Dots and Boxes Glossary — Board, Lines and Strategy Terms
The vocabulary you meet at the Dots and Boxes grid, from the parts of the board to the endgame techniques.
Dots and Boxes
The classic two-player pencil-and-paper territory game: take turns drawing lines between adjacent dots; closed boxes score points and an extra turn. Also known as Puntos y Cajas.
Dot
One of the 25 points on this site's 5×5 grid. Lines may only join two adjacent dots.
Line (edge)
A horizontal or vertical segment joining two adjacent dots. This board has exactly 40 — 20 horizontal and 20 vertical — and each can be drawn only once.
Box
A 1×1 cell enclosed by four lines. This board has 16 boxes (4×4), each worth one point.
Fourth side
The last undrawn side of a box. Drawing it claims the box for the mover and scores one point.
Chain rule (extra turn)
Completing a box grants another move immediately; a player who keeps closing boxes keeps playing. There is no limit to the chain.
Double close
A single line that completes two boxes at once by drawing their shared side: both boxes are claimed and the turn continues.
Three-sided box
A box one line away from falling. Creating one hands the opponent a scoring move, so quiet play avoids them.
Loony position
The stage when no safe line remains and every move opens a chain for the opponent.
Chain
A run of boxes that falls to one player in a single extra-turn sequence once it is opened.
Double-cross
Giving away the last two boxes of a chain so the opponent must take them and then open the next chain — the classic way to keep control.
Draw
An 8–8 final score: 16 boxes in total, so equal counts mean neither player wins.