About this game
Play Lines in your browser. Move coloured balls across a 9×9 board, make lines of five or more and keep paths open for your next move.
How to play
Select a ball and move it to an empty square connected by a clear path. Form a horizontal, vertical or diagonal line of at least five balls of the same colour to remove it. If your move does not clear a line, more balls appear. The board gradually fills, making each open route valuable.
A useful starting tip
Build two possible lines at once and avoid sealing off a ball behind other colours. An empty corridor can save a nearly finished line.
Build lines while preserving routes
Space on the 9×9 Lines board is not only reserved for future rows. Balls travel through empty cells, and one blocked passage can make a target unreachable. You watch colours, partial lines and connections between areas at the same time. A distant ball with an open route may be more useful than a nearby one surrounded by obstacles.
A continuous line of at least five matching colours frees space. A move without a completed line brings new balls and changes the position. Long preparations must account for that arrival instead of assuming the original gaps will stay available.
Prepare a reachable continuation
Identify a target line and a matching ball, then trace the route into the missing cell. Compare a second preparation of another colour for an alternative. Filling every area with short fragments can block movement before any fragment pays off. Preserve cells that connect two open regions, and check whether the next placement prevents another useful ball from passing.
Keep a corridor open
A nearly complete line is useless if its last ball cannot travel to the missing cell. Before moving, trace the route through empty squares and leave a second route if possible. When new balls appear, reassess the board instead of finishing an old plan by habit.
Questions and answers
Why will a ball not move to an empty cell?
It needs an open path to the destination. An empty target does not help when other balls block the exit or route.
Why did five balls not disappear?
Check that they share one colour and form a continuous horizontal, vertical or diagonal line. Matching balls scattered around the board do not count.
When do new balls appear?
After a move that does not clear a line. Before reorganising the board, consider that new balls might block a planned route.
What if the colour I need does not appear?
Prepare two accessible lines of different colours and preserve their routes. This offers an alternative but does not guarantee a particular colour.
How do I distinguish a nearby target from a reachable one?
Visual proximity does not establish a clear route. Trace connected empty cells from the selected ball to its destination. If blocked, determine which preparation move would open the path and remember that new balls may appear after it. Compare this plan with another line already accessible: several moves towards a nearby isolated target may fill the board faster than they produce a clear.
Why keep two preparations instead of many?
Two accessible lines of different colours offer an alternative when one needed colour is absent. Many short fragments often become obstacles without promising an early clear. The important point is not an exact count of projects but routes between them. Before moving, check whether the new position closes the only passage for a ball needed by the second line.
How can I find why the board filled up?
Look for the first passage that became blocked, not just the final ball. You may have occupied a connecting cell to create a neat-looking line that the required colour could no longer reach. In the next game, check one additional route before each move. This helps distinguish the number of empty cells from useful space through which balls can actually travel.
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