← Dots
Rules & FAQ
How to play Dots
The chess of the 21st century — pure skill, no luck.
Dots is a modern competitive strategy game: as easy to pick up as tic-tac-toe, as deep as chess. There's no luck and no hidden information — just you, your opponent, and chain reactions that can flip the entire board in a single move. Learn the rules in 30 seconds below, then climb a real rating ladder against players worldwide in matches that take minutes, not hours.
The rules in 30 seconds
- Take turns charging your own cellsRed and Blue alternate turns. On your turn, click one of the cells you already own to add a charge to it. You can only ever charge your own cells.
- Reach critical massEvery cell has a critical mass of 4. Add charges until one of your cells hits 4 and it becomes unstable.
- Explode into your neighboursA cell at critical mass explodes: it empties and sends one charge into each of its orthogonal neighbours (up, down, left, right), flipping every cell it touches to your colour.
- Trigger chain reactionsIf an explosion pushes a neighbour to critical mass, that cell explodes too — and so on. A single move can cascade across the whole board and flip the game in your favour.
- Capture the board to winYou win the instant you capture every one of your opponent's cells. No timers run out, no luck decides it — just who saw the chain reaction first.
Why Dots is the chess of the 21st century
- Easy to learn, a lifetime to master. The depth of a great strategy game with none of the steep on-ramp.
- Pure skill, zero luck. No dice, no hidden information — every game is decided by who played better.
- Explosive and decisive. Board-flipping cascades mean comebacks and swings, not slow wars of attrition.
- Built for now. Instant browser play, no download, Bullet and Blitz speeds, matched in seconds.
- A real competitive ladder. Glicko ratings and a global leaderboard — a true ranked ecosystem.
Game modes
Play three board sizes — Classic (6x6), Long (9x9), and Marathon (12x12) — across three time controls: Bullet (2 min + 2s), Blitz (5 min + 3s), and Casual (no clock). Rated games update your rating and the leaderboard; casual games are just for fun.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Dots?
- Dots is a free online strategy game — the chess of the 21st century. It's a pure-skill, no-luck game (also known as Chain Reaction or Critical Mass) where you charge cells until they explode into chain reactions that capture the board. It takes 30 seconds to learn and a lifetime to master.
- How do you play Dots?
- Players alternate turns charging their own cells. When a cell reaches a charge of 4 (critical mass) it explodes into its orthogonal neighbours, converting them to your colour and often triggering a cascade. You win by capturing all of your opponent's cells.
- What is critical mass, and how do explosions work?
- Critical mass is 4. When a cell's charge hits 4 it empties and sends one charge to each adjacent cell, flipping those cells to your colour. If that pushes a neighbour to 4, it explodes too — chaining reactions across the board.
- How do you win a game of Dots?
- Capture every one of your opponent's cells. Because one move can set off a board-wide cascade, games can swing instantly — a position that looks lost can be won with the right chain reaction.
- Is Dots like chess?
- Dots shares what makes chess great — pure skill, no luck, no hidden information, and effectively limitless depth — but it's built for the way people play now: you learn it in seconds, games last minutes, and you play instantly in your browser. That's why we call it the chess of the 21st century.
- Is Dots a game of luck or skill?
- Pure skill. There are no dice, no cards, and no hidden information. Both players see the entire board at all times, so every result comes down to who played better.
- Is Dots free to play?
- Yes — Dots is completely free to play in your browser, with no download and no signup required to start a game.
- Do I need an account to play?
- No. You can jump straight into a game as a guest. Creating a free account is optional and unlocks rated games, a saved rating, the global leaderboard, and friends.
- Is there ranked play and ratings?
- Yes. Signed-in players compete in rated games that update a Glicko rating and place them on a global leaderboard — a real competitive ladder, like the chess.com of Dots.
- How long does a game take?
- Minutes, not hours. Choose Bullet (2 minutes + 2 seconds per move), Blitz (5 minutes + 3 seconds per move), or Casual with no clock at all.
- What board sizes can I play?
- Three: Classic (6x6), Long (9x9), and Marathon (12x12). Smaller boards are sharp and fast; larger boards build into sprawling, explosive cascades.
- Can I play against the computer or against friends?
- Both. Practise offline against an adjustable AI, challenge a friend with a private room link, or get matched with a similar-skill opponent through Quick Play.
- Is Dots the same as Chain Reaction or Critical Mass?
- It's the same family of game. Dots takes that classic chain-reaction mechanic and builds a polished, modern competitive experience around it — ratings, matchmaking, time controls, and instant browser play.