dots and boxes

noun

A pencil-and-paper strategy game in which the players (usually two) take turns adding a single horizontal or vertical line between two unjoined adjacent dots in a square grid, aiming to complete the most boxes whose corners are four adjacent dots.

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Meanings

noundots and boxes (uncountable)
  1. uncountableA pencil-and-paper strategy game in which the players (usually two) take turns adding a single horizontal or vertical line between two unjoined adjacent dots in a square grid, aiming to complete the most boxes whose corners are four adjacent dots.
Cite this entry
APA

dots and boxes. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dots%20and%20boxes

MLA

“dots and boxes.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dots%20and%20boxes. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dots and boxes,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dots%20and%20boxes.

Source: dots and boxes on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.