Logic levels · Move budget · No ads
A Flow Free alternative
with fewer levels, each one deeper.
Flow Free has been the connect-the-dots classic since 2012 — pair every colour, fill every cell, move on to the next board. More than 2,500 free levels, Daily Puzzles and a Time Trial make it an easy habit, and its 4.8 rating from about 405,000 App Store ratings is earned. Millrace is a different logic puzzle for the same kind of player: 64 levels, each with a move budget, a queue of tiles you can see before they arrive, and one exact value to build on one marked cell. There are two ways to lose, a proven shortest solution for every level, and no ads.
How does Millrace compare to Flow Free?
Both are logic puzzles with a definite answer. Flow Free gives you a very large number of short, calm boards; Millrace gives you 64 longer problems where the order of your moves matters.
What you do on a level
Millrace: Swipe, and every tile slides; matching numbers merge. Then the next tile in the queue lands on the inlet. You are steering towards one exact value — say, exactly 64 — on the marked vault cell.
Flow Free: Drag a pipe from each coloured dot to its partner until every cell is filled. Pipes can't cross — draw over one and it breaks.
Flow Free: Drag a pipe from each coloured dot to its partner until every cell is filled. Pipes can't cross — draw over one and it breaks.
How much there is to play
Millrace: 64 levels in six chapters, plus Freeplay — an endless board, with a daily board that is the same for every player.
Flow Free: More than 2,500 free levels across board sizes and packs, new Daily Puzzles every day, paid packs on top, and four spin-off apps.
Flow Free: More than 2,500 free levels across board sizes and packs, new Daily Puzzles every day, paid packs on top, and four spin-off apps.
How a level can go wrong
Millrace: Each level has a move budget and two ways to lose — cover the inlet so the next tile has nowhere to land, or merge past the target. Restart as often as you like; there are no lives and no timers.
Flow Free: No move limit in Free Play — a wrong pipe is simply redrawn. Time Trial adds a clock when you want pressure.
Flow Free: No move limit in Free Play — a wrong pipe is simply redrawn. Time Trial adds a clock when you want pressure.
Knowing you solved it well
Millrace: The result card shows your move count and, if you used more than you needed, the best possible — the true shortest solution, proven by exhaustive search before the level shipped.
Flow Free: Counts your moves and asks you to use the fewest, most efficient ones — a clean-solve goal on every board.
Flow Free: Counts your moves and asks you to use the fewest, most efficient ones — a clean-solve goal on every board.
Ads & price
Millrace: No ads. The whole game is free; optional theme packs are $1.99 each or $5.99 for all sixteen, and undo bundles start at $0.99.
Flow Free: Free with ads. On the US App Store, Unlock All Packs and Remove Ads is $4.99; hint bundles start at 5 for $0.99, and extra packs are $1.99.
Flow Free: Free with ads. On the US App Store, Unlock All Packs and Remove Ads is $4.99; hint bundles start at 5 for $0.99, and extra packs are $1.99.
What the privacy label says
Millrace: Data Not Collected. No account, no analytics, no networking code — it plays the same in airplane mode.
Flow Free: Purchases, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics are listed under Data Used to Track You. The Apple Arcade edition, Flow Free+, is labelled Data Not Collected.
Flow Free: Purchases, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics are listed under Data Used to Track You. The Apple Arcade edition, Flow Free+, is labelled Data Not Collected.
| Feature | Millrace | Flow Free |
|---|---|---|
| What you do | Build one exact value on one marked cell | Connect each colour pair and fill every cell |
| Levels | 64, in six chapters | 2,500+ free, plus paid packs |
| Move limit & failure | Move budget; block the inlet or overshoot and the attempt ends | No move limit in Free Play; redraw until solved |
| Shortest solution | Proven by exhaustive search; shown after you solve | Moves counted; aim for the fewest |
| Daily play | A daily Freeplay board, the same for every player | Daily Puzzles, with streaks |
| Timed mode | None — no timers anywhere | Time Trial — 20 scored mixes of board size and time limit |
| Help | Hint (explains why) and the Coach — both free | Hints — bundles from 5 for $0.99 |
| Price & ads | Free, no ads; optional themes from $1.99 | Free with ads; $4.99 removes them and unlocks all packs |
| App Store privacy label | Data Not Collected | Data Used to Track You — purchases, identifiers, usage data, diagnostics |
| Platforms | iPhone and iPad | iPhone and iPad, plus Android |
| Best for | One exact puzzle at a time, where every move counts | Thousands of quick, calming boards |
Flow Free details were checked on 24 September 2026 against the public US App Store listings for Flow Free and Flow Free+ and can change — verify levels, prices, ads and the privacy label on the current listing before installing.
Honest verdict — Flow Free wins on volume and calm
Pick Millrace if you want…
- A move budget and an exact target, so every move has to count
- To see the next arrivals and plan the order, not just the route
- The proven shortest solution after every level you solve
- Levels no fixed pattern of swipes can solve
- No ads, and an app that collects no data
Pick Flow Free if you want…
- Thousands of levels — 2,500+ free, plus packs and Daily Puzzles
- Quick, calm boards with no move limit
- A Time Trial when you want speed
- More of the same idea in Bridges, Hexes, Warps and Shapes
- Android as well as iPhone and iPad
If you want a deep well of quick, calming boards, Flow Free is the better app and has been since 2012; if you want 64 levels that each make you count every move, try Millrace.
About Millrace
Questions
FAQ
What is a good Flow Free alternative?
Millrace, a tile-delivery puzzle for iPhone and iPad, if you want fewer levels that each ask more of you. Flow Free gives you more than 2,500 free connect-the-dots boards; Millrace gives you 64 levels, each with a move budget, a queue of arriving tiles you can see in advance, and one exact value to build on one marked cell. It is free, has no ads and collects no data. If you simply want more Flow Free, the same studio's Bridges, Hexes, Warps and Shapes apps are the natural next step.
How is Millrace different from Flow Free?
Both are level-based logic puzzles with a definite solution, but the work is different. In Flow Free you draw a pipe between each pair of coloured dots until every cell is filled, so the question is where each pipe goes. In Millrace each swipe slides every tile, matching numbers merge, and then the next queued tile lands on the inlet, so the question is what order to do things in. Millrace also has a move budget and two ways to lose: cover the inlet, or merge past the target.
Does Millrace have as many levels as Flow Free?
No. Flow Free has more than 2,500 free levels, plus paid packs and new Daily Puzzles every day. Millrace has 64, in six chapters pinned to the length of the shortest solution — five moves in Warm-up, then six, seven, eight, nine, and ten or more in Mastery. Every level was found by search rather than drawn by hand, its shortest solution was confirmed by exhaustive search, and about 280 fixed strategies — swiping one way, cycling moves, greedy merging — were run against it without solving it. For open-ended play there is Freeplay, an endless board with a daily board that is the same for every player.
Is Millrace as relaxing as Flow Free?
Not in the same way. Flow Free is built to be calm: Free Play has no move limit, and a wrong pipe is simply redrawn. Millrace has no timers, no lives and no energy meter, and you can restart any level as often as you like, but each level has a move budget and can be lost, so it feels more like a small problem to think through than a board to clear. If you want to unwind with quick boards, Flow Free is the better fit.
Does Millrace have ads or in-app purchases?
No ads. The whole game is free — all 64 levels, Freeplay, the daily board, Hint and the Coach. The optional purchases are cosmetic theme packs ($1.99 each, or $5.99 for all sixteen) and undo bundles from $0.99, and no level ever requires an undo. Flow Free is also free but shows ads; on the US App Store, a $4.99 purchase removes them and unlocks all packs.
Is there a version of Flow Free without ads?
Yes, two. In the regular app, the $4.99 Unlock All Packs and Remove Ads purchase removes ads. Big Duck Games also publishes Flow Free+ on Apple Arcade, which comes with an Arcade subscription, has no ads or in-app purchases, and carries a Data Not Collected privacy label. Millrace is a different puzzle, not a Flow Free edition, and it has no ads at all.
Try it
Open Millrace
Sixty-four levels, one inlet, one exact target. Free, with no ads and nothing collected.