Draw lines, close boxes, claim the most squares. Dots & Boxes is a free 2 player board game for up to four, on one phone or against the computer. Draw lines between dots and close the most boxes.
How to play
The board is a grid of dots. On your turn, draw one line between two neighbouring dots, either across or up and down. Whenever your line closes the fourth side of a box, that box becomes yours and is filled with your colour and shape. Closing a box earns you another turn, so you keep going until a line fails to close one. Then play passes to the next player.
- Tap between two dots to draw that line. You don’t have to be exact: the game picks the closest line that hasn’t been drawn yet.
- On a touch screen, press down to preview the line, slide your finger if it’s the wrong one, and let go to draw it.
- Play with two, three or four players on the same device. Pass the phone around, or switch any seat after the first to the computer on the setup screen.
- Choose a board of 4 × 4, 5 × 5 or 6 × 6 boxes. Small boards are quick; large boards give room for long chains.
Scoring
Each box you close is 1 point. The scores for every player sit in a bar at the top, with the player whose turn it is highlighted. The game ends when every line is drawn, and whoever owns the most boxes wins. If two or more players finish level, the game is a tie.
Playing the computer
The computer follows a simple plan. If it can close a box, it does. If not, it draws a line that doesn’t leave a box with three sides, because that would hand you a box. When every line left would give something away, it chooses the one that gives you the fewest boxes. It pauses briefly before each move so you can see what it picks.
Tips
- Never draw a third side of a box unless you have to. It lets the next player close it and keep going.
- Count the safe lines. Late in the game the players run out of lines that are safe to draw, and whoever has to open up the first chain of boxes usually loses it.
- Think in chains. A row of boxes with two sides done each is a chain. Once someone opens it, the next player can often take the whole row in one turn.
- Sacrifice small to win big. Giving up one or two boxes can be worth it if it forces your rival to open a long chain.
Why it’s fun
Dots & Boxes looks gentle, but it rewards planning ahead. Rounds are short, the rules take a minute to learn, and a single clever line can swing the whole board. It works as a quick game for two, or a lively one for four on a single phone.