Link the Dots

Link the Dots is the odd one out among connect boards, because there are no tiles and no pairs. Code This Lab built an HTML5 dot-to-dot: numbered points sit scattered across the screen, and joining them in the correct order draws out an object you cannot identify until most of the line is down. What Is Mahjong? covers where those rules come from.

That makes counting the actual mechanic. The studio pitches it as a way for children to practise their numbers, and the puzzle fails in exactly the way a number line fails, since taking the wrong dot stops the shape making sense. Scoring rewards speed: complete a shape in less time and it is worth more points. Directly alongside it sits the Petzoong layout.

The frame is a full 1920 by 1080, which matters more here than on a tile grid. The dots are small and widely spaced, and the drawn shape only reads once the whole canvas is in view. One more board from the same group is Garden.

1. Start a shape and find the dot marked one.
2. Move to the next number in sequence and link the two points.
3. Follow the numbers in order until the line closes and the hidden object appears.
4. Finish in as little time as possible, since the score is based on speed.

• Read ahead by two — in Link the Dots, locating the next number while you draw the current segment is what keeps the timer down.
• Let the shape guide you — once a few segments are down the object is usually guessable, and a guess tells you roughly where the next dots must be.
• Use the whole canvas — the 1920 by 1080 layout scatters points into the corners, so scan wide rather than working outward from the centre.
• Good counting practice — the studio built it around number order, so it doubles as a way for a child to rehearse sequences.