How to Play

Shut The Box is a traditional dice game with a history that goes back for centuries, with dozens of different variations in how to play. Here you'll find the commonly-accepted Basic Rules, as well as several of our favorite variations!

Basic Rules

• Start with all tiles in the "Up" position.
• Each Player rolls a single die. The Player who rolls the highest number goes first.
• The first Player rolls both dice and flips the matching numbered tiles to the "Down" position.

  For example, if a 2 and a 4 are rolled then the 2 Tile and the 4 Tile can be flipped down, OR both dice results may be added together to only flip the 6 Tile down.

• A Player continues to roll the dice until no more tiles can be flipped down during their turn. At this point their turn ends and the second Player's turn begins.
• The first Player to flip every tile down will Shut The Box and win!

Optional Basic Rule:

Once the 7, 8, & 9 Tiles have been flipped to the Down position, each player may only roll one die instead of both.

 

Variations

Golf

When the first Player can no longer flip any tiles, add up the total of their unflipped tiles together. This is their score. Flip every tile back to the Up position and have the second Player take their turn. The Player with the lowest score after one round is the winner.

Tournament

A Version of Golf meant for more than 2 Players. Using the Golf scoring method above, each player keeps a grand total score at the end of each round. The game continues until one Player meets or exceeds 45 points (the total of all 9 tiles added together). The player with the lowest point total is then declared the winner.

The Long Game

The game begins the same as the Basic Rules, with the first Player trying to flip as many of the tiles as possible until their turn ends. The second Player then tries to un-flip each of the flipped tiles from the previous Player's round. If doubles are rolled, that Player gets an extra turn. The first Player who can completely "shut" or "open" the box wins.

Digital/Say What You See

Another variation of the Golf format, only this time a Player's Score is determined by reading their unflipped tiles left-to-right at the end of their turn.

For example, a Player with the 1, 5, & 9 tiles left unflipped at the end of their turn would have a final score of 159.

The Player with the lowest score after both turns wins.

Face-Off

A more intense version of the Basic Rules, this variation sees 2 or more players each using their own Shut the Box games and alternating turns after each dice roll until one player wins. Any time a player rolls doubles, they are allowed one additional roll.

For example, Player One goes first and rolls two 3s. They flip either the 3 tile or the 6 tile and then roll again. This time they roll a 1 and a 5, flip the corresponding tiles, and it becomes Player Two's turn.

Blastoff

The most fast-paced and hectic Shut the Box rule variation, this mode is meant for 2-6 players each using their own Shut the Box game. After setup, the youngest player then counts down from 10 to 0. After 0 is called, each player begins rolling dice and flipping tiles simultaneously. The first player who is able to Shut the Box and shout "BLASTOFF!" is declared the winner.