Puzzle #17
Bowline
8 × 8Expert8 colorsPublished October 8, 2026
Brown and Purple wrap around this small board. Brown hugs the left edge and the whole bottom row, and Purple loops through the top-left corner before crossing to the middle. Nearly every decision needs thinking ahead, often several moves deep, around the dots stacked in column 2.
New to these puzzles? Read how to play first. Connect each pair of dots with a path, fill every cell, and don't let paths cross. This board has exactly one solution.
Hints
Hint 1: where to look
The stack of dots in column 2 is where this puzzle is decided. Start with Pink's dot at row 5, column 2.
Hint 2: the first idea
Pink's dot at row 5, column 2 can only head right along row 5. Going down cuts Pink off, and going left leaves Brown stuck a few moves later.
Hint 3: the key step
Green's dot at row 2, column 2 has to go right and then drop down column 3 toward its partner at row 4, column 6. That leaves the top-left corner for Purple, which loops around it and across row 3.
Techniques used: Forced moves, Edges and corners, Dead ends, Bottlenecks, Thinking ahead.
Step-by-step walkthrough
Every step below follows from the rules alone, with no guessing. Try the puzzle first and use the walkthrough when you get stuck.
Step 1 of 11
Three paths near the top-right corner have only one open side each. Orange steps left and down to sit beside its other dot, Blue steps left to touch its partner, and Red drops one cell down the right edge. In the bottom-right corner, the cell at row 8, column 8 has only two usable neighbors, so Brown passes through it and turns left along the bottom row.
Step 2 of 11
Pink's dot at row 5, column 2 has three ways out. Going down cuts Pink off from its partner. Going left fails a few forced moves later, when Brown's dot at row 4, column 2 has no good move left, since turning left cuts Brown off and turning right cuts Green off. So Pink goes right one.
Step 3 of 11
From row 5, column 3, turning up would cut Green off from its partner. Pink keeps going right instead.
Step 4 of 11
Gray's dot at row 6, column 3 could step right, but that would leave the cell at row 7, column 1 with only one open side. So Gray goes left one.
Step 5 of 11
Now at row 6, column 2, Gray could keep going left, but then it would be cut off from its partner. Gray drops into its other dot at row 7, column 2 and connects.
Step 6 of 11
Pink's lower dot at row 7, column 3 can't go down without being cut off from its partner, so it steps right one.
Step 7 of 11
Thinking ahead on the right edge, Red at row 3, column 8 could turn left. A few forced moves later, Green's dot at row 4, column 6 would have no move that works. Each direction would either strand a cell, cut Green off, box Purple in or seal a two-cell pocket. So Red continues down one.
Step 8 of 11
Pink at row 5, column 4 could turn up. A few forced moves later Purple at row 6, column 6 would be stuck, since going up cuts Green off and going down or right seals a one-cell pocket. So Pink drops down one, right next to its other half at row 7, column 4.
Step 9 of 11
Green's dot at row 2, column 2 has three choices, and two of them fail. If Green goes up, a few forced moves later it ends up stuck at row 8, column 5. Going left eventually leaves Blue at row 1, column 5 with only moves that box Green in. So Green goes right one.
Step 10 of 11
Blue's end at row 1, column 5 could go left instead of connecting. A few forced moves later Blue at row 1, column 4 would be stuck, cutting off Brown if it went down and Purple if it went left. So Blue connects its two ends here.
Step 11 of 11
Green at row 2, column 3 can't go up, since that leaves row 1, column 4 with only one open side, and going right cuts Brown off. So Green drops down column 3 and runs along row 4 to its partner. The rest is forced. Purple loops through the top-left corner and across row 3 to its dot at row 6, column 6, Red snakes down the right side to row 5, column 5, Brown wraps the left edge and the bottom row, and Orange and Pink connect.