‘Tic-Tac-Toe’, You Only Need Three in a Row!
Tic-Tac-Toe is a game that has been around for millennia. Wherever kids have been bored and able to draw a grid with chalk, it has been.
Tic-Tac-Toe is one of the simplest, fastest, and oldest games that we still play today. It can be played anywhere, from electronically on a computer screen, to drawn onto the window condensation on the school bus. Rounds usually last just moments, but can get as competitive and contentious as a bigger board game. So where did this game of three in a row come from?
Tic-Tac-Toe
Also known as “tick-tack-toe,” “tit-tat-toe,” and “naughts and crosses,” Tic-Tac-Toe is a very simple competitive pen-and-paper puzzle game. It’s often used to fill a few bored moments while waiting for something. And being easy to play, fast to complete, and endlessly portable, it’s a perfect game for wasting some time on the go.
Tic-Tac-Toe is played by two players who take turns drawing Xs and Os on a grid with the goal of getting a consecutive line of three. Simple enough that it is often one of the first games children learn to play against other people, but timeless enough that even adults will use tic-tac-toe to speed up a couple of minutes.
READ MORE: Sometimes You’re Playing Solo: Solitaire Explained
History of Tic-Tac-Toe
Games like Tic-Tac-Toe date back to ancient Egypt, where ‘three in a row’ game boards have been found on roofing tiles dating back to 1300 BC.
During the Roman Empire, two games called terni lapilli (three pebbles at a time) and three men’s morris were played. Both are very similar to modern day tic-tac-toe. Terni lapilli players would move three rocks each around the empty spaces on a chalk grid, and three men’s morris required rows of three. These chalk grids are were still visible all over Rome as ancient parts of the city were studied.
In modern times, ‘noughts and crosses’ first appeared referenced in print in an 1858 issue of Notes and Queries, while ‘tick-tack-toe’ was written about as a children’s game in 1884. The name and spelling we know tic-tac-toe was in America didn’t come about until the 20th century.
In 1952 Tic-Tac-Toe became one of the first known computer games with “OXO.” Here you could play against a computer who would play a perfect game of tic-tac-toe. Similarly, in 1975 students at MIT made a computer almost entirely out of Tinkertoys that would also play Tic-Tac-Toe perfectly. This is still on display at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA.
How to Play
Tic-Tac-Toe is one of the easiest games possible to play and has almost no setup. First two lines are drawn horizontally and two more vertically to make a three by three grid with nine empty spaces. Players then pick if they were place “Xs” or “Os” and take turns writing those symbols in the grid.
Each player wants to get a line of three of their symbol vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. But both players also want to block their opponent from getting three in a row. Players are therefore both playing offensively and defensively.
Many games of Tic-Tac-Toe end in a draw where nobody manages to land a winning three in a row.
Variations
There are many variations on tic-tac-toe, all using the same or similar rules, but with a little twist.
Three-dimensional Tic-Tac-Toe is played on a three-by-three-by-three board. Other games are played on four-by-four boards with a goal of four in a row. Or, some combine them for three-dimensional four-by-four grid tic-tac-toe. And, in the “wild” vesion, each player may choose to draw an X or an O on their turn. Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe uses nine standard tic-tac-toe boards arranged in a gigantic board.
Other variants of tic-tac-toe exist, but many are somewhat mathematical and theoretical as opposed to light and fun.
What is the Best First Move in Tic-Tac-Toe?
Many agree that the best and most versatile first place to put your marker is the center. It opens players up to the possibility of winning a vertical, a horizontal, and both diagonal lines. Others argue that putting your piece in the corner is the best move for similar reasons.
What is The Minimum Number of Moves to Win Tic-Tac-Toe?
The fewest movies you’d need to win is five, three of yours, two of your opponents.
A game of standard three-by-three Tic-Tac-Toe can last a maximum of nine moves.
Does the Person Who Goes First Always Win?
No. There are more available paths to three in a row for the first player to place a marker. But the second player can win. That said, if both opponents are playing competitively and optimally, games with most often end in a draw.
Is Tic-Tac-Toe Fun?
That’s subjective. But games last only a few seconds. And would it have stuck around for three thousand years if it wasn’t at least a little more fun?
Happy adventuring!
