Dice Games · Est. 1795★★★★★ 150 reviews

The wooden game you only buy once

£18.99£30.99 Save 38%

or 4 payments of £4.74 with Klarna

🛡️ 30-day full refund, no questions. Fewer than 30 returns from 23,000+ orders.

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Standard · 2-3 working days

Plays up to 4
Ages 6+
No screens
Teaches maths
Solid wood
Ships 2-3 days
30-day returns
Klarna available

Delivery in 2-3 working days · 30-day returns · Est. 1795

as seen in

Real talk

The 20 minutes your child doesn't ask for the iPad

Shut the Box is a turn-based dice game where players roll, then flip down numbered wooden tiles to close the box,first to close it wins. Four separate playing areas mean all four play together without taking turns away from the table. No screen guilt, no assembly, no fuss.

You watch her count, add, think ahead. She watches you play fair. That's the whole game, and it works every time.

Joe Jaques, Jaques of London

What's in the box

What arrives in the box

Solid wood construction, sustainably sourced. Hand-finished tiles and slats that last decades, not seasons.

Four-player Shut the Box viewed from the front

In the box

1 wooden game box with 4 playing areas

Solid wood construction, sustainably sourced. Each playing area has tiles numbered 1 through 10, plus reversible wooden slats that flip to close each number. Weight in your hand signals durability from the moment you open it.

✓ Numbered tiles 1,10 per player
✓ Smooth-turning wooden slats
✓ Four independent playing zones

Close-up of wooden tiles and dice with the box open

Play style

2 dice, unlimited rounds

Roll the dice. Add the numbers. Flip down any tiles that match your total. If you can't flip any, your turn ends and your score is the sum of open tiles. First to close their box, or lowest remaining total after everyone plays, wins. That's it.

✓ Each round takes 20 minutes
✓ Suitable for ages 6 and up
✓ No batteries or screens needed

Game being played with all four player areas in use

In the box

Portable and built to stay together

Solid wood, compact enough for the kitchen table or a caravan. No pieces to lose. No cardboard that softens over time. Jaques games from 1795 were made to hand down,this one plays the same at year one and year ten.

✓ Fits on any family table
✓ Four players play at once
✓ Nothing to assemble or charge

Born in 1795. Made to last.

Was £30.99

Wooden Game - Shut The Box: £18.99

While they play

What Shut the Box quietly teaches

Looks like play. Works like a lesson.

🔢

Number recognition

Children see tiles 1,10 every turn. They find matching numbers without counting on fingers by round three.

➕

Addition and mental maths

Rolling two dice and adding them is the entry point. By game four, she's spotting number pairs and sums without thinking about it.

🎯

Strategy and foresight

She learns which tiles to flip now and which to save. That's decision-making disguised as play.

⏱️

Turn-taking and patience

Four players, one game, 20 minutes. Real structure. Real wait time. Real learning.

What families say about Jaques of London

What parents and grandparents say

★★★★★

"Excellent quality wood toys, so well made, no sharp edges, all lovely & smooth, very colourful & plenty of choice. Very reasonably priced & so beautifully wrapped you don't want to open them. Highly recommend this company."

Lynda Evans✓ Google review

★★★★★

"Fast delivery, excellent products, extremely good quality and long lasting. My granddaughter loves the toys from here. Good age ranges covered."

Danella Jones✓ Google review

★★★★★

"These toys tick all the boxes, educational, colourful, fun, well made and great service. I just keep buying more and more."

Irene Johnstone✓ Google review

★★★★★

"We love our toys from Jaques of London. The quality is excellent and they're the perfect size for little hands to hold and play with easily. Beautifully made, sturdy wooden toys that will last for years. Highly recommend!"

Tegan✓ Google review

★★★★★

"Harrods grade gifting for a very reasonable price. Not the usual tat from China. Had several hand picked orders fron Jaques, nice to know its a UK business with old school quality."

John A✓ Google review

★★★★★

"I am a real fan of this company. If only I had come across them years ago when my boys were little. It's my go to for beautiful, good quality toys for my granddaughter now and any gift I need to buy. They arrived quickly, prices are reasonable and the special touch is they are beautifully packaged too. I love the heritage of this business!"

Sarah Lardner✓ Google review

★★★★★ 4.8/5 rated by families across Google and Trustpilot: real reviews, quoted word for word

Get ready for life

Why real play matters

Real brain growth comes from real play.

20 mins

One round, one sitting

Not long enough for restlessness, long enough for real play. Four-player format means nobody drops out mid-game.

→

4 players

Everyone in at once

No "waiting for my turn" agony. All four play simultaneously, so the pace stays alive and nobody checks out.

→

No prep

Roll, flip, done

Open the box. Hand out dice. Play starts now. No rules to memorise, no pieces to sort, no app to load.

Why this matters right now

23,000+ Orders placed Families trust Jaques because we've been making games since 1795. No plastic quick-wins. Real wood that still plays after a decade.

2,3 days Ships within Order by 2pm, arrives Tuesday. We gift-wrap as standard,the packaging is how we say we know this matters.

60 days Warranty included If a tile cracks or a slat sticks, we replace it. Solid wood sometimes needs a tiny adjustment,we do that for free.

230 yrs of making things worth keeping Jaques of London has been crafting games and toys since 1795. This one is built to be handed down, not thrown out.

We really are different

Why Shut the Box beats the plastic dice-game aisle

	Jaques Wooden Game - Shut The Box	Cheap Alternatives
Material	✅	❌ Plastic gets brittle
Play life	✅	❌ Breaks in weeks
Weight and feel	✅	⚠️ Hollow and rattle-y
Tiles stay put	✅	❌ Flip loose after month one
Four players at once	✅	❌ Single-player versions only
No screens or batteries	✅	⚠️ Needs charging or app
Passed down to siblings	✅	❌ Ends up in landfill

Jaques

✅ Solid wood
✅ Plays for years
✅ Real weight
✅ Tiles stay tight
✅ Four play together
✅ No batteries
✅ Hand it down

Cheap alternatives

❌ Plastic breaks
❌ Weeks of life
⚠️ Feels cheap
❌ Loose flippers
❌ One player only
⚠️ Charging hassle
❌ Bin-bound

Born in 1795. Made to last.

Was £30.99

Wooden Game - Shut The Box: £18.99

30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

Not right? Return it within 30 days. Full refund, no questions.

Questions & answers

Questions parents ask before buying

Is this the right Shut the Box for my child's age?

Ages 6 and up, including adults,the rules don't change, but younger kids need a number-spotting adult nearby for the first two games. That's actually the magic: you play together. If you're buying for a younger child (4,5), pair it with hands-on counting time rather than solo play, and the learning sticks twice as fast.

What makes it worth more than the plastic version?

Not the usual tat from China, as one parent put it. Solid, sustainably sourced wood. Hand-finished tiles that don't loosen. Weight that signals durability. Played for years, passed to siblings, eventually passed to *their* kids,that's pennies per game. The plastic one breaks after five minutes of real play.

Will it actually get played, or will it sit in the cupboard?

Shut the Box works because the round is short (20 minutes), all four play at once (nobody gets bored waiting), and the rules take 30 seconds to explain. One parent said their 4-year-old didn't ask for the iPad for 20 minutes straight,and played three rounds before lunch. That's screen-time you actually got back.

What if a tile or slat breaks?

60-day warranty covers manufacturing faults. After that, solid wood sometimes needs a tiny adjustment,a slat that's tightened or a tile that's re-seated. Email us, we sort it. Toys that don't break after five minutes of play, as another parent said, don't need replacing,they need fixing once in a blue moon.

How much does it cost?

The Wooden Game - Shut The Box is £18.99 today (down from £30.99). Klarna is available at checkout if you prefer to spread the cost.

What's your returns policy?

30 days, full refund, no conditions. Return it for any reason and we refund in full. We've been standing behind what we make since 1795.

Born in 1795. Made to last.

Was £30.99

Wooden Game - Shut The Box: £18.99

Our story

Making toys worth keeping since 1795.

Jaques of London was founded in 1795. We invented croquet, table tennis, and the Staunton chess set. For 230 years, we've been making things that pull children away from passive entertainment and into active, curious, hands-on play.

Shut the Box has lived in British homes since Jaques first made it in 1795. We chose it for this four-player version because the game does exactly what a game should: it teaches without lecturing, it gathers people around a table, and it survives childhood. Solid wood, hand-finished tiles, four independent playing zones,nothing engineered to fail. We make it the way we've always made things: to be played, and then passed on.

Toys and games that leave something behind: a skill, a memory, a piece of play that gets passed on.
Joe, Jaques of London

Ready when you are