Editing Dots and boxes (section)

{{Short description|2 player paper and pencil game}}
[[File:Dotsandlines.jpg|thumb|A game of dots and boxes]]

'''Dots and boxes''' is a [[pencil and paper game|pencil-and-paper game]] for two players (sometimes more). It was first published in the 19th century by French mathematician [[Édouard Lucas]], who called it '''{{Lang|fr|la pipopipette}}'''.<ref>{{citation|title=L'arithmétique amusante|first=Édouard|last=Lucas|author-link=Édouard Lucas|publisher=Gauthier-Villars et fils|year=1895|location=Paris|contribution=La Pipopipette: nouveau jeu de combinaisons|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ck5eAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA204|pages=204–209}}.</ref> It has gone by many other names,<ref name="ww"/><!-- however WW doesn't say what those names are! --> including '''dots and dashes''', '''game of dots''',<ref>{{citation
 | last = Holladay | first = J. C.
 | journal = [[American Mathematical Monthly]]
 | doi = 10.2307/2313978
 | mr = 0200068
 | pages = 717–720
 | title = A note on the game of dots
 | volume = 73
 | year = 1966| issue = 7
 | jstor = 2313978
 }}.</ref> '''dot to dot grid''',<ref>{{citation|title=Play These Games: 101 Delightful Diversions Using Everyday Items|first=Heather|last=Swain|publisher=Penguin|year=2012|isbn=9781101585030|pages=160–162|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9J3d20GMr2MC&pg=PT225}}.</ref> '''boxes''',<ref>{{citation|contribution=Boxes: an enclosing game|pages=37–39|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y8_WLAjk0TMC&pg=PA37|title=Games with Pencil and Paper|first=Eric|last=Solomon|isbn=9780486278728|publisher=Dover Publications, Inc.|year=1993}}. Reprint of 1973 publication by Thomas Nelson and Sons.</ref> and '''pigs in a pen'''.<ref>{{citation|title=Civil War Days: Discover the Past with Exciting Projects, Games, Activities, and Recipes|volume=4|series=American Kids in History|first=David C.|last=King|publisher=Wiley|year=1999|isbn=9780471246121|pages=29–30}}.</ref>
<!-- Do not re-add these alternative names without sources: '''Squares''', '''Paddocks''', '''Square-it''', '''Dit Dot Dash''', '''Line Game''', '''Smart Dots''', '''Dot Boxing''', or the '''Dot Game'''. And do not use sources that merely copied these names from earlier versions of this article. -->

The game starts with an empty grid of dots. Usually two players take turns adding a single horizontal or vertical line between two unjoined adjacent dots. A player who completes the fourth side of a 1×1 box earns one point and takes another turn. A point is typically recorded by placing a mark that identifies the player in the box, such as an initial. The game ends when no more lines can be placed. The winner is the player with the most points.<ref name="ww">{{citation
 | last1 = Berlekamp | first1 = Elwyn R. | author1-link = Elwyn Berlekamp
 | last2 = Conway | first2 = John H. | author2-link = John Horton Conway
 | last3 = Guy | first3 = Richard K. | author3-link = Richard K. Guy
 | contribution = Chapter 16: Dots-and-Boxes
 | pages = 507–550
 | publisher = Academic Press
 | title = Winning Ways for your Mathematical Plays, Volume 2: Games in Particular
 | year = 1982}}.</ref><ref>{{citation
 | last = Berlekamp | first = Elwyn | author-link = Elwyn Berlekamp
 | isbn = 1-56881-129-2
 | publisher = AK Peters, Ltd
 | title = The Dots-and-Boxes Game: Sophisticated Child's Play
 | year = 2000}}.</ref> The board may be of any size grid. When short on time, or to learn the game, a 2×2 board (3×3 dots) is suitable.<ref>{{harvtxt|Berlekamp|Conway|Guy|1982}}, "the 4-box game", pp. 513–514.</ref> A 5×5 board, on the other hand, is good for experts.<ref>{{harvtxt|Berlekamp|2000}}, p. xi: [the 5×5 board] "is big enough to be quite challenging, and yet small enough to keep the game reasonably short".</ref>