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

No batteries
Plays 4 people
Ages 6+
Solid wood
2-3 business days
Hand-finished
30-day returns
Klarna available

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

as seen in

Real talk

You buy it once. Your grandchildren might still be playing it.

A Jaques Shut the Box from 1998 is in someone's cupboard right now, still working. This 4-player version is built the same way: solid wood, weighted tiles, no plastic hinges to snap. It teaches counting, strategy and mental maths while doing something simpler: keeping everyone at the table.

For a buyer like you, that maths is easy. One purchase instead of replacing cheap alternatives every few years. One less thing to feel guilty about.

Joe Jaques, Jaques of London

What's in the box

What you're getting

Everything needed to play. No assembly, no batteries, no missing pieces two months in.

4-player Shut the Box wooden game, front view showing numbered tiles and wooden slats

In the box

Wooden game board with 4 playing areas

Four separate play sections, each with numbered tiles 1 through 10 and smooth-turning wooden slats. Built from solid, sustainable wood and hand-finished to last.

✓ Numbered tiles 1-10 per player
✓ Smooth wooden hinges, no plastic
✓ Durable enough for travel or home

Pair of wooden dice for rolling in Shut the Box

In the box

2 wooden dice

Wooden dice that feel solid in hand. No rattling plastic, no loose dots. Roll, add, close the tiles that match.

✓ Solid wood construction
✓ Tactile and weighted
✓ Played thousands of times

Rules card and game instruction sheet for Shut the Box

In the box

Clear rules and strategy guide

Easy to learn in one round. Simple rules let players of any age pick it up in minutes. Advanced players develop tactics.

✓ Plays in 15-30 minutes
✓ Ages 6 to adult
✓ No hidden complexity

Still plays like it did in 1995

Was £30.99

Wooden Game - Shut The Box: £18.99

While they play

What it quietly teaches

Looks like play. Works like a lesson.

🔢

Number bonds and addition

Roll two dice, add them together, close matching tiles. Every turn reinforces mental arithmetic under gentle pressure. Children notice they're faster by round three.

🎯

Strategic thinking

Which tiles to close? Which to save? Players aged 8+ spot patterns and plan ahead. Even 6-year-olds learn cause and effect.

🤝

Turn-taking and patience

Four players means waiting and watching. No screens, no rushing. Just presence and engagement, the kind you can't buy with an app.

💭

Problem-solving under pressure

Dice don't always cooperate. Players adapt, find alternatives, learn resilience. No 'I can't win', only 'I'll try a different way.'

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.

100M+

Toys and games sold in 231 years

Jaques has made games for families since 1795. Not a claim, a fact. This is what happens when you stop chasing trends and build to last.

→

23,000+

Orders from families like yours

One purchase. Decades of play. Word spreads quietly when something actually works and doesn't break.

→

4 players

No one sits out

Roll, add, close. Everyone's involved every round. No 'whose turn is it?' battles. Just equal stakes and shared laughter.

Why this matters right now

Solid wood Not veneered, not plastic-hinged Every slat and tile is built to absorb years of play. Hand-finished, so it feels like something, not just something colourful.

2-3 business days Ships ready to play Order arrives with nothing to assemble, no batteries to hunt for, no instructions to decipher. Open, sit down, roll dice.

60-day guarantee Full peace of mind If anything fails in the first two months, we replace it. That's how sure we are. Most don't need it. Some just like knowing.

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 a Jaques Shut the Box costs more than the plastic one

	Jaques Wooden Game - Shut The Box	Cheap Alternatives
Material	✅	❌ Plastic hinges, hollow tiles
Tactile feel	✅	❌ Cheap, flimsy tiles
Years of play	✅	❌ Breaks within 2-3 years
Hand-finished	✅	⚠️ Factory moulded
Returns guarantee	✅	❌ 'As-is' only
Quiet, smooth action	✅	❌ Loud rattling
Passes to the next child	✅	❌ Landfill in 5 years

Jaques

✅ Solid wood
✅ Weighted tiles
✅ Lasts decades
✅ Hand-finished
✅ 60-day guarantee
✅ Smooth hinges
✅ Heirloom-ready

Cheap alternatives

❌ Plastic hollow
❌ Light, thin
❌ Breaks yearly
❌ Factory moulded
❌ No returns
❌ Sticky, noisy
❌ Throwaway

Still plays like it did in 1995

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

Real questions from buyers just like you

How do I know this is the right Shut the Box for my family?

Buying for a 6th birthday or family game night with mixed ages? This is the one. It plays 4 people equally, tiles are sized for smaller hands, and the maths scales as they grow. If you're buying for a 4-year-old, start with the 2-player version instead. Most of our reorders come from families who bought one, passed it on, then came back for a second.

Is it actually solid wood, or veneered?

Solid, sustainable wood throughout. John A said it best in his review: 'Not the usual tat from China.' Every tile, every hinge, every playing area is built from wood you can hold. That weight in your hand is why it feels different. No hollow plastic, no thin veneers that chip.

How quickly can I get it if I'm buying as a gift?

Ships within 2-3 business days, so order by midweek and it arrives before the weekend. Leigh Hemmings wrote 'arrived next day, saved Christmas'. Gift wrapping is available at checkout, and our packaging is wrapped like a gift already, not cardboard-slapped-with-tape. If you're in a panic, that's your edge.

Why does this cost more than the plastic version down the road?

Manda Monium put it plainly: 'worth every penny full price'. Solid wood costs more to source and finish than injection-moulded plastic. But spread that cost across 20 years of play, passed to cousins or your own next child, and it's pennies per game. The plastic one costs less upfront and more over time because you buy it twice before the wood one needs replacing once.

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.

Still plays like it did in 1995

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.

In 1795, Jaques began making games that lasted. Shut the Box is the kind of game that proves it: no trend, no relaunch. A simple rule set, solid wood, and a promise to keep making them right. We don't discount them because we've never needed to. Families buy one for their child, still have it when their grandchild is learning to count. That's not marketing. That's what happens when you stop chasing sales and start building things that don't break.

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