Play Dots and Boxes
with a friend.

Invite a friend to Dots and Boxes

1. Create your table. Invite a friend opens a private online room.
2. Copy the link. In the game, use Share invitation or Play with a friend, then send the invitation to your opponent.
3. Take your seats. The creator plays Gold; the first guest takes Coral. Your own browser remembers your seat.
4. Draw the first line. Once both players are connected, Gold begins. Tap an edge between neighboring dots.

There is no random matchmaking. To play side by side, use Same device. To practise alone, try Vs Computer. The online guide compares the three modes.

Dots and Boxes rules: the fourth side is yours

Five rows of five dots form a board with 40 possible edges and 16 squares. Gold starts each round. Players draw one previously empty horizontal or vertical edge between two neighboring dots. Diagonals are not allowed, and drawn lines cannot be removed.

• Without a capture: after a line closes no box, the other player takes over.
• Complete a box: draw its fourth side to claim it, score one point and play again. Ownership depends only on the final side, even if the other player drew all three earlier sides.
• Complete two boxes: an edge shared by two almost-complete squares claims both at once. You score two points and continue your turn.
• Follow a chain: if your next line closes another square, you keep playing. An extra turn is compulsory until you make a non-scoring move or the board fills.
• Count the result: when all 16 boxes are claimed, the higher score wins. Eight each is a draw.

Claimed squares show the player’s color and number. The highlighted player card above the board indicates the active player; a small white mark on a line shows the most recent move. Use touch or a mouse, or Tab to an edge and press Enter or Space. Arrow keys move between edges.

Look at the boxes beside the line

Drawing the third side of a square often gives your friend a point. While safe edges remain, consider lines that do not leave a three-sided square behind. Later, those tempting boxes can connect into chains, so count how many an opening might surrender.

Taking every available square immediately is not always the only strategic idea, but closing any square always keeps your turn. The board stays visible to both players, and there is no timer.

Reconnect, finish and play again

Return through the same invitation in the same browser to restore your seat and the server’s saved board. Both players must be connected before a move can be confirmed. Local and computer games have separate browser saves.

After your friend joins, New round is a request that both players must accept. A legal move cancels a pending request. Before the guest joins, the creator can reset the waiting board alone. Play again starts the same rematch flow after a result. Gold starts the new round, and your colors stay the same.