How to play Dots & Boxes
Dots & Boxes is a deceptively deep pencil-and-paper classic. Players take turns drawing a single line between two neighbouring dots, and whoever completes the fourth side of a box claims it and immediately takes another turn. That extra-turn rule is what makes long chains so decisive. Choose a 3×3, 5×5, or 7×7 grid and play the computer at three difficulties or pass the device between two players.
How to play
- On your turn, draw exactly one line between two neighbouring dots.
- Completing the fourth side of a box claims it and marks it with your initial.
- Claiming a box earns you another turn straight away — and if that turn claims another box, you keep going.
- Tap a gap to draw its line, or use the arrow keys to move and Enter to draw.
- When every line has been drawn, whoever claimed the most boxes wins.
Tips & strategy
- Early on, avoid drawing the third side of any box — that hands the box to your opponent for free.
- Think in chains, not boxes. Late in the game the board becomes a set of chains, and the player forced to open the first one usually loses the rest.
- Count chain lengths before you open one. Give away the shortest chain available and keep the long ones for yourself.
- The double-cross is the key advanced move: deliberately decline the last two boxes of a chain so your opponent is forced to open the next chain for you.
- Start on the 3×3 grid to learn the chain logic, then move up — the same ideas scale, with more of them in play at once.
Accessibility
Lines can be drawn with the arrow keys and Enter as well as by tapping, and claimed boxes are marked with a player initial rather than colour alone.