Join Five — How to Play

Make straight lines of five by adding a single dot. Score a point for each completed line. Play until no valid moves remain.

On this page

Goal

Place a dot on an empty grid intersection so that your dot completes a straight line of five consecutive points. Lines can be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. Each completed line is worth 1 point.

After you score a line, some of the dots used in that line become “spent” in that same direction, so you can’t score another line reusing the same interior dots in that direction.

How to play (step by step)

  1. Scan the board for places where a single new dot would complete five in a row.
  2. Click that empty intersection to place your dot.
  3. If your dot can complete multiple lines, yellow markers appear. Click one of the yellow markers to choose which line to claim. The chosen line is drawn, your score increases, and your new dot is numbered to show move order.

What the colors mean

Existing dots
Your just-placed dot (selection mode)
Clickable choices when more than one line is possible
Hint spots (press Q)
Lines are drawn like this on the grid.

What counts as a valid move

Controls

The Back button appears after your first scored line. Keyboard shortcuts: Q for Hint, Z for Back.

Scoring, Game Over, and Leaderboard

Tips and strategy

FAQ

Why can’t I place a dot here?

That spot won’t complete a straight five-in-a-row using existing dots. Use the Hint (Q) to see all valid placements right now.

I clicked but no line appeared — what happened?

Your dot creates more than one possible line. Click one of the yellow markers to choose which line to score.

Why can’t I score a second line through the same dots?

After you score a line, the three interior dots are marked as used in that direction and can’t be reused to score another line in the same direction. You can still create lines that cross in different directions.

Where are my scores saved?

In your browser’s local storage on this device. Clearing results only affects your device.