Free to play, no account needed
Play tic tac toe online, free.
Take on the computer or hand your phone to a friend. Twelve versions, three difficulty settings, no waiting around.
- Free forever
- No sign up
- No download
- Works offline
Classic, move 9
X wins
The anti diagonal, taken on the last move of the game.
What you get here
Tic tac toe, also called noughts and crosses or Xs and Os, is a game for two players on a 3x3 grid. Players take turns marking squares and the first to line up three of their own marks wins. This site gives you that game for free in your browser, plus eleven other versions built on the same idea, from a 15x15 Gomoku board to a 4x4x4 cube.
Everything runs on your device. There is no account to make, no app to install and nothing to pay. Pick a game, pick how hard you want the computer to be, and play.
Every game
Twelve boards, one to twenty minutes each.
Each one is a genuinely different game with its own strategy, not a reskin of the last. Start with what you know and work outward.
Start here
The ones you can play without reading anything.
Bigger boards
More room, longer lines, real strategy.
Gomoku
Five in a row on 15x15. The classic board game.
- Board
- 15x15
- Objective
- 5 in a row
- Typical length
- 10 to 15 min
3D Qubic
Four levels, 4x4x4, seventy six ways to win.
- Board
- 4x4x4
- Objective
- 4 in a row
- Typical length
- 5 to 10 min
Ultimate
Nine boards in one. Your move decides where they play next.
- Board
- 9x9
- Objective
- Win 3 boards
- Typical length
- 10 to 20 min
Rules that bite back
Same grid, upside down goals.
Misere
Three in a row and you lose. Everything flips.
- Board
- 3x3
- Objective
- Avoid 3 in a row
- Typical length
- 1 min
Wild
Play either mark on any turn. Finish a line, win the game.
- Board
- 3x3
- Objective
- 3 in a row
- Typical length
- 2 min
Notakto
Both players place X. Make a line and you lose.
- Board
- 3x3
- Objective
- Avoid 3 in a row
- Typical length
- 1 min
Numerical
Odds against evens. Land a line on exactly 15.
- Board
- 3x3
- Objective
- Line adding to 15
- Typical length
- 3 min
Why play here
Built like a tool, not a games portal.
casual / sharp / master
An opponent that actually plays
Three settings. Casual leaves you room to win. Sharp punishes lazy moves. Master reads the small boards to the last square, so on 3x3 you can draw it but you cannot beat it.
Try Masterpass and play
Two players, one screen
Hand the phone back and forth, or copy the game link and send it. The whole board sits inside that link, so they open it, play a move and send it back. Nothing to install on either end.
Play a friendgame review
See where you went wrong
When a game ends, the engine grades every move you made and points at the one that decided it, along with the move that would have won instead.
Play and reviewdaily puzzle
A new puzzle every day
One position, one forced win, two moves to find it. Same puzzle for everybody, and the win is proven before the puzzle ever reaches you. Keep a streak going.
Today's puzzle12 games, 1 engine
Twelve real versions
Not one board with different paint. Ultimate nests nine grids inside one. Numerical swaps marks for sums. Qubic goes 3D. Quantum puts every move in two squares at once.
Browse themprivate by default
Nothing in your way
No pop up asking you to register. No countdown before you can play. Your record and settings live on your device and go nowhere else.
How it worksGame theory
Which of these can you actually win?
Several of these games have a known answer under perfect play. Knowing which is which tells you whether to fight for the first move or settle for a draw.
| Game | Board | With perfect play |
|---|---|---|
| Classic | 3x3 | Tic tac toe is a solved game. With correct play from both sides the 3x3 board always ends in a draw, which is why you cannot beat the Master setting here. |
| Ultimate | 9x9 | Ultimate tic tac toe has never been solved. The position count runs past 10 to the power of 40, which puts it far beyond what anyone has searched. |
| 5x5 | 5x5 | On a 5x5 board with four in a row, the first player has a known winning strategy. |
| 7x7 | 7x7 | A 7x7 board sits between Classic and Gomoku, which makes it the easiest place to learn how counting threats actually works. |
| Gomoku | 15x15 | Gomoku was solved in 1994. Free style Gomoku is a first player win, which is exactly why tournaments add opening restrictions to even it out. |
| Misere | 3x3 | Reverse tic tac toe is also a draw with perfect play, but the mistakes are much easier to make, so real games swing far more often than in the normal version. |
| Wild | 3x3 | Wild tic tac toe is a first player win with correct play, and taking the centre is the move that does it. |
| Notakto | 3x3 | Notakto was analysed with combinatorial game theory in 2013. On a single board it is a first player win. |
| Numerical | 3x3 | The odd player wins Numerical tic tac toe with perfect play. It is often confused with the pool picking game called 15, which is equivalent to Classic and ends in a draw. The board version is a different game. |
| Order and Chaos | 6x6 | Order and Chaos is solved. Order wins with perfect play on the standard 6x6 board, which is why the sides are usually swapped between games. |
| Quantum | 3x3 | Quantum tic tac toe was invented in 2006 by physicist Allan Goff as a teaching tool for superposition and entanglement. The rules are a working analogy rather than a loose metaphor. |
| 3D Qubic | 4x4x4 | Oren Patashnik solved 4x4x4 Qubic in 1980 using a computer assisted proof. It is a first player win. |
FAQ
Tic tac toe questions, answered
Is this tic tac toe game free?
Yes, completely. Every game on this site is free to play with no account, no sign up, no email, no subscription and no download. Open the page and play. The site is paid for by ads, not by charging you.
Do I need to create an account or download anything?
No. There is nothing to install and nothing to sign up for. Tic tac toe runs inside your browser tab on phones, tablets and computers. Your difficulty setting and win record are saved on your own device, not on a server.
Can I play tic tac toe with a friend on the same device?
Yes. Switch the opponent setting to Two players and you take turns on one screen. You can also copy the game link and send it to someone. The whole board is stored in that link, so they open it and play their move, then send it back.
Can you always win at tic tac toe?
No. On the standard 3x3 board, tic tac toe is a solved game: if both players play correctly, it always ends in a draw. You can only win when your opponent makes a mistake. That is why the Master setting here can be drawn but never beaten.
What is the best first move in tic tac toe?
The centre. It sits on four of the eight winning lines, more than any other square. A corner sits on three lines and an edge on only two. If you move second and your opponent took the centre, reply in a corner, because replying on an edge loses to correct play.
How do you never lose at tic tac toe?
Take the centre when it is free, answer a centre opening with a corner, always block a line where your opponent already has two marks, and watch for forks, which are single moves that create two threats at once. Follow those four rules on a 3x3 board and you will never lose.
How many tic tac toe games are on this site?
Twelve. Classic 3x3, Ultimate 9x9, 5x5, 7x7, Gomoku on 15x15, Misere, Wild, Notakto, Numerical, 3D Qubic, Order and Chaos, and Quantum. All twelve are free and all of them play against the computer or against a friend.
Is there a tic tac toe that the first player can actually win?
Yes, several. Gomoku, 3D Qubic, Order and Chaos, Wild, Notakto and Numerical tic tac toe are all first player wins under perfect play. Only the plain 3x3 version and its Misere twin are guaranteed draws.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. The boards are sized for touch and the layout adapts to small screens. Once the page has loaded, the game keeps working even if you lose signal, because nothing is fetched from a server while you play.
How hard is the computer opponent?
There are three settings. Casual leaves you openings and will miss things on purpose. Sharp punishes loose moves. Master searches the small boards all the way to the end of the game, so on 3x3 it cannot be beaten, only drawn.
Pick a board and go.
Still free, still no account. Close the tab and your record is here when you come back.