Lines is a free online puzzle game about space, timing, and color matching. You move glossy colored balls around a square grid, trying to arrange five or more balls of the same color in a straight horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line. The idea is easy to learn, but the board quickly becomes a planning puzzle because every quiet move can add new balls.

GouziGouza Lines is inspired by classic Color Lines games. The appeal is the same: clear paths, build color groups, and decide whether to score now or prepare a better line for later. A beginner can play by chasing the nearest match, but a stronger player reads the preview, protects open corridors, and avoids turning the center of the board into a wall.

Goal

The goal is to score as many points as possible by creating lines of five or more matching balls. A line can run horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. When a completed line is made, those balls disappear from the board. Clearing balls is the only way to create new space, so scoring and survival are tied together.

Longer lines are valuable because they remove more pieces at once and often reopen important movement lanes. A strong position usually contains more than one promising color pattern. For example, you might have four yellow balls on a diagonal, three red balls ready for a row, and a blue column that can be finished after one setup move.

How to Play Lines

On each turn, choose one ball and move it to an empty square. The move is legal only if there is a connected path through empty cells from the starting square to the destination. Balls cannot jump over other balls. This path rule is what makes the game more strategic than a simple matching puzzle.

If the moved ball completes a line of five or more balls of the same color, the line clears immediately. If the move does not clear a line, new balls appear on the board. The preview tells you which colors are coming next, so it is one of the most important parts of the interface. It lets you plan instead of reacting blindly.

Reading the Preview

The next-ball preview should guide almost every move. If it shows colors that fit patterns you are already building, leave good landing squares for them. If it shows colors that do not match your current plans, look for a defensive move that clears space or protects paths. A move that looks small can be excellent if it keeps a future route open.

Sometimes the best Lines move does not score immediately. Moving an isolated ball toward a group, reopening a blocked corridor, or creating two threats at once can be better than completing a short line that leaves the board cramped. The key question is what the board will look like after the next new balls appear.

Strategy Tips

Protect mobility first. New players often build several half-finished groups and then discover that the ball they need cannot reach the target square. A promising line is useful only if the path to complete it remains open. Keep routes through the center, avoid surrounding your own color groups too tightly, and leave escape lanes near the edges.

Use all directions. Horizontal and vertical lines are easy to see, but diagonals can be powerful because they cross the board in unexpected ways. A diagonal line may use central squares, so it requires more careful spacing, but it can also connect colors that would be hard to join in a row or column.

Do not chase one color at all costs. If the preview and board position make another color easier to clear, switch plans. Good Lines play is flexible. You want several possible clears so that an unlucky new placement does not ruin the whole game.

Common Mistakes

The most common mistake is building too many unfinished lines without clearing anything. Three different groups of four balls can look impressive, but they still occupy space and may block one another. Another mistake is filling the center with random setup moves. The center is valuable because it connects the board; once it closes, many balls become trapped.

Players also ignore single balls in corners. A lone ball may seem harmless early, but if several colors gather around it, that corner can become a dead zone. When you have time, move isolated balls toward open areas where they can join future lines.

FAQ

How many balls clear a line?

You need five or more balls of the same color in one straight horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line. Longer lines clear more space and are usually worth building when the route is safe.

Why was my move blocked?

A ball can move only through empty squares. If other balls block every route to the destination, the destination may be empty but still unreachable.

Related Games

If you like Lines, try other GouziGouza puzzle games that reward pattern reading and planning. Bubbles focuses on angles and color clusters, Mahjong Solitaire asks you to find open tile pairs, and Tic Tackle gives you a compact abstract strategy fight.