbers must be connected by a single continuous line.

• Numbers must be endpoints
  A number can only appear at the start or end of a line — never in the middle.

• No crossing lines
  Lines are not allowed to cross each other.

• No overlapping paths
  Two lines cannot use the same grid square.

• No T-junctions or branches
  Lines cannot split. Every square in a path may connect to at most two neighboring squares
  (endpoints connect to one).

• No “touching” or loop-back
  A line cannot touch itself side-by-side later in the same path unless the squares are directly consecutive in the line.

• Fill the entire board
  Every square in the grid must be part of a line when the puzzle is completed.

How to Draw Lines

• Click or tap on a number to start a line

• Drag using mouse or touch to connect it to its matching number

• The path will follow the grid as you draw

• Invalid moves are blocked automatically

Undo and Reset

• Undo lets you revert your most recent move

• Reset clears the entire puzzle and lets you start over

Use Undo freely — experimenting is part of solving Numberlink puzzles.

When Do You Win?

You solve the puzzle when:

• All matching number pairs are connected

• No rules are violated

• Every grid square is filled with a valid line

Once completed, the puzzle is guaranteed to be correct — there are no partial wins.

Tips for Solving Numberlink Puzzles

• Start with pairs that have very limited paths

• Avoid enclosing empty areas too early

• Long paths should usually be planned before short ones

• If the board becomes impossible to fill, undo a few steps and try a different route

As the puzzles get larger, logical deduction becomes increasingly important.

Daily Challenge

The Daily Challenge offers a shared puzzle experience where every player competes on the exact same board for a given date.

• One puzzle per date, identical for all players

• Board size: 11 × 11

• Number pairs: 10

• No-touch rule enabled – paths may not cross, overlap, or touch side-by-side

• All paths must be continuous and the entire board must be filled

Date selection

• You can play today’s puzzle or go back up to 20 days

• Dates are limited to the range from January 1, 2026 up to today

• Selecting an invalid date automatically clamps it to the nearest valid one

Same puzzle for everyone

Each Daily puzzle is generated deterministically from a curated seed pool, ensuring:

• The same board for all players on the same date

• Fair comparison on the leaderboard

Daily Leaderboard

• The leaderboard shows the top scores for the selected date

• If no one has completed the puzzle yet, it falls back to the best scores across all Daily challenges

• Scores are stored per date, allowing competition on both current and past Daily puzzles

Scoring System

The scoring system rewards efficient solving, clean paths, and fast completion.

Base score

• +1 point for each newly filled non-endpoint cell (first time only)

• –1 point when a previously filled cell is cleared

Penalties

• Hint penalty:
  –max(20, ⌊N² / 2⌋), where N is the board size
  Examples:

  • 9 × 9 → –40

  • 11 × 11 → –60

  • 15 × 15 → –112

• Reset: –200 points

• Invalid move (overlap, self-cross, jump, etc.): –10 points per occurrence

• Time penalty:
  –1 point for every 3 seconds elapsed (⌊t / 3⌋, where t is time in seconds)

Path bonuses

• Per correctly completed pair:
  max(10, 3 × (len – 2)), where len is the number of cells in the path

• Completion bonus:
  N² × 10 points when the entire board is solved correctly

Final Score

The final score is calculated as:

⌊base score + path bonuses – time penalty⌋ + completion bonus

• Scores can be negative if excessive time, hints, or resets are used

• Only fully solved boards are eligible for leaderboard ranking