# Flow Free > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Flow_Free > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Flow_Free.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_Free > Source revision: 1348760495 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|2012 video game}} {{about|the mobile puzzle game|the indie game created in Flash|Flow (video game)}} {{Infobox video game | title = Flow Free | image = Flow Free.png | caption = | developer = {{Unbulleted list|Big Duck Games LLC|Noodlecake Studios {{small|(Android)}}}} | publisher = Big Duck Games LLC | series = Flow Free | engine = | platforms = {{unbulleted list|[Windows Phone](/source/Windows_Phone)|[iOS](/source/iOS)|[Android](/source/Android_(operating_system))}} | released = June 7, 2012 | genre = [Puzzle](/source/puzzle_video_game) | modes = Single Player }} '''''Flow Free''''' is a [puzzle game](/source/Puzzle_video_game) developed and published by American studio Big Duck Games for [iOS](/source/iOS) and [Android](/source/Android_(operating_system)) in June 2012.{{cite news|last1=Tsukayama|first1=Hayley|title=Flow Free app: A delightfully advanced connect-the-dots game|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/flow-free-app-a-delightfully-advanced-connect-the-dots-game/2014/01/04/59218530-73ea-11e3-9389-09ef9944065e_story.html|accessdate=14 August 2016|newspaper=Washington Post|date=4 January 2016|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201033845/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/flow-free-app-a-delightfully-advanced-connect-the-dots-game/2014/01/04/59218530-73ea-11e3-9389-09ef9944065e_story.html|url-status=live}} As of 2022, the original game has received more than 100 million downloads, with its various variants receiving additional millions more.{{Cite arXiv |last1=Hart |first1=Eammon |last2=Joshua A. |first2=McGinnis |date=10 February 2022 |title=Physical Zero-knowledge Proofs for Flow Free |class=cs.CR |eprint=2202.04113 }} ==Gameplay== thumb|In this screenshot, the flow between the yellow dots needs to be completed to fill the grid. ''Flow Free'' presents [numberlink](/source/numberlink) puzzles. Each puzzle has a grid of squares with pairs of colored dots occupying some of the squares. The objective is to connect dots of the same color by drawing 'pipes' between them so that the entire grid is occupied by pipes. However, pipes may not intersect. Difficulty is primarily determined by the size of the grid, ranging from 5x5 squares (3 colors) to 15x15 squares (up to 16 colors). Many grids are "open" and some contain "walls" which must be navigated around. Whenever a level is completed, a check mark will appear on the level select icon to indicate that the puzzle is solved, while a star indicates a "perfect" game, where the player finished the puzzle with the fewest moves required. The app also contains additional paid packs as well as a time trial mode.{{cite news |last1=Basu |first1=Saikat |date=16 November 2012 |title=Jog Those Brain Cells With The Addictive Flow Free Puzzle Game [Android 2.2+] |url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/jog-those-brain-cells-with-the-addictive-flow-free-puzzle-game-android-2-2/ |accessdate=14 August 2016 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013161834/https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/jog-those-brain-cells-with-the-addictive-flow-free-puzzle-game-android-2-2/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Webster |first1=Scott |date=1 November 2013 |title=9 great puzzlers and brain teasers for Android |work=CNET |url=http://www.cnet.com/news/9-great-puzzlers-and-brain-teasers-for-android/ |accessdate=14 August 2016 |archive-date=9 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209152326/https://www.cnet.com/news/9-great-puzzlers-and-brain-teasers-for-android/ |url-status=live }} ==Expansions== Big Duck Games has also released several expansions in the series. The first expansion, ''Flow Free: Bridges'', was released on November 8, 2012, at a fixed price. In this expansion, pipes can be made to intersect through pre-made bridges.{{cite news|last1=Bradley|first1=Lee|title=Flow Free: Bridges Review|url=http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/Flow+Free%3A+Bridges/review.asp?c=46676|accessdate=14 August 2016|date=20 November 2012|archive-date=10 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810091219/http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/Flow+Free%3A+Bridges/review.asp?c=46676|url-status=live}} The second expansion, ''Flow Free: Hexes'', was released on October 12, 2016, and features both free and paid premium puzzles. The gameplay is similar to ''Flow Free'' except the grid is made of [hexagon](/source/hexagon)s instead of [square](/source/square)s.{{cite web|title=Newly Released iPhone & iPad Apps – October 14, 2016 |url=http://www.iosnoops.com/2016/10/14/newly-released-iphone-ipad-apps-october-14-2016/|website=IOSnoops|accessdate=October 14, 2016|archive-date=December 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205013526/https://www.iosnoops.com/2016/10/14/newly-released-iphone-ipad-apps-october-14-2016/|url-status=dead}} The third expansion, ''Flow Free: Warps'', was released on August 8, 2017.{{cite web|title=Flow Free: Warps|url=http://appsmenow.com/app/125170-flow-free-warps|website=AppsMeNow|accessdate=10 August 2017|language=en|archive-date=10 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810091253/http://appsmenow.com/app/125170-flow-free-warps|url-status=live}} This expansion allows pipes to warp from an edge of the map to another edge of the map. The fourth expansion, ''Flow Free: Shapes'', was released on December 18, 2024.{{Cite web |title=Big Duck Games {{!}} Flow Free: Shapes™ |url=https://www.bigduckgames.com/shapes |access-date=2024-12-19 |website=Big Duck Games |language=en-US}} This expansion features many levels with multiple cell shapes and round edges. == NP-completeness == According to a 2022 paper by Eammon Hart and Joshua A. McGinnis, ''Flow Free'' is [NP-complete](/source/NP-completeness), meaning today's computers cannot solve the puzzles in [polynomial time](/source/polynomial_time) as complexity increases, building upon a collaborative 2014 paper.{{cite journal |last1=Adcock |first1=Aaron |last2=Demaine |first2=Erik D. |last3=Demaine |first3=Martin L. |last4=O'Brien |first4=Michael P. |last5=Reidl |first5=Felix |last6=Villaamil |first6=Fernando Sánchez |last7=Sullivan |first7=Blair D. |title=Zig-Zag Numberlink is NP-Complete |journal=Journal of Information Processing |date=May 2015 |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=239–245 |doi=10.2197/ipsjjip.23.239 |doi-access=free |url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ipsjjip/23/3/23_239/_pdf/-char/en}} ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[https://www.bigduckgames.com/flowfree Official website] Category:2012 video games Category:Android (operating system) games Category:IOS games Category:Noodlecake Games games Category:NP-complete problems Category:Puzzle video games Category:Single-player video games Category:Video games developed in the United States Category:Windows Phone games --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Flow Free](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_Free) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_Free?action=history)). 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