Dots and Boxes

About Dots and Boxes

Dots and Boxes against the Pardoner is the pencil-and-paper classic, twenty-five fields to claim: draw a fence, close a field to fence again, and learn the double-cross. Play solo, or take a seat at a live, rated table. Free in your browser, no ads, no sign-up.

How to play

Take turns drawing one fence between two dots. Close the fourth side of a field to claim it, and then fence again. The most of the twenty-five fields wins. The craft is in the endgame: a field with three sides is a gift, and long chains fall all at once, so hand over the shortest chain when you must.

Controls

• Tap or click between two dotsDraw a fence

Tips

Avoid drawing the third side of a field until you have to; that is what hands your rival a chain. The double-cross, declining the last two boxes of a chain, forces the Pardoner to open the next one for you.