Untangle: the "no crossing lines" logic puzzle

Untangle is a free brain teaser built on a simple, satisfying idea: a tangle of dots and connecting lines is dropped in front of you with the edges criss-crossing all over each other, and your job is to drag the dots around until no two lines cross. Every puzzle is guaranteed to have a solution — the dots started life in a tidy, crossing-free arrangement before the game scrambled them — so it is never a question of whether it can be solved, only how quickly you can see the untangled shape hiding inside the mess. It is the kind of quiet, absorbing puzzle that is perfect with a morning coffee.

How to play

Press and drag any dot to move it. Lines that currently cross another line glow red, so you always know exactly where the remaining problems are — clear every red line and the puzzle is solved. Each drag that actually moves a dot counts as one move, and the game keeps track of how many moves you take, so there is a gentle nudge to find an efficient solution rather than shoving dots around at random.

• On desktop: click and drag the dots with your mouse.
• On mobile: touch and drag the dots with your finger.

Levels and difficulty

Untangle starts gently with a five-dot tutorial and ramps up through progressively harder tiers — more dots, more edges, more ways to get twisted around — all the way up to Master level, and then keeps generating fresh Master puzzles forever. Your highest level is saved on your device, so you can pick up where you left off. Because each level is generated from a fixed recipe, everyone sees the same puzzle at a given level, which makes it easy to compare notes with a friend.

Tips

• Find the dots with the most connections first and give them room to breathe near the centre.
• Work the outside in — spread the outer dots into a rough loop, then fix the inner ones.
• When two lines cross, dragging just one of their four endpoints is usually enough to separate them.
• Don't chase a low move count on your first try; solve it first, then learn the shape and beat your own score.

Frequently asked questions

Is every puzzle solvable? Yes. Each layout is built by scrambling a known crossing-free graph, so a tangle-free solution always exists.

Is it free? Completely free — no account, no download, no installs. It runs in any modern browser on phone, tablet or desktop.

What is a "planar graph"? It's a network of points and lines that can be drawn on a flat surface with none of the lines crossing. Untangling the dots is really you rediscovering that flat drawing.

In the mood for more? Try Tessera, our endless falling-letter word puzzle, or browse all Zamborin games.