Dot Game/Capture

This game is simple in theory but can be quite fun. It is a multiplayer pencil and paper game that sometimes may require some strategy.

Basic Game Theory and Rules

The game's rules are simple, and anyone can start playing quickly. You can always print out this page (with the printable version) to future reference too.

This example will show you a game of two players - one named Fred (red pen) and one named Harry (blue pen). Of course, you can always play with more players, and you don't have to use different colored pens (or markers, etc.).

First, the game starts out with a board like below (but usually much larger in size). They are only dots right now, but they are the baseline for the whole game.

First, player 1 (Fred) starts by connecting two dots with a line.

Player 2 (Harry) connects another line.

Fred connects once again, another line.

But oh no! Harry has made a stupid mistake and has connected two dots to form 3 corners of a box! Now it gets interesting.

Because there's a square surrounded by three lines, Fred can complete the box by adding another line*. He's now winning by 1 square. But because he has completed a box, Fred gets another turn. He has to connect two more points, aside from the line that completed the box.

*You may take on this situation in two ways. You can make the game so if you can complete a box, you must complete the box. Of course, the other way is, if you can complete a box, you don't have to. It's your choice of how to play.

Well, the game goes on from there. Players take turns connecting two dots and forming boxes.

It can get much more complicated from here, because as the game progresses, a whole series of interconnected boxes can go from one side to another.

For example, in a different game with Fred and Harry, they seemed to have made a little chain reaction.

Fred connects the two points in the top right corner. Harry now can complete the box in the top right corner, and because after you complete a box, you get another turn, he can continue creating more boxes.

As you see, this game can become very interesting.

Variations and Other Ways to Play

There are more ways to play too! One of them is with cherries and bombs. They make the game one step harder yet more fun than usual. By placing random "cherries" and "bombs" in some squares, they can affect your score when you complete a box with a cherry or bomb in them.

A cherry can, for example, give you 2x score, and a bomb, for example, can subtract 2 score. It's your game and your choice.

Printable Map Generator

You can draw your own maps easily, but you can make it easier with the following map generator. It also supports random placement of cherries and bombs, or none at all.

*The resulting image may be too large on Opera browsers.

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