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Play now — it's freeDots and Boxes is the classic pencil-and-paper game: two players take turns drawing a single line between two adjacent dots on a grid. Whoever draws the fourth side of a 1×1 box claims that box and immediately takes another turn — chains of captures can sweep many boxes in a row. On our board there are 25 dots, 40 possible lines and 16 boxes: when every line is drawn, the player who claimed more boxes wins.
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→ Full Dots and Boxes rules · Dots and Boxes glossary · Español
Two players alternate drawing one horizontal or vertical line between two adjacent dots. Completing the fourth side of a box scores that box for you and, crucially, earns you another move right away — so one well-timed line can start a chain that sweeps a whole row. The game ends when all 40 lines are drawn; the player with more of the 16 boxes wins, and 8–8 is a draw.
Three-sided boxes are gifts: any line that closes a box also hands your opponent the next move if you cannot close another one yourself. Good players avoid creating three-sided boxes until they are forced to.
The double-cross: experts deliberately give away the last two boxes of a chain, forcing the opponent to open the next chain — control of who opens each chain decides most games. Strategy like this is entirely in the players' hands; the rules engine simply scores what you close.
Dots and Boxes is the classic two-player pencil-and-paper territory game. Players take turns drawing lines between adjacent dots; completing the fourth side of a box scores it and grants another turn, and the player with more boxes when the grid is full wins.
A 5×5 grid of dots: 25 dots, 40 possible lines and 4×4 = 16 boxes. Game sizes are traditionally quoted in boxes, so this is a 4×4 game drawn on 5×5 dots.
Yes. Completing a box scores one point and you must immediately draw another line. Keep closing boxes and you keep playing; one turn can capture a whole chain, and a single line can even close two boxes at once.
The game is a draw. Each box is one point and there are 16 in total, so equal scores mean neither player won.
Near the end of a chain, a player deliberately plays the two lines that give away the last two boxes. The opponent must take them — and then must open the next chain, handing control back. It is the central expert technique of Dots and Boxes; the rules simply score whatever is closed.
Yes — play Dots and Boxes online free at dotsboxes.yeeqia.com, straight in your browser with no download or sign-up required.
Yes, the site is mobile-first and runs in any modern browser on Android or iPhone, with English and Spanish support.