How to Play Tic-Tac-Toe: Rules and How to Never Lose
Tic-tac-toe (also called noughts and crosses) is played on a 3×3 grid. One player is X and goes first, the other is O. Players take turns writing their mark in an empty square. The first to get three in a row across, down or diagonally wins. If all nine squares fill up with no line, the game is a draw.
How to never lose
- Win if you can. If you have two in a row with the third square empty, take it.
- Block if you must. If your opponent has two in a row, block the third square right away.
- Make a fork. A fork is a move that creates two winning threats at once. Your opponent can only block one.
- Take the center or a corner. When there is nothing to win or block, the center is the strongest square, then the corners.
Best openings
As X, starting in a corner sets the most traps. If O answers anywhere except the center, X can usually force a win. As O, always answer a corner opening by taking the center, and answer a center opening by taking a corner.
Why the hard bot never loses
Tic-tac-toe is a "solved" game: with perfect play from both sides it always ends in a draw. Our hard bot looks at every possible game, so the best you can do against it is a draw. That still earns you a point on Royal Duels. To win, play the easy or medium bot, or challenge a friend.
A little history
Games of three in a row are very old. Boards for similar games have been found scratched into stone from ancient Egypt and Rome. In 1952, tic-tac-toe became one of the first games ever played on a computer.
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