Introduction

Linkz is a small puzzle game for Windows.

Turn the pipes and connect every end to close up all pipes, as fast as you can!

The basic controls are extremely simple and easy to learn yet the game play is varied enough to provide hours of fun.

With map sizes starting from 5 x 5 to 50 x 50 the amount of maps is practically endless.

You can even create and use your own graphics.

Features

The main objective of Linkz is to connect all the open ends of the pipes, electronic circuits, roads or whatever tiles you may be using together so they form continuous shapes. And all this takes place in the form as a race against time.

A simple enough task you might think. Granted, a 5 x 5 map is not very difficult to complete (try and top my 6 seconds!) but the bigger the maps get the more complex the shapes will be and you should be busy quite some time solving a 50 x 50 map.

For those who don't want to have the game take this long there is also the option to choose any size between 5 x 5 and 50 x 50 and there are also some default sizes to choose from so you can compete with your friends.

And competing with your friends (or foes, as the case may be) couldn't be easier; Hi-scores are kept in separate files which may be shared in a network environment and even if your not using a network, combining hi-score files is as simple as pasting two files together in Notepad and the next time you start, Linkz will sort them automatically.
To stop the losers from winning, the hi-score files are encrypted so they can't be edited by the average hacker.

You can also download our special Linkz Hi-score Combiner program, which allows you to combine directories containing the Linkz hi-scores into one single directory easily so you can share your hi-scores with all your friend. The Hi-score Combiner automatically combines, sorts, verifies and cuts the hi-score directories at high speed.

You will have access to a range of 10 different sets of tiles with some very strange and interesting alternatives, the smart person will learn how to use the characteristics of every set of tiles to his own advantage as Linkz will allow you to swap tiles during the game.

Besides having these 10 pre-designed sets of Tiles you can also use your own self-made sets or use sets downloaded elsewhere. You can create custom tiles using any graphics application and download the Tiles Development Kit (TDK) for information and some samples and templates.

Although all maps can be solved (and the bigger may even be solved in multiple ways) you might get into problems when you're working with a big map and lose track of the open ends, for those people there is an option to graphically mark all the open ends so you can quickly see where there's more work to be done.

Control is done by mouse, left click to rotate the tile below the mouse pointer clockwise, right click to go the other way around. Most of the other features are conveniently available through the Function keys so you can quickly select a new map if things get rough.

All in all Linkz is a small, fun and varied game and although it will not give you any technological wizardry and stunning special effects it will run on any plain Windows system, including your employers' aging Windows NT machine!

Screenshots

Download

If you haven't downloaded Linkz already, you can do so here.
Download the development kit and hi-score combiner for even more fun!

Linkz (Version 1.2.1, Windows, 258 KiB)

• Download from HTTP server in USA

Linkz is a one-file program which does not rely on any software whatsoever besides the standard Windows software. Although it is not required, it would be smart to install Linkz in a subdirectory as Linkz will create a directory "hi-scores" to store it's hi-scores.

Tiles Development Kit (Version 1.0, Windows, 19 KiB)

• Download from HTTP server in USA

The Tiles Development Kit will install in a directory named LinkzTDK by default, since it does not contain any executable file it can be placed anywhere you wish.

Hi-score Combiner (Version 1.0, Windows, 246 KiB)

• Download from HTTP server in USA

The Hiscore Combiner .zip-file contains a single executable file and a text file containing the a short manual, both files can be copied anywhere you wish.

Tilesets

Linkz can be customized by creating your own, personal tiles. Some of the Linkz users have taken the opportunity and created some nice tilesets, some of the finest of these user created tiles are available here for download.

	Title: Beads Author: Jan thor Homepage: http://www.janthor.de Tile size: 50 x 50 Description: Red colored beads on a wood background. Simple but nice. Click here to download.
	Title: Blob Author: Geoff Warren Homepage: not available Tile size: 32 x 32 Description: Green blob on a yellow background, plays better than the screenshot suggests. Click here to download.
	Title: Blox Author: Alex Link Homepage: home.kscable.com/linkaxdx Tile size: 36 x 36 Description: Somewhat unclear. Click here to download.
	Title: Blueprint Author: Alex Link (concept) & Martijn van der Lee (graphics) Homepage: home.kscable.com/linkaxdx Tile size: 25 x 25 Description: Match paires of lines to create the blueprint. Click here to download.
	Title: Canal Author: Martijn van der Lee Homepage: www.vanderlee.com Tile size: 64 x 32 Description: 3D and non-square experiment. Click here to download.
	Title: Daze Author: Alex Link Homepage: home.kscable.com/linkaxdx Tile size: 36 x 36 Description: Different colors for vertical and horizontal connections. Click here to download.
	Title: Diagonal Author: Jan thor Homepage: http://www.janthor.de Tile size: 32 x 32 Description: Complete the diagonal lines without hitting the edges and you're done. Click here to download.
	Title: Diamonds Author: Alex Link (concept) & Martijn van der Lee (graphics) Homepage: home.kscable.com/linkaxdx Tile size: 32 x 32 Description: Really devious, do NOT connect the diamonds! Click here to download.
	Title: Dungeon Author: Jan thor Homepage: http://www.janthor.de Tile size: 32 x 32 Description: Old-school RPG style dungeons. Click here to download.
	Title: Grid Author: Geoff Warren Homepage: not available Tile size: 32 x 32 Description: Connect the black dots. Very hard. Click here to download.
	Title: Mizery Author: Alex Link Homepage: home.kscable.com/linkaxdx Tile size: 36 x 36 Description: Uses an alternating color pattern, very difficult. Click here to download.
	Title: Orbz Author: Alex Link Homepage: home.kscable.com/linkaxdx Tile size: 38 x 38 Description: Spheres interconnected with red lines. Click here to download.
	Title: Plugs 2 Author: Eric Jun K. Homepage: not available Tile size: 45 x 45 Description: Some simple connecting electrical tubes. Click here to download.
	Title: Rail Author: Douglas Lang Homepage: not available Tile size: 45 x 45 Description: A very nicely drawn railroad theme. Click here to download.
	Title: Red Led Display Author: Alex Link (concept) & Martijn van der Lee (graphics) Homepage: www.vanderlee.com Tile size: 32 x 32 Description: Digital LCD display. Click here to download.
	Title: Redz Author: Alex Link Homepage: home.kscable.com/linkaxdx Tile size: 40 x 40 Description: Very clear design. Click here to download.
	Title: Relaxed Author: Jan thor Homepage: http://www.janthor.de Tile size: 32 x 32 Description: As the title says, a more relaxed version of Jan Thor's previous "Tough" tileset, still quite a challenge, though. Click here to download.
	Title: Ribbons Author: Lorenzo Gatti (concept) & Martijn van der Lee (graphics) Homepage: not available Tile size: 25 x 25 Description: Twisty ribbons on an orange background. Click here to download.
	Title: Spaceway Author: Eric Jun K. Homepage: not available Tile size: 32 x 32 Description: A space theme. Click here to download.
	Title: Sports Author: Martijn van der Lee Homepage: www.vanderlee.com Tile size: 32 x 32 Description: A sporting' design, clear and stylish for the home athlete. Click here to download.
	Title: Tough Author: Jan thor Homepage: http://www.janthor.de Tile size: 32 x 32 Description: Black/white lines, very hard to do and bound to make you dizzy. Click here to download.
	Title: Track Author: Jan thor Homepage: http://www.janthor.de Tile size: 52 x 32 Description: A nice horse track in the grass, stretched horizontally to give it that special feeling. Click here to download.

The file sizes of both the downloads and installed tilesets are minimal so they are not given.
To install the custom tiles, unzip them (using WinZip or a similar program) into any directory (preferably within the Linkz directory) and use the Custom tiles option to load them into Linkz.