Animal Connect

How to play Animal Connect

Animal Connect is a tile-matching puzzle: the board is covered in animal tiles, and you clear it by linking two tiles of the same animal with a line. It follows the rule of Shisen-Sho and Onet (also known as Lianliankan). Remove every tile before the clock runs out and the level is yours.

It's free, needs no download or sign-up, and runs in any modern browser on a computer or a phone.

• Tap or click two tiles that show the same animal.
• If a line that passes only through empty cells and turns at most twice can join them, the line flashes and both tiles vanish.
• Straight lines (no turn), L shapes (one turn) and U or Z shapes (two turns) all count. A route that needs a third turn does not.
• The line may leave the board and run along the empty border around it, so tiles on the edges often connect even when they are far apart.
• Picking two different animals, or a pair that can't be joined, just shakes the tiles and clears your pick. There's no penalty.

Controls

Computer

• Click a tile to pick it; click it again to let go.
• H for a hint, S to shuffle, P to pause and resume.
• Once a tile has focus, the arrow keys move between tiles and Enter or Space picks one.

Phone and tablet

• Tap a tile: it's picked the moment your finger lands.
• On a narrow screen the board stands upright, which makes the tiles bigger.
• The buttons under the board give you hints and shuffles, and the fullscreen button makes the board as large as your screen allows.

If you switch to another tab or app, the game pauses itself and the clock stops with it.

Levels and scoring

There are five levels. Each one adds animals, so matching pairs get harder to find.

Level	Board	Animals	Special rule	Time
1	12×7 (84 tiles)	12	None	5 min
2	14×8 (112 tiles)	14	Tiles slide down	5 min
3	14×8 (112 tiles)	16	Tiles slide left	5 min
4	14×8 (112 tiles)	18	Tiles slide up	5 min
5	14×8 (112 tiles)	18	Tiles slide right	4 min 30 s

From level 2, the remaining tiles slide toward one side after every match and fill the gap. The board keeps changing shape, so think about what will move before you clear a pair.

• Every pair is worth 10 points.
• Clear the next pair within 3.5 seconds and the combo continues: each step adds 5 points, up to 50 for a single pair.
• Clearing a level adds 3 points for every second left plus 50 times the level number.
• Each level gives you 3 hints and 2 shuffles, refilled for the next one.

When no connectable pair is left, the game shuffles the tiles for you, and that doesn't use one of your shuffles. Every new board is checked to be solvable before it's dealt, so you can always clear it if you're fast enough.

Tips for a higher score

Start from the edges. Tiles on the border can route around the outside of the board, so they connect easily. Clearing the outside first opens paths to the tiles in the middle.

Watch the animals with few tiles. If the last two of an animal end up with one boxed in, you'll be stuck searching. When an animal has four tiles, choose which two to match first so the remaining two are easy to join.

Chain your matches. Spot the next pair before you finish the current one and tap straight through to keep the combo alive. Scanning the tiles next to empty space is quicker than hunting for one animal at a time.

Use the slide direction. On a level where tiles slide down, clearing a pair near the top moves nothing, but clearing one at the bottom drops the whole column above it. A pair you were about to take can suddenly be blocked, so tidy up the side that doesn't move first.

Save hints for real dead ends. You only get three per level. Use a hint when you've looked for a while and see nothing, and a shuffle when the pairs left are scattered and time is short.

Shisen-Sho, Onet and Lianliankan

This style of puzzle became widely known through Shisen-Sho, a Japanese arcade game from 1989. Unlike Mahjong Solitaire, where tiles are stacked, Shisen-Sho lays them flat and links identical tiles with a line of at most two turns. Picture versions spread later: Lianliankan in China and Onet elsewhere, often with animals or cartoon characters instead of mahjong tiles.

The game on this page is our own browser version, animal drawings included.

More games on the site

If you like number puzzles, try the Apple Game or the Lemon Game, where you box numbers that add up to 10. For calm puzzles with more thinking, there's Minesweeper and Block Blast.

Animal Connect FAQ

Is Animal Connect free? Do I need to install anything?

It's free. There's no app to install and no account to create: open this page in any modern browser on a computer, phone or tablet and play.

Which tiles can be connected?

Two tiles showing the same animal vanish when a line through empty cells can join them with at most two turns. Straight lines, one-turn lines and two-turn lines all work; a route that needs a third turn doesn't. The line may leave the board and run along the empty border around it.

Is this the same as Onet or Shisen-Sho?

It uses the same rule. Shisen-Sho is the Japanese connect puzzle played with mahjong tiles, Onet and Lianliankan are the versions with pictures, and this one uses cute animal tiles: cats, pandas, foxes and more.

What happens when there are no pairs left?

If none of the remaining tiles can be connected, the board shuffles itself automatically, and that doesn't use up one of your shuffles. If a pair exists but you can't spot it, use a hint or a shuffle.

How many hints and shuffles do I get?

Three hints and two shuffles per level, refilled when the next level starts. A hint makes one connectable pair glow; a shuffle rearranges the remaining tiles.

How is the score calculated?

Each pair is worth 10 points. Clear the next pair within 3.5 seconds and the combo continues, adding 5 more points per step, up to 50 for a single pair. Clearing a level adds 3 points for every second left plus 50 times the level number.

How many levels are there and what changes?

Five. Level 1 is a 12 by 7 board with 12 animals. From level 2 the board is 14 by 8 (112 tiles) with 14, 16 and then 18 animals, and after every match the tiles slide toward one side: down, left, up or right. Each level has 5 minutes, the last one 4 minutes 30 seconds.

Can I play on my phone?

Yes. On a narrow screen the board stands upright so the tiles are bigger and easy to tap. A tile is picked as soon as you touch it, and the fullscreen button makes the board as large as your screen allows.

Can a board be impossible to finish?

No. Every new board is solved by the computer before you see it, and only solvable boards are dealt. If you get stuck on the way, the automatic shuffle steps in, so the board can always be cleared if you're quick enough.

Where is my best score saved?

Only in the browser you played in. A private window or another device starts from zero, and clearing this site's data resets it. The sound setting is remembered the same way.