Shut the boxes

Presentation and rules

Shut the boxes is a very simple dice game where the objective is to pull down the tiles numbered from 1 to 9.

Physically, the game is played on a board containing tiles numbered from 1 to 9 hanging along a higher bar, so that each one of the tiles can be either up or down.

At your turn, you roll the dice, then you pull down one or more tiles whose total corresponds to the sum of the dice. For example, if you roll 4 and 5, you can pull down tile 9 alone, tiles 2 and 7, or tiles 1, 3 and 5. Tiles that are already lowered can't be used again before the end of your turn.

You keep rolling the dice and pulling down tiles until you obtain a total on the dice which you can't make with the remaining tiles. For example, if you roll a 7 and only tiles 2, 4 and 6 remain, there is no possibility to make 7. Then it is the next player's turn.

At the end of your turn, you score the number of points corresponding to pulled down tiles. Tile 1 is worth 1 point, tile 2 is worth 2 points, and so on. The set of all tiles is therefore worth 45 points.

If you manage to pull down all the tiles, then they are all raised, and you can continue playing with all the tiles again. This allows you to score more than 45 points in a single turn. Your turn can last indefinitely if you have a little strategy, and a lot of luck!

The game ends when someone reaches a previously defined score, 250 points by default. Other players then have one turn left to equal or beat it before the game effectively finishes.

Keyboard shortcuts