About Dots and Boxes, and who makes it
Play Dots and Boxes is a free website for the pencil-and-paper game that has filled the margins of school notebooks for more than a century. This page covers why it exists, who builds it, how it pays for itself, and how to reach us.
Last updated
Akshay Bhargava
Founder & Engineer
Akshay writes the code, tunes the computer opponent, picks the default boards and reads every message that reaches the inbox. He also runs Wheel Decide, a free spinner for picking names, prizes and dinner plans.
LinkedIn profile →Why we built a Dots and Boxes site
Most people learn Dots and Boxes on the back of a worksheet, then lose it for twenty years. When we went looking for a version to play online, we kept finding slow pages buried under pop-ups, boards too small to tap on a phone, and computer opponents that either gave every box away or played the same few lines every game.
So we made the version we wanted. It loads straight to the board and works on a phone, tablet or classroom whiteboard. You don't need an account. The computer plays the way people actually play, from careless to ruthless.
What you can do here
- Play the computer at four levels, from a forgiving Easy to an Expert that counts chains and sets up the double cross.
- Pass one screen around for 2 to 4 players, on boards from a two-minute 3x3 up to a 100-box 10x10.
- Solve the daily puzzle, a fresh endgame each day with a streak, hints and a 30-day archive.
- Learn the game properly with the rules, a strategy guide, and deep dives on chains and the double cross.
- Print blank grids, run a class tournament or use the classroom page for brain breaks.
How the computer opponent works
The opponent runs entirely inside your browser, in a background thread, so the board stays smooth while it thinks. Lower levels grab boxes and avoid obvious mistakes. Higher levels know when to sacrifice a short chain, when to keep control with an all-but-two reply, and search the endgame move by move once the board gets small enough.
Because it all runs on your device, your games are never sent to us. Saved games, your theme, sound settings and puzzle streaks live in your own browser storage, and clearing your browser data wipes them.
Who builds and runs the site
The site is built and maintained by Akshay Bhargava, founder and engineer, with help from friends who test new boards, teachers who try ideas with real classes, and players who write in when something feels off. When a bug report arrives, it usually gets looked at the same week.
How the site stays free
The game is free and will stay free. To pay for hosting and development time, some pages show ads served by Google AdSense. Ads are kept out of the way of the board, there are no paywalls, and there are no pop-ups asking you to sign up. Our privacy policy explains what that means for cookies and how to opt out of personalised ads.
What we promise
- The full game stays free, with no accounts and no locked levels.
- The board comes first: ads stay out of its way and never interrupt a move.
- We collect as little as possible, and we never sell your personal information.
- Every page is written by people who play the game, and we fix mistakes when you point them out.
Want to see what changed recently? The updates page lists every meaningful release, newest first.
Say hello
Found a bug, spotted a rules mistake or have an idea for a new board? Write to support@playdotsandboxes.org or use the contact form. A real person reads every note.