Shut the Box is a quick dice game with a row of numbered tiles. Roll two dice, then flip down any open tiles that add up to the roll: a 9 can shut the 9, or the 4 and the 5, or the 1, 3 and 5. Keep rolling until the dice give you a total you can’t make. Shut every tile and you have shut the box. Play this free Shut the Box game online on your own, pass one device around a table of up to four, or play against the computer. There is nothing to install and no sign-up.
How to play Shut the Box
- Start with every tile open. The classic box has tiles 1 to 9; you can also choose 1 to 12.
- Roll two dice to start your turn and add them up.
- Shut tiles that add up to the roll. One tile or several, as long as the numbers add up exactly. Tap the tiles, check the sum and press Shut tiles.
- Roll again and keep going with the same box.
- Your turn ends when no combination of open tiles adds up to the roll. The tiles still open are your score, and lower is better.
- Shut every tile to win straight away with a score of 0.
- One-die rule: once 7, 8 and 9 are shut you may roll one die instead of two.
- After everyone has played, the lowest score wins and equal scores share the win.
The full rules, the 12-tile box, the one-die rule and common house rules are in the complete Shut the Box rules.
Play Shut the Box on one device
Shut the Box is a natural pass and play game: nothing is hidden and every turn is short, so the device can travel round the table quickly. Each player gets a fresh box for their turn, and the badges show everyone’s score as they finish. The box on the table always shows whose tiles they are, and when a turn ends the last player’s tiles stay up until the next player rolls, so everyone can see how they did.
Choosing tiles is made for small hands and quick fingers. Tiles that can’t help make the roll are muted, the sum check under the dice shows your running total, and Shut tiles lights up only when the selection matches. When there is only one way to make the roll, the box flips those tiles for you. An optional pass screen names the next player before each turn. The game is saved after every move and works offline after your first visit. Playing alone? Solo games keep your best score on this device for each box size, so there is always a number to beat.
Play against the computer
Any seat can be a computer player, so you can play one against one or fill a family table. There are three levels:
- Easy shuts any combination that fits, at random, and never uses the one-die rule. A fair match for children.
- Medium shuts as few tiles as possible and the highest ones first, a simple habit that works well, and rolls one die when that makes a miss less likely.
- Hard knows the exact chances. It has worked out every possible box and every roll, and always leaves the box with the lowest expected score, including when to roll one die.
It is still a dice game, so a lucky roll can beat even the hard computer.
Quick tips
- Clear the high tiles early. Only two dice can make 7, 8 and 9, and big totals get rarer as the game goes on.
- Remember that 7 is the most common roll. Totals in the middle come up far more often than 2 or 12, so keep tiles that can still make them.
- Use one die when little is left. With the open tiles adding up to 6 or less, a single die gives you a better chance than two.
Want to know why? The Shut the Box strategy tutorial has the odds of every dice total and walks through the choices that keep your score low. For more games of luck and adding up, see the dice games, games for kids and family games collections, or try Yacht Dice, Snakes and Ladders and Ludo.
