Dots and Boxes rules, settled
Somebody just took a box and passed the turn, and now the whole table is arguing. Let's sort it out.
The Dots and Boxes rules fit on a sticky note: players take turns drawing one line between two neighboring dots. Finish all four sides of a box and you claim it, then draw again. When no lines are left, the player holding the most boxes wins.
Last updated
Draw one line per turn
Join two dots that sit next to each other, across or down. No diagonals, and no skipping over a dot.
Claim a box, then draw again
The fourth side makes the box yours. Your turn carries on with another line, which might claim another box.
Count up when the grid is full
One box, one point. The bigger total wins, and equal totals are a tie.
How to play Dots and Boxes: the setup
You need a rectangle of dots and at least two players. On paper most people sketch a grid of 5 dots by 5 dots, which makes 16 boxes. On this site the board starts at 5×5 boxes on a computer and 4×4 on a phone, and you can change it in the settings.
The arithmetic is the same at any size. A square board that is n boxes wide has (n+1)² dots and 2n(n+1) lines, so a 5×5 game uses 36 dots and lasts exactly 60 lines. Bigger boards simply mean longer games.
Settle who goes first before anyone picks up a pencil. On this board Player 1 always opens, so if you're playing several games, take turns sitting in that seat.
What counts as a legal move
A move is one straight line between two dots that are direct neighbors, either side by side or one above the other. Diagonals don't count. Neither does a line that jumps over a dot or traces one that's already there. And there's no passing: if it's your turn, you draw.
On a screen, the board simply refuses an illegal line, which ends a lot of kitchen-table disputes before they start. It all runs inside your browser, too, so there's no account to set up first.
The Dots and Boxes extra turn rule
This is the rule the whole game hangs on. When your line closes the fourth side of a box, the box is yours and you draw again right away. If that next line closes another box, you keep going. The turn only passes when you draw a line that finishes nothing.
Now and then a single line finishes two boxes at once, because it sits between two squares that each had three sides already. You claim both, but you still get just one extra line, not two.
Here's the one that starts the most arguments: nobody is forced to take a box just because it's available. Under the standard rules it's your call. Grabbing it is usually right, but there are moments, covered in the double-cross guide, when leaving boxes behind wins the game.
Dots and Boxes scoring, and how a game ends
In the classic game every box is worth one point. Play continues until every line is drawn, which also means every box has an owner. Add up the boxes and the higher total wins. In the Scored Boxes variant on this site, some squares are marked as 2 or 3 points, so add up the numbers rather than the boxes.
A tie needs the boxes to split evenly. Two players can never finish level when the box count is odd, as it is on 3×3 (9 boxes) or 5×5 (25). On a 4×4 or 6×6 board a draw is possible, and between two evenly matched players it happens more often than you'd expect.
A full sample game, move by move
The fastest way to see every rule working together is to watch one tiny game from start to finish. This one is on a 2×2 board: nine dots, twelve lines, four boxes. Ana plays red and moves first; Ben plays blue.
- Move 1, Ana: the top edge of the top-left box.
- Move 2, Ben: the bottom edge of the bottom-right box.
- Move 3, Ana: the left edge of the top-left box. That box now has two sides.
- Move 4, Ben: the right edge of the bottom-right box. Two sides there as well.
- Move 5, Ana: the top edge of the top-right box.
- Move 6, Ben: the bottom edge of the bottom-left box.
Moves 7 and 8 are the last calm ones. Ana draws the right edge of the top-right box and Ben draws the left edge of the bottom-left box. Now the whole outer border is finished and every box has exactly two sides. Only the four lines of the middle cross are left, and each of them hands a third side to two boxes.
Move 9 is forced trouble. Ana draws the short line between the two top boxes, giving both of them a third side. Ben closes the top-left box with the line beneath it, scores, and draws again. That line also gave the bottom-left box its third side, so he closes it next and goes again.
For his last line Ben draws between the two right-hand boxes. It finishes the top-right box and the bottom-right box together: one line, two boxes. Every line is now on the board and the game is over. Ben 4, Ana 0.
Twelve lines showed off every rule on this page: one line per turn, a bonus line after each box, a single line claiming two boxes, and a final count. Ana didn't have to lose, though. She could have won 3 to 1 by giving away one box at move 7, and the strategy guide replays exactly how.
House rules and variations people play
Families have been bending these rules for over a century. Some say you must take a box whenever you can, which keeps things simple for young children but removes the cleverest trick in the game. Others play with three or four people, which works fine and makes long plans much harder. Some draw a handful of lines before the game begins to skip the slow opening; the Quick variant here does that for you.
None of these are wrong. Just agree on them before the first line, because changing the rules halfway through is the only move a referee will never allow.
Arguments this page settles
- "You have to take it!"
You don't. Taking an available box is optional under the standard rules.
- "That line was diagonal"
Then it doesn't count. Lines only go across or down, between direct neighbors.
- "I closed two, so I get two turns"
Nice try. Two boxes from one line still earns a single extra line.
- "It's a tie, let's go again"
Only possible when the boxes split evenly, such as on a 4×4 board.
- "Can I just pass?"
No. Every turn needs a line, even when every line on the board hurts.
- "Who said you go first?"
Agree before you start. On this board Player 1 opens, so swap seats each game.
Rules questions people ask
How do you play Dots and Boxes step by step?
Draw a grid of dots, then take turns adding one line between two neighboring dots. When a line completes a box, write your initial inside it and draw again. Keep going until there are no lines left, then count the boxes. The sample game above shows the whole thing on a tiny 2×2 board.
Does completing a box give you another turn?
Every completed box earns one more line, and that line can earn another if it also closes a box. Your turn ends only when you draw a line that finishes nothing. Closing two boxes with one line still adds just a single extra line.
Do you have to complete a box if you can?
Not in the standard game. You may leave an available box and draw somewhere else, and good players do exactly that when it keeps them in control later on. Some families add a must-take rule for young players, which is fine as long as everyone agrees first.
How is Dots and Boxes scored?
Each box you own is worth one point, and whoever has the most points when the grid fills up wins. On paper, players usually write their initial in each box and count at the end. In the Scored Boxes variant on this site, some squares are worth 2 or 3, so totals can be closer than the box count suggests.
Can Dots and Boxes end in a tie?
In the classic game a tie can only happen when the total splits evenly. With two players, any board whose box count is odd, such as 3×3 or 5×5, always produces a winner. Boards like 4×4 and 6×6 can end level, and so can games with three or four players.
Can more than two people play Dots and Boxes?
The rules work for any number of players, and this board supports up to four in Pass & Play. Turns rotate in order, and the extra-line rule doesn't change. With more people at the table, it gets much harder to plan which chains of boxes you'll end up with.