Plume Dots and Boxes
The pen and paper classicPlay with a friend
Related categories
Game information
- Players
- Alone, or with a friend through a room link
- Category
- Board & Card
- Controls
- Touch, mouse, keyboard
- Languages
- 20 languages
- Price
- Free
- Played
- 26 times
About Plume Dots and Boxes
A sheet of cream paper on a walnut desk, a pen for each player, and the oldest game in the margins of every school notebook. It looks like a child's pastime until the last dozen lines, where one box handed over on purpose decides who takes the long chains.
Dots and boxes on paper: a 45-board campaign, five computer levels, six lessons on chains and double-dealing, and matches for 2 to 4 players.
How to play Plume Dots and Boxes
Players take turns drawing one line between two neighbouring dots. The line that closes a box, its fourth side, wins that box for you and gives you another line; keep drawing while you keep closing boxes. When every line is drawn, the most points wins. On a phone, tap a line to pick it and tap it again to draw it; with a mouse, point at a line and click; with the keyboard, move between the lines with the arrow keys and draw with Enter. Before you draw, the line shows what it does: a green number for the boxes it closes, a red count for the boxes it hands to the next player. Campaign: nine chapters of five boards, each chapter with something new: holes in the page, gilt boxes worth 2 or 3 points, printed lines that start as chains, closed loops, separate islands, ink blots that cost a point and end your turn, tables of three and four players, and a last chapter that combines them all. Win a board to open the next; a board gives up to three stars (win, reach its points goal, win without undo or hints). Match: pick a shape (square, cross, ring, islands, diamond), a size, 2 to 4 players and a computer level from 1 to 5, or pass one device around. Lessons: six short lessons on real positions, from closing a box to the long chain rule. The daily board is the same for every player. Finishing chapter 2 or beating level 3 in a match opens hard mode: computer players one level up, no undo, no hints and no line previews. Play with a friend: pick the board and the number of players, create a game and send the link.
Controls
- Touch
- Tap a line to pick it and see what it does, then tap it again to draw it.
- Mouse
- Point at a line to preview it, then click to draw it.
- Keyboard
- Arrow keys move between the open lines, Enter or Space draws the selected one, U undoes and H asks for a hint.
Features
Campaign of 45 boards
Nine chapters, each with its own twist: holes, gilt boxes worth 2 or 3 points, printed lines, closed loops, islands, ink blots, three and four players, and a last chapter that combines them.
Five computer levels
From the Doodler, who misses boxes, to the Archivist, who counts chains from the middle game and keeps control with double-deals. The campaign adds the Copyist between levels 2 and 3.
Six lessons on real positions
Short guided positions teach closing boxes, safe lines, giving the smallest chain, double-dealing, the split handout and the long chain rule.
Five board shapes, four sizes
Square, cross, ring, islands and diamond, from 9 to 40 boxes, for 2 to 4 players against the computer or on one device.
Stars, stamps and hard mode
Up to three stars per board, five box stamps opened by stars, and a hard mode with stronger opponents and no undo or hints. A new daily board every day.
Play friends online
Create a game for 2 to 4 players, pick the board and send the link; each player draws in their own colour.
Tips
- Do not draw the third side of a box: the next player closes it and draws again. A line that touches no box with two sides is safe.
- When no safe line is left, hand over the smallest chain. A single box costs one point, a long chain can cost the game.
- When your opponent opens a long chain, take all but the last two boxes and draw the line at the far end: they get two boxes but must open the next chain for you.
- Give a chain of two by drawing the line between its two boxes: split like that, it cannot be handed back to you with the two-box trick.
- Count the safe lines as the board fills up. If they will run out on your turn, hand over a short chain early to change who opens the long ones.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play dots and boxes?
Players take turns drawing a line between two neighbouring dots. Drawing the fourth side of a box wins it and gives you another line. When every line is drawn, the player with the most points wins.
What is double-dealing in dots and boxes?
When your opponent opens a long chain, you take every box but the last two and then draw the line at the far end of the chain instead. They get those two boxes but must open the next chain, so you keep control of the end of the game. Lesson 4 walks through it on a real position.
Can I play on a phone without drawing a line by accident?
Yes. On a touch screen the first tap only picks the line and shows what it would do; you draw it by tapping the same line again. Tap anywhere else to pick another line.
Can I play Plume Dots and Boxes with friends?
Yes, two ways. Choose Play with a friend, create a game for 2 to 4 players and send the link, or start a match with Same device and pass one phone or tablet around.
Does Plume save my campaign progress?
Yes, boards won, stars, lessons and stamps are saved on this device. Use Sync devices to move them to another phone or computer with a code, no account needed.
How strong is the hardest computer player?
The Archivist, level 5, plays chains and loops the way strong players do: it hands over the right chain, double-deals to keep control and counts the safe lines before they run out. In our test matches it won about three games in four against level 4.
More Board & Card games
Comments
No comments yet. Comments appear here once they have been reviewed.