Terms of use
Shut the Box Online is free to use, with no account and no subscription. These terms cover what you can do with the site and what it does and does not promise. They are meant to be read, so they are written in plain English.
Using the site
Play as much as you like. There is no account to breach and no quota to exceed.
You may use this site for personal, non-commercial enjoyment, and you may link to any page on it freely. No permission is needed to link, embed a link, or recommend the site.
What you may not do is the obvious short list: interfere with the site or its security, attempt to disrupt it for other people, scrape it at a volume that degrades it for others, or represent it as your own.
Reusing the rules, tables and score sheets
The reference material is published so it can be reused. Attribution is the only condition.
The reference data on this site — scoring charts, odds tables, printable score sheets and the computed figures behind them — is published under a Creative Commons Attribution licence. You may copy it, reprint it, teach from it and build on it, including commercially, provided you credit Shut the Box Online and link back to the page you took it from.
That is a deliberate choice, not an oversight. This material was produced so people could use it; a table nobody is allowed to quote is a table that helps nobody.
The site’s own software, layout, graphics and branding are not covered by that licence and remain the property of the site owner.
Independence and trademarks
Shut the Box is a traditional game. This site is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to any commercial publisher.
Shut the Box is played in many households and regions with local variations, and this site documents it as the traditional game it is. Where a name is also used commercially by a company, it is used here descriptively, to say which game the page is about — no affiliation, sponsorship or endorsement is claimed or implied.
All trademarks referenced remain the property of their respective owners.
What this site does not promise
It is a free game, offered as it is.
The site is provided “as is”, without warranty of any kind. It may occasionally be unavailable, a browser update may break something, and rule variations differ between regions and households — so the rules described here may not match the version played at your kitchen table.
Nothing here is legal, financial or professional advice, and the site is not liable for any loss arising from its use to the extent the law allows. If you find a mistake, the useful response is to tell us so it can be corrected, and corrections are made.
Changes and contact
These terms may be updated; the date below changes when they are. Questions go to john.weeks.dev@gmail.com.
Can I print the score sheets for my games night?
- Yes — that is exactly what they are for. Print as many as you like, for home, school or a club.
Can I use the odds tables in a book, video or article?
- Yes, including commercially, as long as you credit Shut the Box Online and link to the page you took the figures from.
Can I copy the site itself?
- No. The reference data is openly licensed; the software, design and branding are not.