How to play

Link every pair of matching dots — the same colour and the same shape. Drag from a dot through neighbouring squares, up, down, left or right, until you reach its partner. Paths may not cross or share a square, and no path can pass through another pair's dot.

Drag into another path to cut it back, or back over your own path to shorten it. A board is solved only when every pair is linked AND every square is filled: if all the pairs are linked but squares are still empty, those squares flash gold.

Undo takes back your last move, Restart clears the board, and Hint draws one pair's correct path for you. Pick a board size (5×5 to 9×9) and a difficulty: Easy has the most pairs, Hard the fewest, with longer, winding lines.

Playing alone, you go through the boards in order, easiest first, and the game remembers where you got to. In a race everyone solves the same three boards with no Hint; the fastest time wins.

The aim

Join the Pairs shows a square board with pairs of dots on it: two red dots with a white circle, two blue dots with a white star, and so on. Draw a path from each dot to its partner. The board is solved when every pair is linked and every square is filled.

How to solve it

There are no turns. Put your finger on a dot and drag through the squares next to it, up, down, left or right, until you reach the matching dot.

Three rules make the puzzle:

Paths may not cross or share a square.
A path can never pass through another pair's dot. Try it, and the end of your path gives a little shake.
Every square must be filled. If all the pairs are linked but squares are still empty, those squares flash gold.

You can change your mind at any time. Drag back over your own path to shorten it, or carry on from its loose end. Drag into another pair's path and that path is cut where you crossed it.

An example: two red dots sit at both ends of the top row. The short way along the top links them, but if nothing else can fill the row below, the board is not solved. The long way round, through the empty squares, is the answer.

Undo takes back your last move, even a cut. Restart clears the board, and can be undone too. Hint draws one pair's correct path for you, once per board.

Scoring and the end of the game

Pick a board size, 5×5, 6×6, 7×7, 8×8 or 9×9, and a difficulty. Easy has the most pairs and short paths; Hard has the fewest, with long, winding ones. The boards come easiest first, and every board has exactly one answer.

Alone, solving a board shows how many seconds you took; New game goes on to the next board. With a timer, running out of time brings the same board back. The app remembers where you got to on each size and difficulty.

In a race, everyone solves the same three boards on their own phone or tablet. You see which board each rival is on, but not their paths. There is no Hint in a race. The fastest to solve all three wins.

Tips to play better

Start at the corners and edges. A dot in a corner has only two ways out.
Hug the walls. Because every square must be filled, paths often run along the edge rather than across the middle.
Watch the empty corners. An empty corner square can only be filled by a path that turns inside it.
Never shut a square in. If you close off an empty pocket that no pair can reach, undo at once.

Common mistakes

Always taking the shortest way. Short paths leave gaps; the long way round is often right.
Thinking the board is done when every pair is linked. The gold squares must be filled too.
Spending the hint too soon. There is one per board; save it for the pair you cannot see.

Playing with family

Join the Pairs needs no reading and no numbers. Every pair has its own colour and its own shape, so players who mix up colours can still tell the pairs apart. Children can start on 5×5 while grandparents take their time over 9×9.

The guided lesson lets you link a pair, watch a path being cut, try Undo, Restart and Hint, and fill the last empty squares to solve a small board.

There is no computer opponent. Play alone, or, in the app, race with up to four players together nearby, each on your own phone or tablet, with no Wi-Fi or internet needed. The browser edition is for one device.

Ways to play

On your ownPlay alone, whenever you like.
Play together, nearbyWith family and friends in the same room: up to 4 players, each on their own phone or tablet. No Wi-Fi or internet needed. In the Jambolaya app.
Learn by playingA guided lesson on the real game teaches you the rules one step at a time.

Join the Pairs