Number Link Strategy: 5 Techniques

Number Link looks like a drawing game, but it's deduction: the fill rule pins paths to the edges and forces the rest. New here? Read the rules first.

1. Corners first

A corner square has two neighbours. If it holds a number, the path leaves by one of them; if it's empty, some path must pass through both. Either way, the corner tells you where a path goes.

2. Dead ends must be used

An empty square with only one free neighbour can't be on any path, which is impossible: so one of its neighbours must be an endpoint, or a path turns there. Spot these and the grid opens up.

3. Hug the walls

Paths that run along an edge leave the inside free for the others. If two pairs sit near the same edge, the outer pair goes round the outside.

4. Route the long pairs around

A pair far apart usually takes the long way round the edge, because the direct route would cut the grid in two and strand squares on one side.

5. Fill the middle last

Once the edge paths are set, the middle is a few corridors. Count the empty squares between two paths: a corridor of width one can only hold one path, which fixes the rest.

Last updated 2026-10-20