Dots and Boxes vs Boxed In
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Dots and Boxes
Engage in a classic pencil-and-paper strategy game with this digital multiplayer version. Connect dots to form squares and outscore your opponents in live online matches, private games with friends, or offline against the computer. Bet on matches and climb the global leaderboard.
- Live online multiplayer
- Private matches with friends
- Offline AI opponent
- Betting and rewards
- Live chat with opponents
- Global leaderboard
- Facebook login
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Dots and Boxes is a LIVE, online Multiplayer version of the popular classic board game- Dots & Boxes. This amazing game is a modern take on the pencil-and-paper game that has been a favourite among players all over the world. Objective of the game is to link any 2 dots and close the squares. The player who closes the most number of boxes wins. You and your opponents take turns to connect dots by adding a single horizontal or vertical line between 2 adjacent dots. Dots and Boxes: Multiplayer offers you a wide range of game modes including MULTIPLAYER mode where you play against players worldwide. PRIVATE mode lets you Create or Join a match with your family and friends. OFFLINE mode for keeping you engaged when you are away from the internet. Features: • Live, Online Multiplayer Dots & Boxes game • Play with gamers all over the world with MULTIPLAYER mode • Play PRIVATE game with your friends and family • Play OFFLINE turn-based game against the computer • Place your desired BET amounts and win Double Rewards • CHAT Live with opponents while playing • Top the Global LEADERBOARD and be the ultimate Champion • Login with FACEBOOK • Designed for both smartphones and tablets • Suitable for all ages If you love playing board games online, you will love Dots and Boxes. A perfect puzzle game for your friends and family. Download and play for Free!
Boxed In
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Boxed In — Close the Box. Take the Turn. No dice. No cards. No power-ups. Just a grid of dots, eighty-four links between them, and thirty-six boxes waiting to be claimed. Every match is decided entirely by what you can see and count. THE RULE THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING Draw a link. Close the fourth side of a box and it is yours — and you go again. That one rule turns a simple grid into a game of chains: touch the wrong link and you hand your opponent a run of six boxes in a single turn. THE DOUBLE-CROSS Beginners take every box on offer. Experts give two away. Decline the tail of a chain and your opponent is forced to open the next one for you. Master this and the endgame stops being luck and starts being arithmetic. AN OPPONENT THAT ACTUALLY SOLVES IT The computer runs a full search of the closing position — once the board is down to its last sixteen links, it plays them perfectly. Before that it counts chains, declines the ones worth declining, and concedes the smallest chain it can when cornered. A DIFFERENT BOARD EVERY TIME Each match starts with a handful of neutral links already drawn — usually four or five, sometimes as few as one, occasionally as many as eight. Never enough to gift anyone a box, always enough to change the shape of the opening. THE EXTRA MOVE Once per match, hold your turn through a link that captures nothing. Use it to delay the moment you have to open a chain — or to steal the tempo right before your opponent does. REWIND AND LEARN Undo any move and try the other line. Against the computer, that turns every match into a training board for the chain endgame. HIGHLIGHTS • Pure strategy: zero randomness once the board is set • Local 1v1 on one device, or a genuinely hard computer opponent • Crisp square grid, red and blue, built for clarity • Boxes pop as they fall, with haptic feedback on every capture Thirty-six boxes. One rule. Download Boxed In.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Boxed In at every 5 days against Dots and Boxes's every 2 months. Dots and Boxes's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Dots and Boxes sells 8 one-off in-app purchases and Boxed In sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Dots and Boxes ships an update every 2 months, Boxed In every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dots and Boxes | Boxed In |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.7 (23 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 46.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 23 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 94 MB | 41 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | CodeHound | One Date Private Limited |
In-app purchases
Dots and Boxes
- 10000 Coins$0.99
- 25000 Coins$1.99
- 50000 Coins$2.99
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- 100K Coins$3.99
- 250K Coins$4.99
- 95000 Coins$4.99
- 750K Coins$5.99
- Remove Ads$9.99
Boxed In
- Ad-Free$4.99
Questions
Is Dots and Boxes free?
Is Boxed In free?
Do Dots and Boxes or Boxed In have ads?
Which is updated more often, Dots and Boxes or Boxed In?
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