LockLines

About LockLines

LockLines is a free browser puzzle by MMQ, listed on itch.io as in development. It has a single rule: draw a continuous line through adjacent number tiles, including diagonals, without reusing a tile, so that the sum of the line matches the target shown on the lock.

When your running sum hits the lock exactly, it opens and the next tile you add starts counting towards the next lock, so one long line can open several in a row. Open every lock on the board and it refills. If the sum goes past the target, the line snaps and costs a strike, and three strikes end the run. Longer clean lines give a bigger base score, solving without snapping builds a combo multiplier, and marked bonus tiles add extra points when you use them.

The Daily Challenge is numbered and generated from the date in the UK, so it changes at midnight UK time and every player gets the same ten fixed rounds. It is not against the clock: the game records your elapsed time, lines cracked, best chain and score, and lets you copy a result to compare with friends.

There is also an Arcade mode, a 60-second score run where good chains add time. Keyboard shortcuts let you undo a tile, reset a line or pause. There are no downloads or accounts.

How to play LockLines

1. Open the itch.io page, run the game and choose Daily Challenge.
2. Start on any number and drag to touching tiles, across, up, down or diagonally.
3. Watch the running sum: when it equals the glowing lock, the lock opens.
4. Keep drawing to open the next lock, but do not go over the target or the line snaps.
5. Clear all ten rounds, then copy your result to share.

Tips

• Plan the whole line before you start; one long route that opens two or three locks scores more than several short ones.
• Leave yourself a way out: a line that runs into a corner with only big numbers nearby will overshoot.
• Use Backspace to undo the last tile instead of letting the line snap and cost a strike.
• Route through the marked bonus tiles when it costs nothing extra.

Questions