What you need
Paper, a pencil (or two colours of pen) and a square grid of dots. Any size works: a 3×3 grid of dots (four boxes) is good for learning, and a 6×6 grid (25 boxes) gives a proper game. Our printable dots and boxes sheet has four 6×6 grids with a space for each player’s score.
The game was first published in the 19th century by the French mathematician Édouard Lucas, who called it la pipopipette.
Setup
Draw or print the grid of dots. Decide who starts, for example by tossing a coin, and agree how each player will mark their boxes: their initial, a colour, or an X and an O.
How to play
- On your turn, draw one straight line joining two dots that are next to each other, horizontally or vertically. Diagonal lines are not allowed, and you cannot draw over a line that is already there.
- If your line completes the fourth side of a 1×1 box, write your mark inside it.
- Completing a box earns another turn. You must then draw another line. If that one closes a box too, you go again, and so on.
- If your line does not complete a box, your turn ends.
A single line can close two boxes at once if it is the last side of both. You score both and still take only one extra turn.
The game ends when every possible line has been drawn and every box has an owner.
Scoring and winning
Each box is worth one point. Count your boxes; the player with more wins. On a grid with an even number of boxes a tie is possible. On our 6×6 sheets there are 25 boxes, so there is always a winner.
Common variants
- Grid size: play 4×4 dots for a quick game or 8×8 for a long one. Experts like 5×5 boxes (a 6×6 grid of dots).
- More than two players: three or four players can share a big grid, each with their own colour.
- Learning board: a 3×3 grid of dots (four boxes) is enough to learn the chain trick in a couple of minutes.
Tips for first games
- At the start, avoid drawing the third side of any box: that hands it to your opponent.
- Sooner or later every move gives something away. At that point the board is made of chains, rows of boxes that can all be taken one after another. Open the shortest chain first.
- The double-cross: when your opponent opens a long chain, take all of it except the last two boxes, and finish your turn with the line that leaves those two boxes as a pair. Your opponent takes the two boxes but must then open the next chain for you. Good players win by giving away a little to take a lot.
- Count the long chains near the end. Winning usually depends on who is forced to open the first long chain.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to take a box when I can? No rule forces you to close a box. Declining one is exactly the sacrifice behind the double-cross. But once you do complete a box, you must draw another line.
Can lines be diagonal? No. Only horizontal or vertical lines between neighbouring dots.
What if one line completes two boxes? You win both boxes and take one extra turn.
Who wins on a tie? Nobody; play again with the other player starting. Use an odd number of boxes to avoid ties.
Is there a winning strategy? Strategy matters a lot, mainly controlling the chains at the end. Perfect play is complicated even for computers, which keeps the game interesting.
