Number Path: free route puzzle game online, numbers in order

What is Number Path?

Later's route puzzle. Draw one line through every square of the grid, stepping up, down, left or right, starting on 1 and meeting the numbers in order up to the last one. Each run is three boards: pick Easy (4×4), Medium (5×5) or Hard (6×6).

Number Path is a free logic puzzle hosted by Later. The grid holds a few numbered squares; draw a single route that starts on 1, steps up, down, left or right, passes through every square exactly once and meets the numbers in order, finishing on the last one.

Each run deals three boards at your level: Easy on a 4×4 grid, Medium on 5×5 and Hard on 6×6. Every board is built from a real route through the whole grid, so there is always a way through, and any route that follows the rules counts. Drag, tap or use the arrow keys to draw.

At a glance

Category

Logic

Difficulty

Medium

Play time

4 min

Price

Free, in your browser, sign-up optional

How to play

Draw

Start on 1 and drag through the squares, or tap them one by one. No diagonals, and no square twice.

Order

Meet the numbers in order and finish on the last number once every square is covered.

Fix

Tap the end of your route or press Undo to step back; tap an earlier square to cut back to it; Clear starts over. On a keyboard: arrows draw, Backspace undoes.

Score

Per board: Easy 500, Medium 800, Hard 1,200, minus 2 a second, never under 100. Three boards add up to your run.

Scoring

Each run is three boards. A board is worth 500 on Easy (4×4), 800 on Medium (5×5) or 1,200 on Hard (6×6), minus 2 points a second, never under 100.

Your score is the total of the three boards. Undo and Clear are free: only time counts.

What it trains

Spatial reasoning

Seeing how a single line can sweep every square of the grid.

Planning ahead

Leaving room for the numbers still to come and a way to reach the finish.

Spotting constraints

Corners and narrow pockets with only one way in tell you where the route has to go.

Strategy and tips

Corners first

A corner square has only two neighbours, so the route must enter and leave it on those two sides, unless it starts or ends there.

Don't wall yourself in

Before you commit to a turn, check you're not cutting off a pocket of squares you can't come back to.

Count the gap

The squares between two numbers on your route have to fill the space you leave between them. A long detour can belong between two close numbers.

Look ahead to the finish

The last number is the end of the line. Leave yourself a way to reach it after everything else is covered.

Undo is free

Only time costs points, so step back with Undo, or tap an earlier square to cut your route back to it, as often as you like.

Why play Number Path?

Route puzzles like this train planning and spatial reasoning: you hold the whole grid in mind, spot squares that only have one way in, and think several steps ahead so the path never traps itself.

Frequently asked questions