Color Lines

9×9 Grid  ·  7 Colors  ·  Make Lines of 5+

Slide marbles into rows of five or more of one color to clear them. Each move that doesn't clear a line drops three more — keep the board from filling up and chase the longest combo you can.

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How Do You Play Color Lines?

  • Pick up a marble by tapping it — it starts to bounce — then tap an empty square it can reach along a clear path (highlighted dots show every square it can get to).
  • Make a line of 5+ of one color — horizontal, vertical or diagonal — and those marbles clear for points.
  • Each non-clearing move drops three marbles. Watch the Next preview and the small ghost markers so they don't block your plans.
  • Clearing a line is a free turn — no new marbles drop — so hold out for sixes, sevens and crossing combos.
  • Stuck? Tap Smart Move for an AI-suggested marble and destination, or tick Show moves to light up every square the picked marble can reach.

The game ends when the board fills up — it's a pure high-score chase.

How Does the AI Hint Work?

Color Lines is a modern, AI-powered take on the classic line-clearing puzzle — the game many players remember as Lines 98, reimagined for today's browser with a built-in AI hint engine. Marble movement uses a breadth-first pathfinder that lights up exactly the squares each marble can reach.

The Smart-Move engine reads the live board: it scans every marble and every square it can reach, plays a clearing move when one exists, and otherwise picks the move that grows your longest same-color run — then highlights the marble to move and where to send it.

New to the game? Read the full strategy guide to learn the corner, combo and bait techniques that separate a 500 from a 5,000.

Go deeper: How the pathfinder works  ·  How to score high

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Color Lines and Lines 98?
Lines 98 is the name most players know for a standalone Windows remake of Color Lines, a puzzle created in 1992 by the Russian studio Gamos and played on a 9×9 grid where five or more same-colored balls in a row clear from the board. The Lines 98 remake spread widely in the late 1990s, especially in Vietnam. Color Lines on LK Forge is a modern browser implementation of the same rules but adds an AI-powered pathfinding assistant that calculates the shortest open route for any ball and displays it on the board — a feature absent from the classic versions. Both use the same 9×9 grid and five-in-a-row scoring; this version runs free in any modern browser with no download or login required.

How do you play Color Lines?
Tap a marble, then tap an empty square it can reach along a clear path. Group five or more of one color in a row to clear them. If a move doesn't clear a line, three new marbles drop in.

What is the next-ball preview?
The status bar shows the three marbles that drop after your next non-clearing move, also previewed as small ghost markers on the board — so you can plan around them.

How does scoring work?
Five marbles score 10; longer lines score far more, and a move that clears two crossing lines stacks both. Clearing is a free turn, so longer combos are the path to a high score.

What does Smart Move do?
It scans every legal move, completes a line when one is available, and otherwise builds your longest run — then highlights the suggested marble and destination.

Is it free and mobile-friendly?
Completely free, no sign-up. The board scales to any screen and is fully tap-controlled — play on phone, tablet or desktop.

More AI games?
Try AI Sudoku or browse the games hub on LK Forge.