You take turns placing circles and boxes. When four identical marks form the corners of a square, they are filled in, and the whole square fills up with more marks. Whoever has the most filled marks at the end wins. (Detailed rules at the very bottom)
Set up the game
Rules and controls
You play on a board of 7 × 7 cells (or 9 × 9 for longer games). One of you plays the circles, the other the boxes.
You take turns placing an empty mark in a free cell.
As soon as four of your empty marks lie exactly on the corners of a square, these four marks are filled in. The square is upright, that is parallel to the lines of the board, and is 3 × 3 or 4 × 4 cells in size, the edge included. Smaller and larger squares do not count, and neither do squares made of four cells next to each other.
In expert mode, squares standing on a corner like a diamond also count. They are 5 or 7 cells wide and high.
Then all free cells inside the square are occupied with empty marks of yours. This also applies to cells on the sides of the square. Marks of the other person inside the square stay as they are.
If new squares appear from your empty marks, their corners are filled in as well and their free cells are occupied. Squares that appear at the same time are filled at the same time. This goes on until nothing new happens. Only then is it the other person’s turn.
A filled mark is “done”: it can no longer become the corner of a new square. Only empty marks count as corners.
When all cells are occupied, the marks are counted. Only filled marks count. Whoever has the most wins, otherwise it is a draw.
Controls: tap or click a cell, check the preview and confirm with “Place”. With a mouse, a double-click places the mark straight away. With the keyboard, choose the cell with the arrow keys and place with Enter. After a move, all marks that have changed light up.
Example
Rules and controls
You play on a board of 7 × 7 cells (or 9 × 9 for longer games). One of you plays the circles, the other the boxes.
You take turns placing an empty mark in a free cell.
As soon as four of your empty marks lie exactly on the corners of a square, these four marks are filled in. The square is upright, that is parallel to the lines of the board, and is 3 × 3 or 4 × 4 cells in size, the edge included. Smaller and larger squares do not count, and neither do squares made of four cells next to each other.
In expert mode, squares standing on a corner like a diamond also count. They are 5 or 7 cells wide and high.
Then all free cells inside the square are occupied with empty marks of yours. This also applies to cells on the sides of the square. Marks of the other person inside the square stay as they are.
If new squares appear from your empty marks, their corners are filled in as well and their free cells are occupied. Squares that appear at the same time are filled at the same time. This goes on until nothing new happens. Only then is it the other person’s turn.
A filled mark is “done”: it can no longer become the corner of a new square. Only empty marks count as corners.
When all cells are occupied, the marks are counted. Only filled marks count. Whoever has the most wins, otherwise it is a draw.
Controls: tap or click a cell, check the preview and confirm with “Place”. With a mouse, a double-click places the mark straight away. With the keyboard, choose the cell with the arrow keys and place with Enter. After a move, all marks that have changed light up.