Tic-Tac-Toe
Play tic-tac-toe against the computer or a friend on the same device.
Tic-Tac-Toe
Play tic-tac-toe against the computer or a friend on the same device.
Starts in your browser. Instructions are below.
Controls
- Keyboard and mouse
- Click an empty square to place your X.
- Touch
- Tap an empty square to place your X.
Scoring and how to win
- Get three in a row across, down or diagonally before the computer does.
- Easy plays mostly at random, Medium always takes a win and blocks yours, and Hard plays perfectly.
- On Hard the best you can do is a draw, since perfect play by both sides always ends tied.
How to play Tic-Tac-Toe
- 01Pick an opponent: easy, medium, hard, or a second player on the same device.
- 02Tap any empty square to place your mark.
- 03Line up three in a row horizontally, vertically or diagonally to win.
About Tic-Tac-Toe
Tic-tac-toe is a solved game: with perfect play from both sides every match is a draw. That makes it a good way to see how a simple computer opponent thinks, because the hard mode never makes a mistake you can exploit.
Against a weaker opponent the center square is the strongest opening, followed by any corner. Creating two threats at once, known as a fork, is the only way to force a win once your opponent knows to block.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I beat the hard difficulty?
- No. Hard mode plays perfectly, so the best possible result against it is a draw.
- Can two people play?
- Yes, choose two-player mode and take turns on the same screen.
- Who goes first?
- You do by default, and the starting player alternates after each round.
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