A large part of the straw that runs up from the soda can all the way to the lizard's mouth is broken. It's up to the player to fill in the missing pieces before the soda spills out. At the beginning of every level the soda starts flowing towards the lizard along the straw system. The player must quickly connect the two ends of the straw and make sure the soda passes safely. Similarly to other "pipe-connecting" puzzle games such as Pipe Dream, in Overflow the player receives random types of straw sections, with which he can build a safe passage for the soda. Compared to the former, however, it's impossible to browse through them and select only the needed section. To receive the next straw segment, the player must place the current one somewhere on the board.

The difficulty increases with each new level. Usually, there are rocks and ice cubes blocking certain squares on the screen. From time to time, the player will receive bombs which he can use to blow up either the obstacles or the extra straws. Adding to the complexity of the puzzles are the frozen straw sections. It's mandatory that the flow pass through all of them before reaching the final goal. Bonus points are awarded for placing straws on the hotspots periodically highlighted by the game.

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