Shut the Box
Shut the Box: quick guide and game info
Shut the Box is a dice game where every roll gives you a decision. Close one big tile or combine several smaller ones? Chase the perfect shut or try to finish with the lowest score possible? Our version lets you play the traditional 9-tile Classic board or a larger 12-tile Long board. Play Solo to chase your best result or challenge Marty in a One Off or Best of 3 series. Roll the dice, close tiles that add up to your total and keep going until you’ve shut the entire box or can no longer make a legal move. A perfect score is 0, every tile closed.
About Our Shut the Box
Evergreen Arcade’s Shut the Box gives you two board sizes and two ways to play. Choose Classic for the traditional 9-tile board or Long when you want the additional challenge of tiles 10, 11 and 12. In Solo, your goal is simply to finish with the lowest score you can.
Choose Vs Marty and the player with the lower remaining total wins the round. You can play a One Off game or a Best of 3 series. The game begins with two dice. Once all tiles numbered 7 and above have been shut, you gain the option to roll a single die instead. That can make the final stage of the game considerably more manageable, assuming you’ve left yourself the right numbers to work with.
Classic or Long?
Both versions follow the same basic rules, but the larger board changes the game considerably.
Classic – 9 Tiles
Classic uses tiles numbered 1 through 9. The smaller board makes for relatively quick games and gives you fewer numbers to eliminate on the way to a perfect shut.
Once 7, 8 and 9 are all closed, you can choose to roll one die instead of two. It’s a good place to start if you’re new to Shut the Box.
Long – 12 Tiles
Long expands the board to 12 tiles. The additional 10, 11 and 12 create more possible combinations early in the game, but they also give you three more tiles that need to disappear if you’re chasing a perfect score.
To unlock the one-die option in Long mode, every tile from 7 through 12 must first be shut. If you want a longer game with more combinations to consider, Long is the one to choose.
Game Layout and Setup
At the beginning, choose your board:
Classic – 9 tiles
Long – 12 tiles
Then choose whether you want to play Solo or Vs Marty.
When playing against Marty, you can select a One Off game or a Best of 3 series. Every tile begins open.
Press Roll to throw the dice. You then need to select one or more open tiles whose values add up exactly to the total you rolled.
For example, if you roll an 8, possible choices could include:
8
6 + 2
5 + 3
4 + 3 + 1
The exact choices available depend on which tiles you’ve already shut. Once you’ve selected a valid combination, those tiles close and you roll again.
How to Play Shut the Box
Your goal is to close as many tiles as possible. On each turn:
- Roll the dice.
- Add the dice together.
- Choose one or more open tiles that add up exactly to your roll.
- Shut those tiles.
- Roll again.
You continue for as long as you can make a legal move. If you roll a number that can’t be made from any combination of your remaining open tiles, your turn is over. Your final score is the total value of every tile still open. For example, if 2, 5 and 9 remain, your final score is: 2 + 5 + 9 = 16
Lower is better. If you manage to close every tile, your score is 0 and you’ve completely shut the box.
Two Dice or One?
Every game begins with two dice. Once every tile numbered 7 or higher has been closed, the one-die option becomes available. That means:
Classic: Close 7, 8 and 9.
Long: Close 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.
From that point onward, you can choose whether to roll one die or continue with two. This changes the game considerably. Two dice can produce larger totals and give you more ways to combine several tiles. One die only produces numbers from 1 through 6, which can be much more useful when you’re trying to clear the final few low-numbered tiles. Choosing the right moment to use one die becomes part of the endgame.
How to Improve Your Shut the Box Strategy
Luck determines what you roll, but your choice of which tiles to close can have a big effect on what happens later.
Deal With the High Tiles Early
Your larger tiles are much harder to remove once the game reaches its later stages. As long as you’re rolling two dice, look for good opportunities to close high numbers, particularly the tiles you need to remove before the one-die option becomes available. Leaving a high tile stranded late in the game can quickly end an otherwise promising run.
Don’t Automatically Choose the Biggest Tile
Suppose you roll an 8. Closing the 8 itself might seem like the obvious choice, but perhaps 5 + 3 or 4 + 3 + 1 leaves you with a more useful board. There isn’t always one universally correct choice. Before closing anything, look at what will remain and consider which future totals you’ll still be able to make.
Keep Useful Combinations Available
Small numbers are flexible because they can be combined in many different ways. Closing all of them too early may leave you with several large tiles that become difficult to remove. On the other hand, keeping too many small tiles can leave you with a high final score if the game suddenly ends. The challenge is finding a useful balance.
Think About Future Rolls
Don’t judge a move only by how many tiles it closes right now. Ask yourself what the remaining board will look like afterward. Will you still have several ways to make common totals? Could one awkward tile become isolated? Are you getting closer to unlocking the one-die option? A move that looks slightly less impressive immediately can sometimes leave you in a much better position for the next roll.
More Shut the Box Strategy Tips
Prepare for the One-Die Phase
Once tiles 7 and above are gone, the game changes. A single die gives you much more direct access to the remaining numbers from 1 through 6. As you approach that point, think about which low tiles you want to leave available. Getting to the one-die phase with a manageable group of low numbers can give you a strong chance of finishing with a very low score — or shutting the box completely.
Know When to Use One Die
Unlocking one die doesn’t mean you always have to use it. Look at the tiles that remain. If you need a larger total or want to close several tiles at once, two dice may still give you useful possibilities. If your remaining tiles are mostly individual low numbers, one die may be the better choice. The option gives you another decision to make rather than simply changing the rules automatically.
Solo or Vs Marty?
In Solo, the challenge is against the board. Try to finish with the lowest score possible, or go all the way and shut every tile for a perfect 0. Against Marty, you’re trying to finish the round with a lower score than he does. Choose One Off when you want a single round to decide the winner, or Best of 3 when you want a longer contest. Marty is dealing with the same basic problem you are: whatever the dice give him, he has to find the best way to use it. Sometimes he’ll get exactly the roll he needs. Naturally, he’ll consider this evidence of superior skill.
A Little Bit of Shut the Box History
Shut the Box has been entertaining players for generations, although its exact origins are surprisingly difficult to pin down.
The game became particularly associated with pubs and traditional wooden game boxes, including versions played in Britain and the Channel Islands.
Its lasting appeal comes from the combination of very simple rules and meaningful decisions. Rolling the dice takes no skill at all, but deciding which combination of tiles to close can dramatically change the possibilities available on your next turn.
Different versions of Shut the Box have appeared over time, including variations in the number of tiles, scoring rules and when players are allowed to switch from two dice to one.
Traditional boards commonly use nine tiles, while expanded versions can include 10, 11 and 12 for a larger challenge.
Our version lets you play both: the familiar 9-tile Classic game or the expanded 12-tile Long board.
No wooden pub box required.
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