Dots & Boxes
Draw lines between dots. Complete a box to claim it. Most boxes wins. Play a friend or the computer.
Dots & Boxes 🐱🐶
Draw a line. Close a box. Most boxes wins.
How to play
- On your turn, draw one line between two adjacent dots — horizontally or vertically.
- If your line completes the fourth side of a box, you claim it and take another turn.
- Keep taking turns until every box on the grid has been claimed.
- The player who claims the most boxes wins.
Tips
- Avoid drawing the third side of any box until you absolutely have to — doing so hands your opponent a free claim.
- When you are forced to open a box, look for a short chain where you sacrifice one or two but can cut off the rest.
- Long chains are key: leaving a long open chain for your opponent forces them to give you a new one in return.
About this game
Dots and Boxes was invented by the French mathematician Édouard Lucas in 1889, and he called it "La Pipopipette". Despite its deceptively simple rules, the game has surprisingly deep strategy. Mathematician Elwyn Berlekamp published a comprehensive theory of optimal play in the 1970s, and the analysis of large grids remains an active area of combinatorial game theory today. Our version uses a compact grid that suits all ages: small enough for a quick game, large enough that tactics matter. You can play against a friend on the same device or challenge the computer at three difficulty levels.