Christmas Connect Deluxe

Two identical Christmas tiles leave this board only when a path can reach between them, and in Christmas Connect Deluxe that path is allowed three straight lines at most. The page on onet boards answers the questions this board raises.

The count is what makes the difference. Three lines means the link may bend twice, so a tile in the far corner is often still reachable across an empty lane, while two pieces sitting almost side by side can be unreachable if a wall of tiles stands between them. Lof Games sets out 24 levels, each one closed off by its own clock: finish inside the time and the level pays an extra bonus, and the run of 24 is what carries you from the first sparse grid to the crowded later ones. The same scanning across an open grid is what the Winter Connect board asks for.

The frame is a compact 800 by 450 landscape panel, and the build is listed for the mouse rather than for touch, so this one belongs on a desktop. Two turns and nothing in the way is also the rule in the Delicious Food Connection board.

1. Scan the grid for two Christmas tiles carrying the same picture.
2. Trace the route between them in your head: it may bend, but it cannot use more than three straight lines.
3. Click the first tile, then the second, and the pair leaves the board.
4. Empty the whole grid before the level clock expires to bank the bonus, then move on through the 24 levels.

• Count lines, not distance — a tile across the board can be legal in Christmas Connect Deluxe while a near neighbour is not, because only the three-line limit matters.
• Open the edges first — pairs on the outer rim have empty space to route through, and clearing them widens the lanes the middle needs.
• Take the bonus seriously — the extra reward for finishing inside the time is the difference between the 24 levels feeling generous or tight.
• Work the duplicates — with four copies of one festive picture on screen, pick the pairing that also unblocks a lane rather than the first one you spot.