Dots and Boxes is a game for two or more players played on a grid of dots. Players take turns drawing one line between two neighbouring dots. Whoever draws the fourth side of a box claims it, marks it with their initial and must draw another line. When every box has been claimed, the player with the most boxes wins. This guide explains each rule in detail, the board sizes you can choose, scoring with three or four players, house rules you may meet, and the exact version played on this site.
Watch: how to play Dots and Boxes
How to Play Dots and Boxes: Rules Explained Simply
Chapters
Overview
- Players: 2 to 4 (two is the classic game)
- Time: 3 to 15 minutes, depending on the board size
- Ages: from about 5. Young children enjoy closing boxes, and the endgame keeps adults thinking.
- Equipment: paper and a pencil per player, or this page. Squared paper makes the dots easy to draw.
The game is also known as the dot game, boxes or squares. The French mathematician Édouard Lucas described it in 1889, and it has been a classroom and car-trip favourite ever since. For more games that need nothing but paper, see our list of pen and paper games.
Setting up
Draw a square grid of dots with equal gaps. The gaps between four dots form the boxes: a grid of 5 by 5 dots holds 4 by 4 boxes. On this site you pick the size in the setup: 3×3, 4×4, 5×5 or 6×6 boxes, with 4×4 as the default.
On paper, decide who goes first and give each player an initial or a pencil color. Here every player gets a color and the first letter of their name (or a number when two names start with the same letter).
Playing on paper
Draw the dots lightly in pencil, or use squared paper and put a dot on every corner of a block of squares. Players can share one pencil, because a line belongs to nobody: only boxes are owned. When you close a box, write your initial inside it straight away, so nobody argues about it later, then draw your extra line. At the end, count the initials. A 4×4 board fits in the corner of a page, and many people play several games on one sheet, keeping a running total in the margin. Once the basic game feels easy, draw a bigger grid and try 5×5 or 6×6 boxes, where the endgame gets more interesting.
Objective
Claim more boxes than any other player. A box belongs to the player who draws its fourth and last side, no matter who drew the other three.
How a turn works
- Draw one line between two dots that sit next to each other, either across or down.
- If your line completed a box, write your initial in it and draw another line. Repeat for as long as each new line completes a box.
- If your line completed nothing, your turn is over and the next player goes.
That is the whole game. The interest comes from the fact that lines are never removed: every third side you draw is a box you are offering to the next player.
The rules in detail
Drawing a line
A line joins two adjacent dots: neighbours in the same row or the same column. You may not draw a diagonal, skip over a dot, or draw over a line that is already there. On this site, tap the gap between two dots (anywhere near the line works), or move between lines with the arrow keys and press Enter.
Completing a box and the extra turn
When your line draws the fourth side around a box, the box is yours. It fills with your color and initial, your score goes up by one, and you must draw another line. Moving again is not optional: you can’t pass, even if every line left would give your opponent a box.
Extra turns can chain. If closing one box gives the next box its third side, you can close that one too, and so on along a whole row. Taking a run of boxes in one turn is where most games are won and lost.
Two boxes with one line
A line in the middle of the board borders two boxes. If both of them already have three sides, one line completes both: you claim two boxes but get one extra line, as with any other line that closes a box.
The last line
The very last line of the game always completes at least one box, because every line is a side of some box. The player who draws it claims what it closes, and the game ends there; there is no extra line to draw.
Ending the game and scoring
The game ends when every line is drawn, which is the same moment every box is claimed. Everyone counts their boxes:
- Two players: the higher total wins. On a board with an odd number of boxes (3×3 has 9, 5×5 has 25) there is always a winner. On 4×4 (16 boxes) and 6×6 (36) the game can end in a tie, such as 8 to 8.
- Three or four players: the highest total wins. If two or more players share the top score, they share the win, and the result screen ranks everyone. If every player finishes level, the game is a draw.
Turn order with three or four players
Play passes round the table in seat order. Closing a box keeps the turn with you, so a player can make several lines in a row before the next player gets a go. With more players, a box you leave half-finished is less likely to come back round to you, so careful play matters even more.
Board sizes
| Board | Dots | Lines | Boxes | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3×3 | 16 | 24 | 9 | a quick game, teaching children |
| 4×4 | 25 | 40 | 16 | the default; a few minutes |
| 5×5 | 36 | 60 | 25 | longer chains, a deeper endgame |
| 6×6 | 49 | 84 | 36 | long games, 3 or 4 players |
A bigger board makes the opening longer, because there are more safe lines to draw before somebody has to give boxes away. On a small touch screen, the 5×5 and 6×6 boards use tap twice to draw: the first tap shows the line, and a second tap (or the Draw button) confirms it.
Variants and house rules
Dots and Boxes is played in many homes and schools, and a few house rules turn up again and again. Agree on them before you start.
No extra turn
Some families play that closing a box scores it but does not earn another line. The game becomes simpler and more about luck, because you can no longer take a whole row in one go.
Different board shapes
On paper any rectangle works: 5 dots by 6, 8 by 10 and so on. Some people draw the outer border before play starts, which changes the opening a lot, because every edge box then starts with one side already drawn.
Bigger groups
With five or more players on paper, use a bigger grid so that everyone gets a fair share of turns, and mark boxes with initials rather than colors.
Which rules this site uses
This site plays the standard game: square boards of 3×3 to 6×6 boxes, 2 to 4 players, lines across or down only, and a compulsory extra line after every line that closes a box (one extra line even when it closes two). Most boxes wins; equal top scores share the win and a full tie is a draw. The outer border is not drawn at the start.
Common mistakes and rule disputes
- “I don’t want to take my extra turn.” You must. The only way to give the move back is to draw a line that closes nothing.
- “Can I leave a box open and take it later?” Yes. Nobody is forced to close a box that is ready. Sometimes leaving boxes is the best move of the game, as our Dots and Boxes strategy guide explains with the double-cross.
- “The box was mine, I drew three of its sides.” A box always goes to whoever draws the fourth side, no matter who drew the others.
- “Two boxes with one line means two extra lines.” No: one line, one extra line, however many boxes it closes.
- “The game is over when nobody wants to move.” Play continues until every line is drawn. Somebody always has to move, even when every line left gives boxes away.
Glossary
- Box: a square between four neighbouring dots.
- Third side: a line that leaves a box with three of its four sides drawn. The next player can close it.
- Safe line: a line that gives no box its third side.
- Chain: a row of boxes, each with two sides drawn, where taking one box lets you take the next.
- Loop: a chain that closes back on itself.
- Double box: two boxes closed by a single line.
- Double-cross: a move that closes two boxes at once after the other player deliberately left them, usually to keep control of the endgame.
Play it now
The quickest way to learn the rules is to play a game. Start a game of Dots and Boxes with a friend on one device or against the computer, and use Undo to take back a line while you learn. When you are ready to win more often, read about chains, the double-cross and the long chain rule in our strategy guide.
