Connect A Dot

Connect A Dot is the dot-to-dot puzzle from a child’s activity book, rebuilt for a screen and stocked with sea creatures. Everything else of this sort is in the Connect section.

Numbered points are scattered across the picture and have to be joined in order, smallest to largest. The catch is that the stroke must not be interrupted, so lifting off part-way through breaks the attempt and the line has to run from the first number all the way round until it closes on itself. Mahjong Grand Master Game With Editor is catalogued beside this board.

Because the outline only resolves at the end, the puzzle is really about tracking the next number in a field of similar ones. The numerals crowd together wherever the drawing has fine detail, around a fin or a tentacle, and that is where an attempt usually goes wrong. The studio newgamess built it at 854 by 480 for mouse control. Also under this heading: the Jewels Connect layout.

1. Find the lowest number on the picture.
2. Draw from it to the next number up without lifting off.
3. Keep following the sequence in order, one number at a time.
4. Close the line back on itself to complete the circle.
5. The finished outline reveals the sea animal.

• Look ahead two numbers — knowing where the next point in Connect A Dot sits keeps the stroke moving without a pause.
• Slow down in the detail — numerals bunch up around fins and tentacles, and that is where the order is easiest to lose.
• Do not lift off — an interrupted line breaks the attempt, so commit to a stretch before you start it.
• Use a steady mouse — the board is built for a pointer at 854 by 480, and a shaky drag costs more than a slow one.