Dots & Boxes

SET UP

• Pencil and paper, OR

• Any size square grid board

• A bundle of side sized sticks, (enough to completely fill the board).

• A bag of uniform stones for each player.

Number of Players

• 2 or more.

Objective

• At the end of the game, to be the player with the most claimed territory.

Rules

• On your turn, place a stick on any open adjacent side of a square on the grid, outside edges included.

• If your placement completes all 4 sides of a square, you claim the space with one of your pawns, and it is your turn again.

• Play continues with alternating turns until the board is completely filled.

• Claimed boxes are counted to determine who won with the most claimed territory.

• This game could end in a tie, depending on the size of the board or the number of players.

Player Variations

• Any number of players.

• Any size grid.

History

• Dots & Boxes , a.k.a. ‘Squares’ is an old school 19th century French classic.

• I remember playing this game in elementary school with pencil and paper.

Game Theory / Game Dynamics

• This game resides on the Abstract Avalanche, and The Sticks and Stones Series shelves on my vast library.

• The simple beauty of this game is all it takes is pencil and paper. Draw points (dots) on the paper to indicate the corners of a square to make any full sized grid. When squares are completed during game play (called boxes), you claim the space with your initials or a unique mark, like X’s and O’s.

• Filling the board with side sticks can take time, but at some point the options become scarce.

• Paths and maze patterns begin to form where if one box is completed, it can open the opportunity to complete more.

• And OH! How satisfying it is when your opponent leaves you boxes to complete, which you take, and can place your final stick of the turn that provides nothing in return. (a placement you see, that they had missed!)

• This is where trash talking can start at a young age.

I hope you enjoy playing games,
as much as I have making them.