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Dots and Boxes — draw lines between dots to complete squares. Outscore the AI by claiming more boxes.
A 4×4 grid of dots forms 9 boxes. On your turn, tap a line slot between two adjacent dots to draw a line.
When you draw the fourth side of a box, you claim it and immediately play again. Otherwise it's the opponent's turn.
Game ends when all 24 lines are drawn. The player who claimed more boxes wins.
The AI draws first, and it gets sharper with every win in your streak.
Goal: win as many matches in a row as you can.
The beginner trap is grabbing every box you can; the expert game is all about who is forced to open the next chain. Avoid drawing the third side of any box, because that simply hands your opponent the fourth side and the free turn that comes with it. Early on, play only "safe" lines that leave every box with two or fewer sides.
When safe moves run out, the player forced to open a chain usually loses it whole — unless they use the double-cross. Instead of taking every box in a chain you are given, decline the last two by drawing the closing line, sacrificing that pair to force your opponent to open the next, bigger chain. Counting the long chains and keeping their number on your side is the real strategy; whoever controls chain parity controls the match, so think about the whole board, not the box in front of you.