Dots and Boxes — the rules of the game

Dots and Boxes

Lines are drawn between neighbouring dots; whoever closes a box with its fourth side takes it and moves again.

A grid of dots is drawn on paper. A turn is one line between neighbouring dots, sideways or up and down. Whoever's line becomes a box's takes that box, marks it and moves again.

The whole game grows out of that rule. Drawing the third side of an empty box is bad: the opponent closes it with the fourth and gets an extra move. So for the first half of the game both players carefully move where nothing is opened — and sooner or later the safe moves run out while a move still has to be made.

Then the second half begins. By that point the grid has broken into — runs of boxes each missing one side — and whoever opens a chain hands it over whole: the opponent takes a box, moves again, takes the next, and so on to the end of the run. The game comes down to who will be forced to open the long chain, and good players deliberately give away a short one to avoid giving away a longer one later.

Not to be confused with Dots

The Russian name «Точки» covers two different games: this one and the one where dots are placed and surrounded. They have nothing in common but squared paper, so it is worth saying which is meant.

Players2

Time10–20 min

CategoriesPaper-and-pencil games

ObjectiveClose more boxes than your opponent.

Rules of Dots and Boxes

The grid

Dots set out in even rows. The size is chosen before the start — six by six, for instance.

A turn

The player draws one line between two neighbouring dots, horizontally or vertically. No diagonals. Passing is not allowed.

A closed box

If the line drawn is a box's fourth side, the player marks that box with their sign and moves again at once.

If one line closes two boxes at the same time, both are theirs, and the extra move is still one.

Extra moves follow one another until a move fails to close a box.

End of the game

The game ends when every possible line has been drawn. Each marked box is a point; whoever has more wins.

Worth knowing

The size of the grid is not fixed: six by six dots is played, and much larger, and the whole length of a game follows from it. Whether a player must move when every remaining move loses them something is nowhere stated — in practice passing is not allowed.