About Dots and Boxes on Suvi
This page opens online Dots and Boxes with a friend. Send a link and play on your own phones, wherever you both are: your friend taps it and the game starts. No account and no download; online play asks once for a date of birth (it isn't open to under-13s), rooms are invite-only and there is no typed chat, just a few friendly set phrases. Each line appears on both phones as it's drawn, and the score follows every box. Rematches keep a running score, so a weekly game with a grandchild, a sister abroad or an old friend becomes a fixture. Nobody free right now? Play the computer at three levels, or pass one phone between two.
How to play
- Choose vs Computer (Easy, Medium or Hard) or Two players, and who goes first.
- Take turns drawing one line between two dots next to each other, across or down.
- Draw the fourth side of a box and it's yours: you score a point and must draw another line straight away.
- Avoid drawing a box's third side, which hands it to your opponent.
- When every line is drawn, whoever owns the most boxes wins.
Controls
On a phone or tablet: Press between two dots: the line you're on lights up. Slide to change it, let go to draw it. Undo and Hint sit under the board.
On a desktop: Click between two dots to draw a line, or move with the arrow keys and press Enter. U undoes, H asks for a hint.
Tips
- Late in the game every move gives something away. Give away the shortest chain of boxes first.
- When your opponent opens a long chain, take all but the last two boxes, then draw the line that leaves those two for them: they must take them and open the next chain for you. That's the double-cross.
- Open a chain of two boxes from the middle line, not the end, so your opponent can't use the double-cross on you.
- Count the long chains (three boxes or more) before the safe moves run out: being the player who doesn't have to open the first one usually wins.
Read the full guide: “Dots and Boxes strategy: chains, loops and control” →
Questions
- Is this dots and boxes game free?
- Yes. Every board size and every mode is free, with no account and nothing to download: play the computer, pass one phone between two people, or send a friend a link. Your wins and losses at each level are saved on this device.
- Can two players play on one phone?
- Yes. Choose Two players and take turns drawing lines on the same phone; type both names and the score for the evening is kept at the top. For a friend on their own phone, choose Online with a friend and send the invite link. There's no account: it asks once for your date of birth, and online play isn't open to under-13s.
- Do I get another turn after closing a box?
- Yes. Close a box and you must draw another line, so you can take a whole chain of boxes in one turn. If one line closes two boxes, you score both.
- How good is the computer?
- Easy sometimes gives boxes away. Medium takes every box it can and never draws a box's third side while it has a choice. Hard also plays the double-cross, gives boxes back at the right moment to keep control, and works out the end of the game exactly.
- Can I play a bigger or smaller board?
- Yes. Tap the board size above the board: 4 by 4 dots for a quick game, 5 by 5 dots (the classic) or 6 by 6 dots for long chains. Each size keeps its own unfinished game.
More Dots and Boxes
- Dots and Boxes 4×4 dots
- Dots and Boxes 6×6 dots
- Dots and Boxes vs Computer
- 2 Player Dots and Boxes
- Dots and Boxes With a Friend Online
- Standard Dots and Boxes
Similar games
- Four in a Row — Drop discs, line up four. Play the computer or a friend on one phone.
- Reversi — Trap discs between yours and flip them. Play the computer or a friend on one phone.
- Sea Battle — Hide your fleet, hunt theirs. Play the computer, or a friend on your own phones.
Who made it
Dots and Boxes is a Suvi Original, written and tested by Brasslight Games. Every puzzle is generated and checked by our own tools; nothing is copied from another site.