Dogs Connect Deluxe

Every tile carries a dog, and the layout is only finished when the last of them has been paired off and removed. The rules behind it are laid out in the connect-tips guide.

Lof Games states the linking rule in terms of straight lines rather than corners: two identical tiles disappear if the route between them can be drawn with three straight lines or fewer. In practice that allows a path with two bends, which is more generous than it first reads and makes the far side of an 800 by 450 board reachable more often than you would expect. The Car Logo Connection board sets out another one-layer board on the same rule.

Selection is a plain tap on each of the two tiles. The mistake most runs die on is clearing every easy pair on sight — once the breeds left behind are singletons scattered behind a wall of others, no three-line route exists and the layout is stuck. The FISHCONNECT grid runs the connect rule on its own artwork.

1. Scan the layout for two tiles showing the same dog.
2. Check that the route between them can be drawn with three straight lines or fewer.
3. Tap each tile in turn to eliminate the pair.
4. Keep pairing until every dog has been removed from the board.

• Count lines, not corners — Lof Games frames the Dogs Connect Deluxe rule as three straight lines or fewer.
• Break up walls — a solid block of tiles is what makes a three-line route impossible later on.
• Match the breed, not the coat — several dogs on the board share a colour and differ only in the pose.
• Tap twice — selection is a tap on the first tile and a tap on the second, with no dragging involved.