Tic Tac Toe
Three in a row – who gets there first?
How to Play
Goal
Place three of your marks in a row – horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
Gameplay
Click an empty cell to place your mark (X or O). Players take turns.
Winner
First to get three in a row wins. If the board is full with no winner, it's a draw.
Strategy & tips
Open in a corner, not the centre. Against an opponent who does not play perfectly, the corner opening wins more often: it leaves exactly one saving reply, the centre. A centre opening leaves four saving replies.
Play for the fork. A fork is a position where you can complete two lines at once — your opponent can block only one. Almost every win at this game is a fork rather than a single overlooked line.
Defend in this order: win now if you can. Otherwise block their win. Otherwise build your own fork. Otherwise prevent theirs. Run those four checks every move and you will never lose.
Variants
Misère
Getting three in a row loses. Familiar patterns invert and even practised players miscalculate regularly.
Three pieces
Each player has only three pieces. Once all are placed, every turn moves one — which means games practically never end in a draw.
Larger grid
On a 4×4 or 5×5 board the guaranteed draw disappears and games open up considerably.
How it works
1. Create a game
Click "Create Game" and receive a 6-digit code.
2. Share the code
Share the code with your friends – via WhatsApp, Telegram, or just tell them.
3. Play instantly
Your friends enter the code and you start playing immediately. No login required!
Origin
Three in a row is among the oldest recorded games anywhere. The Roman world played Terni Lapilli, and matching grids are found scratched into stone in places where people had to wait.
In 1952 the game became the basis of OXO, one of the first computer games with a graphical display. It suits that purpose because its entire game tree is small enough to search exhaustively — with perfect play every game is drawn.
Frequently asked questions
Does every game end in a draw?
With perfect play on both sides, yes. The moment either player errs the game is decided — and errors happen more often than you would think.
Which opening move is best?
Against flawless opponents corner and centre are equivalent. Against humans the corner wins more often, because only one reply refutes it.
How many players do I need?
Exactly two. A game rarely takes longer than a minute.