How to play Dots & Boxes

Draw lines to complete boxes. Easy to learn, with deep strategy in controlling chains.

Setup

A 6×6 grid of dots — 25 boxes — with no lines drawn.

On your turn

• Draw one line between two neighbouring dots.
• Complete a box and it is yours, and you move again.

Winning, draws and losing

• When every line is drawn, most boxes wins. With 25 boxes a two-player game cannot tie; tied multiplayer players split the pot.

Online rules and fair play

• Chains are shown clearly — the skill is not handing your opponent a long one.
• Every game runs on a server clock: running out of time loses.
• A disconnected player has 60 seconds to return before forfeiting.