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Play Classic tic tac toe free

Three rows, three columns, three in a row to win. This is the tic tac toe you learned as a kid, and it still holds up. Two people who both know what they are doing will draw every single time, so the whole game comes down to one question: can you go nine moves without slipping once?

Board: 3x3; Board
Goal: 3 in a row; Goal
Typical game: 1 min; Typical game
Difficulty: Light; Difficulty

Move 0

Loading the board

How to play

How to play Classic

1
X always goes first. Take turns putting your mark in any empty square.
2
Get three of your marks in a straight line across, down or diagonally, and you win.
3
Fill all nine squares with nobody getting a line and the game is a draw.

Strategy

What actually wins games

Grab the centre if it is open. Four of the eight winning lines run through it. A corner sits on three lines, an edge on only two.
If you go second and your opponent takes the centre, answer in a corner. Reply on an edge and a good player will beat you.
Watch for forks. One move that sets up two threats at once wins, because your opponent can only block one of them.

Can you win it?

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.

Try another board

All twelve games

Ultimate

Nine boards in one. Your move decides where they play next.

Board: 9x9
Objective: Win 3 boards
Typical length: 10 to 20 min

5x5

Twenty five squares, four in a row to win.

Board: 5x5
Objective: 4 in a row
Typical length: 3 to 5 min

7x7

Forty nine squares, five in a row.

Board: 7x7
Objective: 5 in a row
Typical length: 5 to 10 min