Dots and Boxes is a two-player pencil-and-paper game played on a grid of dots. On this site the board is 5×5 dots — 25 dots, 40 possible lines and 4×4 = 16 boxes. Players alternate drawing one horizontal or vertical line between two adjacent dots. When a player draws the fourth and final side of a box, that box is theirs (one point) and they must take another turn immediately; a player who keeps closing boxes keeps playing. When no line remains, the player who claimed more boxes wins the game — 8 boxes each is a draw.
Play now — it's freeThe board is a square grid of 5×5 dots. Lines can only be drawn between two adjacent dots — horizontally within a row or vertically within a column. That gives exactly 40 possible lines: 20 horizontal (5 rows × 4 gaps) and 20 vertical (5 columns × 4 gaps).
The areas enclosed by four lines are the boxes: 16 of them, arranged 4×4. Every box is worth one point, so the whole game is played for 16 points.
On your turn, tap any gap between two adjacent dots to draw one line. A line is permanent — it can never be erased, and an already-drawn line can never be drawn again.
If your line does not complete any box, your turn ends and the opponent plays. There are no passes and no draws-from-a-hat: every move is one line.
The player who draws the fourth side of a box claims that box: it is marked in their colour and scores one point.
That same player then takes another turn immediately. If the next line also completes a box, they score again and play on — this is the chain rule, and it has no limit. A single turn can therefore capture a long chain of boxes.
One line can complete two boxes at once (a shared side). Both boxes are claimed, both points are scored, and the player still keeps the turn.
A box with exactly three sides is one line away from falling. Creating three-sided boxes hands your opponent a scoring move, so the quiet middle game is about safe lines: drawing lines that create no three-sided box anywhere on the board.
When no safe line remains, a player is forced to open a chain. The classic answer is the double-cross: rather than taking every box in the chain you are given, leave the last two boxes so your opponent must take them and then open the next chain for you. All of this is player skill — the engine only scores closed boxes and applies the extra-turn rule.
The game ends when all 40 lines have been drawn — every one of the 16 boxes is claimed by then, because a box always falls to the line that closes it. The player with more boxes wins; 8–8 is a draw.
There is no time limit on the game itself, only a per-move clock (40 seconds here). A disconnected or timed-out player is taken over by an automated assistant so the table never stalls, and a 60-move safeguard guarantees termination even if a future variant made stalling possible.
Count to four. Before drawing, check both boxes a line touches — never leave a box with three sides unless you are giving it away on purpose.
Chains are worth more than single boxes: try to see where the forced captures will start, not just the box in front of you.
When you must open a chain, open the shortest one — and remember the all-but-two trick once you are comfortable.
The last player able to play a safe line usually wins; count safe lines as the board fills up.
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.