About the game
Play Dots & Boxes online
Draw lines, close boxes, and own the most squares to win.
Dots and Boxes online, free: invite a friend with a link, play two on one screen, or try the computer. Nothing to install, no account. Close a box, go again.
Play vs the computer, pass the phone to a friend, invite a friend online, or play someone new. When nobody’s free, one of our robot players may step in. Free, in your browser, no sign-up.
How to play Dots & Boxes
- 1Choose a 5×5 or 4×4 board, then pick who you’re playing: the computer, a friend online with a room code, a friend on the same screen, or someone new with Quick match.
- 2On your turn, draw one line between two adjacent dots.
- 3Complete the fourth side of a box to claim it, and immediately take another turn.
- 4Think in chains: sometimes give away a short chain to win a longer one (the double-cross).
- 5When every line is drawn, whoever owns the most boxes wins.
Rules
- Players alternate, drawing one edge between adjacent dots per turn.
- Completing a box's fourth side claims it for you and grants an extra turn.
- One line can complete two boxes at once (still a single extra turn).
- The grid is 4 by 4 boxes (5 by 5 dots, 40 lines), or 5 by 5 boxes (6 by 6 dots, 60 lines) for a longer game; play runs until every line is drawn.
- Most boxes wins; 8 each is a draw on 4 by 4, and 5 by 5 has 25 boxes, so it can't end level.
Dots & Boxes questions
How do you win at Dots and Boxes?
Own the most boxes when every line is drawn. The safest habit: never draw the third side of a box, because it lets your opponent close it and go again.
What's the best Dots and Boxes strategy?
Think in chains. Late in the game every move opens a chain of boxes for someone. When you have to open one, open the shortest, and sometimes give away two boxes to keep the long chain for yourself.
What is Dots and Boxes?
A pencil-and-paper game first written up by the French mathematician Édouard Lucas in 1889. Players take turns joining two dots, and whoever closes a box claims it.
How big is the board?
You pick on the game's menu: 4 by 4 boxes (5 by 5 dots, 40 lines), or 5 by 5 boxes (6 by 6 dots, 60 lines) for a longer game. Closing a box gives you another turn, and one line can close two boxes at once.
Can I play Dots and Boxes with a friend online?
Yes. Tap Invite a friend and send them the link; when they open it you're in the same game. Or pass one phone or tablet between you.
How hard is the computer?
Three levels. Easy draws random lines, Medium grabs boxes and plays safe, and Hard gives away the fewest boxes it can. Medium is the one to practise chains on.
The full guide, with strategy: How to win at Dots and Boxes