How to Play Dots (Rules)

Objective: The goal of the game is to capture more dots than your opponent. You capture enemy dots by surrounding them with a continuous, closed line of your own dots.

Making a Move: Players take turns placing a single dot on an empty intersection of the grid lines. You can place a dot anywhere on the board.

Capturing (Enclosing): To capture, you must form a closed polygon (a loop) of your dots that completely encloses at least one enemy dot. The loop cannot contain only empty spaces—it must surround at least one opponent's dot to be valid. Once captured, those enemy dots belong to you.

Winning the Game: The game ends when the board is completely full, no more valid moves can be made, or both players agree to stop. The player who has captured the most enemy dots wins the match.