Dots and Boxes
Draw lines. Close a box and go again. Most boxes.
Dots and Boxes is a two-player pencil-and-paper classic where players take turns joining two neighbouring dots with a line. Whoever draws the fourth side of a box owns it and goes again, and the most boxes wins.
Take turns joining two dots. Finish the fourth side of a box and it turns your colour and you go again. The fun is never handing over a third side, and the chain reaction at the end.
Also known as Boxes, Squares, Pigs in a pen.
- How you hold it
- Pass and play
- Match
- Most boxes
- Length
- About 2 to 4 minutes between two people
- Play
- Friend or bot
How to play Dots and Boxes: quick rules
About 2 to 4 minutes between two people, a little less against the bot. Full rules, options and bot levels are further down.
- 1Take turns joining two neighbouring dots with a line.
- 2Close the fourth side of a box to own it and go again.
- 3Avoid giving a third side; the most boxes wins.
Play Dots and Boxes here
Two of you on this screen, or you against the bot. The full game is in the app.
Dots and Boxes rules
Setup
- The board is a 5 by 5 grid of dots: 40 lines to draw and 16 boxes to win.
- On Take turns, a new match picks who starts at random, and on a rematch the player who lost goes first. Red first or Blue first fixes it instead.
- A 3-2-1 countdown starts each board. After that there is no clock, so take your time.
- Hand the phone over between turns. The background tints to the mover's colour and the banner says whose turn it is.
Turns and boxes
- On your turn, draw one line between two neighbouring dots that isn't drawn yet.
- Close the fourth side of a box and it's yours: it fills with your colour and your letter, and you go again.
- One line can close two boxes at once. You get both, and still one extra turn.
- If your line closes nothing, the turn passes. There is no undo, no take-back and no pass.
- The line just drawn pulses in its drawer's colour, so the next player can see what changed.
Winning and draws
- The match ends when all 16 boxes are claimed, and the most boxes wins. It is always played to the last line.
- An 8 to 8 board is a draw: "Draw — replay!" shows, nothing is recorded, and a fresh board starts with the other player first.
- A draw can repeat; each replay starts a new board with the first player swapped again.
Hints against the bot
- Playing the bot outside a tournament, you can spend coins on a hint on your turn. It highlights, for about two seconds, the line the Hard bot would choose for you.
- A hint never draws the line for you, and you can take one per turn. If it finds no line, nothing is shown and no coins are spent.
- There are no hints against a friend or in a tournament.
Tips to win at Dots and Boxes
- 1Never draw the third side of a box if you can help it: that hands the box to your rival.
- 2Late in the game the board splits into chains of boxes. Count them, because whoever has to open the first long chain usually loses.
- 3When you run out of safe lines, open the shortest chain first.
- 4Taking a long chain? Consider leaving the last two boxes for your rival, so they have to open the next chain for you.
- 5A closed loop costs four boxes to keep control instead of two, so weigh it before giving one away.
Where Dots and Boxes comes from
Dots and Boxes was first described in print by the French mathematician Édouard Lucas in 1889, who called it la pipopipette. It has been a pencil-and-paper favourite in school notebooks ever since.
Controls
Upright, handed back and forth. A banner in the mover's colour says whose turn it is.
- Press the gap between two dots to preview the line, then lift your finger to draw it. The whole gap is the target, not just the thin line.
- Changed your mind? Slide off the board before you lift and nothing is drawn.
- You can also drag from a dot toward its neighbour to pick that line.
- One finger at a time: a second touch is ignored, and the board is locked while the bot is thinking.
Options
Every option is free. Defaults are marked.
| Option | Choices | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Who moves first | Take turns (default)Red firstBlue first | Chooses who draws the first line; Take turns lets the match decide and swaps on a rematch. |
Play Dots and Boxes against the bot
The bot plays Blue and sees only the board, as you do. It takes free boxes, avoids handing you a third side and, on the higher levels, reads the chains that decide the endgame. It pauses to think before every line, even in the middle of a run of boxes, and shows its line briefly before drawing it.
Easy
Often gives away a third side, sometimes skips a free box, and opens any chain at random when it runs out of safe lines.
Normal
Rarely gives away a third side and nearly always takes a free box. When it has to open a chain it opens the shortest one, without planning further ahead.
Hard
Counts chains and loops, gives up two boxes to keep control when that wins more, and works out the last stretch of the board exactly. It still slips on rare occasions.
Online, tournaments and hints
- Online
- One phone onlyDots and Boxes plays on one phone; online play is for Tic Tac Toe and 4 in a Row today.
- Tournament
- Can be drawn in a tournamentIn a tournament the first player alternates from game to game, Red first in game one, whatever your saved option, and hints are off.
- Hints
- Stuck against the bot? A hint lights up the strongest move for a few coins. Never with a friend, online or in a tournament.
Coming soon
- Board sizes. A smaller 4 by 4 dot board for quicker matches, and a larger 6 by 6 board.
- Pulse last line option. A setting to show the newest line as a thicker solid line instead of a pulse, without turning on reduce motion.
- Last line and Won already. The final undrawn line highlighted so nobody has to hunt for it, and a note when a player has already won the board.
How it feels
- A soft tick when you press a line and a short pen scratch when it's drawn.
- A bright pop when you claim a box, with a "+1 box! Go again" or "+2 boxes! Go again" sticker.
- A chime and a colour change as the turn passes, and a soft whoosh when you cancel a line.
Accessibility
- Colour is never the only cue: every claimed box shows its owner's letter, the banner names whose turn it is, and the claim sticker is text.
- One finger, press and release, with large targets: the whole gap between two dots.
- With reduce motion on, the newest line is a thicker solid line instead of a pulse, and boxes fill without the pop.
- There is no clock on a turn, so nobody is rushed.
Dots and Boxes questions
On Take turns, the first player of a new match is picked at random, and on a rematch the player who lost goes first. You can also fix Red first or Blue first in the options.
Yes. Close the fourth side of a box and you go again. A line that closes two boxes gets you both, and still one extra turn.
The 5 by 5 dot board has 16 boxes, so an 8 to 8 tie can happen. It isn't recorded: the board is replayed with the other player starting.
Avoid drawing the third side of a box, and count the chains as the board fills up. Giving away the last two boxes of a chain can keep control, so your rival must open the next long one.
Yes. Dots and Boxes in Duo Clash is built for two players on the same phone. Upright, handed back and forth. A banner in the mover's colour says whose turn it is.
Yes. The bot plays Blue and sees only the board, as you do. Choose Easy, Normal or Hard.
Play Dots and Boxes on one phone
Free on Android. Sit face to face, or take on the bot on Easy, Normal or Hard.
