Deterministic levels · No lives · No ads
A Two Dots alternative
with a proven answer to every level.
Two Dots has been refined since 2014: you draw lines through same-coloured dots, close squares to clear a whole colour, and meet each level's objectives inside a move limit — across more than 5,000 levels and a steady calendar of events. It's an App Store Editors' Choice, rated 4.5 from about 173,000 ratings. Millrace is a smaller, stricter move-budget puzzle: 64 levels on a fixed 4×4 board, every arriving tile visible before it lands, and a shortest solution proved by search for each one. No lives, no energy, no boosters, no ads — and the whole game is free.
How does Millrace compare to Two Dots?
Both hand you a level, a goal and a limited number of moves, and neither puts a clock on you. What differs is how much you can know before you move — and how much surrounds the puzzle.
What you do on a move
Millrace: Swipe. Every tile on the 4×4 board slides that way, equal numbers merge where they collide, and the next tile in the queue lands on the inlet. The goal is one exact value — say, exactly 64 — on one marked cell.
Two Dots: Drag through a chain of two or more same-coloured dots — horizontal and vertical steps only — and let go. They clear and the dots above fall into place. Close a square and every dot of that colour on the board clears at once.
Two Dots: Drag through a chain of two or more same-coloured dots — horizontal and vertical steps only — and let go. They clear and the dots above fall into place. Close a square and every dot of that colour on the board clears at once.
What you can see coming
Millrace: All of it. The board is fixed and the whole arrival queue is on screen before your first move, so a level can be reasoned through to the end — and the same moves always give the same result.
Two Dots: The board, the objectives and the moves you have left. Cleared dots are replaced by new ones dropping in from above, which you don't see in advance — a helpful drop can hand you a square, an unhelpful one can take it away.
Two Dots: The board, the objectives and the moves you have left. Cleared dots are replaced by new ones dropping in from above, which you don't see in advance — a helpful drop can hand you a square, an unhelpful one can take it away.
How much there is to play
Millrace: 64 levels in six chapters, each one move deeper than the last — five moves in Warm-up, ten or more in Mastery. Every level's shortest solution is proven by search. After that, Freeplay: an open-ended board with no goal, and a daily board identical for every player.
Two Dots: More than 5,000 levels by the listing's own count, dozens of special-dot mechanics, and new worlds added regularly. For sheer volume, there's no contest.
Two Dots: More than 5,000 levels by the listing's own count, dozens of special-dot mechanics, and new worlds added regularly. For sheer volume, there's no contest.
Lives, boosters and ads
Millrace: None of the three. Restart any level as often as you like; Hint and the Coach are free. Undo tokens are sold, but no level needs one, and a free token arrives each day while you hold fewer than three.
Two Dots: Five lives — one lost per failed or quit level, one back every 20 minutes. Power-ups and booster boxes, earned or bought with Gold, and ads, including a video spinner for extra moves when you run out. Its help centre says every level can be beaten without boosters.
Two Dots: Five lives — one lost per failed or quit level, one back every 20 minutes. Power-ups and booster boxes, earned or bought with Gold, and ads, including a video spinner for extra moves when you run out. Its help centre says every level can be beaten without boosters.
Events and other players
Millrace: Single-player and quiet: a daily board identical for every player in the world, streaks, and optional Game Center leaderboards and achievements.
Two Dots: A full live calendar — Treasure Hunts, hidden-object Scavenger Hunts, leagues, races against other players, team events and a 28-day Season Pass — plus friends who can send you lives.
Two Dots: A full live calendar — Treasure Hunts, hidden-object Scavenger Hunts, leagues, races against other players, team events and a 28-day Season Pass — plus friends who can send you lives.
Privacy, offline and sync
Millrace: App Store privacy label: Data Not Collected. No account and no networking code, so it plays the same on a plane. Progress stays on the device and doesn't sync.
Two Dots: The label lists data used to track you — purchases, location, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics. Stored lives work offline, but automatic saving needs a connection. Progress syncs through Facebook, Sign in with Apple or a Restore Code.
Two Dots: The label lists data used to track you — purchases, location, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics. Stored lives work offline, but automatic saving needs a connection. Progress syncs through Facebook, Sign in with Apple or a Restore Code.
| Feature | Millrace | Two Dots |
|---|---|---|
| Goal of a level | Build one exact value on one marked cell | Meet the level's objectives — collect dots, sink anchors, break ice |
| What arrives next | The whole queue, shown before your first move | New dots drop in as you clear; not shown in advance |
| Levels | 64 in six chapters, plus Freeplay and a daily board | More than 5,000, with new ones added regularly |
| After a solved level | Your move count, your best, and the proven shortest | Stars for how well you did |
| Lives or energy | None | 5 lives; one back every 20 minutes |
| Boosters and power-ups | None — optional undo tokens, never required | Power-ups, booster boxes and extra moves, via Gold or rewards |
| Ads | None | Yes — including a video spinner for extra moves |
| Live events | None — one daily board shared by every player | Constant: hunts, leagues, races, team events, Season Pass |
| Privacy and offline | Data Not Collected; no account; fully offline, no sync | Label lists data used to track you; saving needs a connection |
| Price | Free; theme packs $1.99 each or $5.99 for all; undos from $0.99 | Free; in-app purchases from $0.99, some with random contents |
| Platforms | iPhone and iPad (iOS 18 or later) | iPhone and iPad, plus Android |
| Best for | Closed problems you can reason through to the end | A long-running saga with events and a near-endless supply of levels |
Two Dots details were checked on 24 September 2026 against its public App Store listing and official help centre. Listings, prices and events change — verify before installing.
Honest verdict — a living saga, or a fixed set of puzzles
Pick Millrace if you want…
- Levels with nothing random in them — the whole queue visible from move one
- To know the proven shortest solution, and whether you found it
- No lives to wait for, no boosters and no ads
- A Hint that explains its reasoning, and a Coach that names one habit to fix
- A game that works fully offline and collects no data
Pick Two Dots if you want…
- A saga you can play for years — more than 5,000 levels and counting
- Live events, leagues, races and a Season Pass to plan around
- Its much-loved art and music, and the hidden-object Scavenger Hunts
- Friends, gifted lives and progress synced across devices
- Android as well as iPhone and iPad
If you want a puzzle saga to settle into — thousands of levels, a steady run of events, art worth lingering on — Two Dots does that far better than Millrace. If you want a short run of closed problems with nothing random between you and the answer, that's Millrace.
About Millrace
Questions
FAQ
What is a good Two Dots alternative?
Millrace, if you like move-limited level puzzles but want nothing random in them. Each of its 64 levels gives you a fixed 4×4 board, a queue of arriving tiles you can see in full before your first move, and a move budget; the job is to build one exact value on one marked cell. Every level's shortest solution is proven by search. There are no lives, no boosters and no ads, and the whole game is free. If what you love about Two Dots is the long saga — thousands of levels, events and its art — Two Dots still does that far better.
How is Millrace different from Two Dots?
Both give you a goal and a limited number of moves, and neither has a clock. In Two Dots you draw lines through same-coloured dots and close squares to clear a whole colour; cleared dots are replaced by new ones dropping in from above, so the board changes in ways you can't see coming. In Millrace you swipe to slide every tile, equal numbers merge, and the next tile from a visible queue lands on the inlet — every position follows from the moves you chose, so a level can be reasoned through to the end.
Does Millrace have lives or energy like Two Dots?
No. Two Dots gives you five lives, takes one when you fail or quit a level, and returns one every 20 minutes — or sooner with Gold, gifts from friends or event rewards. Millrace has no lives, no energy meter and no timers, and you can restart any level as often as you like. It does sell undo tokens, but no level requires one, and a free token arrives each day while you hold fewer than three.
How many levels does Millrace have compared with Two Dots?
Millrace has 64 levels in six chapters, each pinned to its proven optimal length — five moves in Warm-up, rising one move per chapter to ten or more in Mastery — plus an open-ended Freeplay board and a daily board shared by every player. Two Dots lists more than 5,000 levels, and its help centre already documents mechanics that appear past level 7,600. If a near-endless supply of levels is what you want, Two Dots wins clearly.
Does Millrace have ads or in-app purchases?
No ads, and no boosters or power-ups. The whole game is free — all 64 levels, Freeplay, the daily board, Hint and the Coach. Optional purchases are cosmetic theme packs at $1.99 each (all sixteen paid themes for $5.99), undo bundles from $0.99 and a $1.99 tip, with no subscription. Two Dots is also free to play, with ads and in-app purchases for moves, lives, Gold and power-ups — though its help centre says every level can be beaten without boosters.
Can I play Millrace offline?
Yes, completely. Millrace has no networking code and no account, and its App Store privacy label is Data Not Collected. The trade-off is that progress stays on the device and does not sync between devices. Two Dots' help centre says stored lives can be used offline, but that automatic progress saving needs a reliable internet connection; it syncs across devices through Facebook, Sign in with Apple or a Restore Code.
Try it
Open Millrace
Sixty-four levels, one inlet, nothing random. Free, offline, no ads.