What is Ten tiles?
The ten-tile game is played exactly like the standard one, with one more tile in the box: the 10. On your turn you roll two dice and shut any open tiles that add up to the total, and you keep rolling until no open tiles match the roll. Your score is what the open tiles add up to, and the lowest score wins.
The extra tile closes on a roll of 10, or together with the 1 on an 11, or with the 2 on a 12. Two dice make 10 or more only one throw in six, so the 10 is the tile most likely to be left standing, and it is the most expensive tile to leave. All ten tiles add up to 55. You switch to one die only once every tile from 7 to 10 is shut.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Shut the Box | Ten tiles |
|---|---|---|
| Tiles | Standard Shut the BoxNine tiles, 1 to 9. | Ten tilesTen tiles, 1 to 10. |
| Worst score | Standard Shut the Box45, when no tile is shut. | Ten tiles55, when no tile is shut. |
| Closing the highest tile | Standard Shut the BoxThe 9 closes on a 9, or with smaller tiles on a 10, 11 or 12. | Ten tilesThe 10 closes on a 10, or with smaller tiles on an 11 or 12. |
| One die | Standard Shut the BoxOnce 7, 8 and 9 are all shut. | Ten tilesOnce 7, 8, 9 and 10 are all shut. |
| Other options | Standard Shut the BoxThe one-die choice and shut to win can be switched on. | Ten tilesThe same options work on the ten-tile box. |
History
The classic Shut the Box has nine tiles, numbered 1 to 9, but boxes with ten or twelve tiles are recognised variations of the game. All ten tiles of a ten-tile box add up to 55, against 45 for the nine-tile box and 78 for twelve tiles.
The usual one-die rule names the tiles 7, 8 and 9 of the classic box. On the ten-tile box this site applies it to every tile from 7 up, so the 10 has to be shut as well.