Squared² Support

Everything the game does, and what to do when it doesn’t

Need a hand? Email support@hollender-consulting.com and I'll get back to you.

GETTING STARTED

Squared² is Dots and Boxes — the pencil-and-paper classic. It plays on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Mac, and it's a single purchase that covers all of them: buy it once and it appears on your other Apple devices at no extra cost.

The grid starts as dots. On your turn you draw one line between two neighbouring dots. Draw the fourth side of a box and that box is yours — marked with your initial — and you immediately move again. Most boxes at the end wins.

• iPhone and iPad — tap the gap where a line belongs. The tappable area is much larger than the line itself.
• Apple TV — swipe on the remote to move the focus ring around the board and click to draw. Menu backs out of whatever is open, innermost first; it never quits the app from inside a game.
• Mac — click the gap where a line belongs.

WAYS TO PLAY

• Vs AI — one to three computer opponents at Easy, Medium, Hard, or Expert.
• Pass & Play — two, three, or four people sharing one screen.
• Online — Quick Match, Live Match, or an invitation to a friend.
• Nearby — two devices in the same room, over your local network.

THE EIGHT BOARDS

Eight grids, from a two-minute teaching board to a marathon:

• 3×3 dots (4 boxes) — the teaching size.
• 4×4 dots (9 boxes) — a two-minute game.
• 5×5 dots (16 boxes) — quick.
• 6×6 dots (25 boxes) — the casual default.
• 8×8 dots (49 boxes).
• 10×10 dots (81 boxes) — the classic paper size.
• 12×12 dots (121 boxes) — the marathon.
• Swedish 6×6 — the whole border is already drawn when the game starts, so you begin in the midgame and the chain battle is immediate.

Tap the grid caption under the player-count row on the main menu to cycle through them. Your choice applies to new games; a match already in progress keeps the board it started on.

THE COMPUTER OPPONENTS

Inky, Dot, and Scribble fill the seats you don't. Four strengths that genuinely play differently: Easy plays loose and gives chains away, Medium plays the percentages, and Hard and Expert read the chains ahead. Every opponent varies its openings, so no two games start alike.

WHAT'S A CHAIN, AND WHY DOES IT DECIDE THE GAME?

Every third side you draw on a box is a gift — it lets the next player close that box. Late in the game the board resolves into chains of boxes, and whoever is forced to open a long chain first usually hands it to the other side. Counting before you give is the whole game. How to Play, on the main menu, walks through it.

HINT AND UNDO

Hint points out a line worth considering. Undo takes back your last line. Both sit on the in-game toolbar.

PLAYING ONLINE

Three ways to play someone who isn't in the room:

• Quick Match — pairs you with another player automatically. Turn-based, so you each move at your own pace over hours or days.
• Live Match — both players connected at once, lines arriving instantly.
• Invite a Friend — pick someone by name and they're asked to accept. An invitation arrives on the Play Online hub as its own row with Join and Decline; declining removes it for good. These three need you signed in to Game Center (Settings > Game Center).

Rematch is offline-only. After an online game, start a new match from the hub — a local rematch would leave the two devices in different games.

PLAYING SOMEONE NEARBY

Play Someone Nearby is separate from the three above, and does NOT need Game Center. Two devices on the same local network find each other by name and connect directly. If you're signed in to Game Center your nickname is what the other player sees; if not, your device's name is used.

I CAN'T FIND ANYONE NEARBY

Both devices must be on the same network with the Play Someone Nearby screen open — discovery only runs while you're on that screen. The first time you open it, the device asks permission to find things on your local network; if that was declined, the app can't see anyone. Turn it back on in Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network (on Mac, System Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network).

SAVED GAMES

Up to 6 games are kept, saved automatically after every line, and resumed from the main menu. The top one becomes your Resume Game card. Games can be renamed and deleted from the Saved Games list.

MY GAMES AREN'T SYNCING BETWEEN DEVICES

Saved games, records, and your level sync through your own iCloud account. Make sure every device is signed in to the same Apple Account with iCloud Drive turned on. On Apple TV this is under Settings > Users & Accounts. After a fresh install it can take a moment — or one relaunch — for the first sync to arrive.

APPLE TV IS A SHARED DEVICE

On Apple TV, each person's profile gets its own saved games, records, and Game Center account. Switching profiles in Control Center switches the app over to that person's games.

LEVELS, LEADERBOARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Every finished game against the computer or online earns XP, which climbs your level. There are four Game Center leaderboards — Rank Points, Boxes Claimed, Total Wins, and Longest Chain — and 23 achievements. The full rules, and every leaderboard and achievement, are on the ranks page: https://www.hollender-consulting.com/squared-ranks

WHY DIDN'T THAT GAME EARN ANY XP?

A table has to have exactly one human on it. Pass & Play games — two, three, or four people around one screen — deliberately earn nothing, because there is no single player to credit. Games against the computer and online games both earn.

I CAN'T HEAR ANY SOUND

Sound has its own toggle inside the app, in the pause menu and on the main menu. It's deliberately independent of the ring/silent switch, so check the in-app setting first.

WIDGET AND SIRI

On iPhone, the Your Turn widget shows online matches waiting on your move; tapping one opens that match. You can also say "Continue my Squared² game" to Siri, which opens your most recent game.

HOW DO I GET MY PURCHASE BACK ON A NEW DEVICE?

Sign in with the same Apple Account and download the app again from the App Store. There's nothing to restore and nothing to pay again.

CAN I PLAY WITHOUT AN INTERNET CONNECTION?

Yes. Vs AI, Pass & Play, all eight boards, saves, hint, and undo work with no network connection at all. Only the online modes, leaderboards, and achievements need connectivity — Play Someone Nearby needs a local network but no internet.

WHAT LANGUAGES DOES IT SPEAK?

Squared² is in English at launch. More languages are on the way.

CONTACT

support@hollender-consulting.com Hollender Consulting, LLC — https://www.hollender-consulting.com/