How to win tic-tac-toe – Tic-tac-toe strategy

Tic-tac-toe is a pencil and paper game that is played between two players. To win this game you have to follow some strategies, which will help you a lot. As there are two players, one will go to put his mark first in the tic-tac-toe box. The player who goes first have the better possibilities to win the game, but the other player also has a side chance to go and win the game.

What is tic-tac-toe

The game which is played between two players with pencil and paper where they have to fill a row with their own marks is known as tic-tac-toe. The word tic-tac-toe is an American English word. It is also known as noughts and crosses game, which is a British English word. The game is played with a pencil and paper.

Types of players in tic-tac-toe

In this game, the players can be categorized into four levels.

Beginners: This is the level where players don’t follow any certain strategy to win the game. They make random moves and decrease the chance of winning the game. The player who wins the game making random moves doesn’t have so much credit of his own, because all credit goes to his luck. All in all, this is the level where players start to understand how to play the game strategically.

Intermediate: In this level, players are aware of a few basic strategies of this game, which helps them to avoid the defeat. Intermediate level players are quite capable of blocking their opponents from winning the game because they have already acquired the basic strategies of this game.

• Experienced: Players of this level know how to win the game and what things will make them lose the game. They have already mastered the strategies needed to win tic-tac-toe. So they have almost no chance of losing games when they go first. Meanwhile, in case they go second they of course have the chance of losing. But they have the ability to stop their opposition from achieving the victory.

How to win tic-tac-toe

 To win the game you have to draw your marks in a row, it doesn’t matter whether it is horizontal, vertical or diagonal. The first player going to put his marks in a row is going to win the game. The player who starts the game has a better chance of winning it. But the second player can also win the game if he is an expert or the opponent doesn’t follow certain strategies.

Two types of sign or mark are used in tic-tac-toe. The player going first typically uses X or cross sign. And the other one uses O or circle sign.  There are 3 rows and 3 columns in a tic-tac-toe box. You have to put or draw your marks in this box whenever it’s your turn. You should try to fill up the box with one row that contains only your marks, unless you won’t be able to win the game. It is mostly seen that, when both the players are from same category, the game results in a draw.

Tic-tac-toe strategy

The strategy for winning a tic-tac-toe game can be categorized into two types. One is when the player goes first and another is when the player goes second. Let’s discuss these two types of strategies in detail.

• When player goes first: When you are going first simply put your mark on center or corner box. This will create the maximum chances of winning the game for you. If you go with center then your opponent will put his first mark either in the corner or edge. If he goes for than it’s all your game. But if the opponent goes for a corner box then it turns a bit difficult for you to win the game. If they make a mistake then you will win the game, unless the game will end on a tie.
• Meanwhile if you put your first mark in corner, your opponent will go for center or corner or even any edge. If the opponent in reply goes away from center than there is no chance of winning the game for him. In that case, you will certainly win the game this way or that way. But if the opponent puts his mark in the center, this makes the game a bit interesting. There is still a great chance of winning the game but if the opponent is smart enough the game will surely tie. 
• When player goes second: You are going second means your opponent will put his mark first in the box. He can go with corner or center, if he knows the strategies well. If the opponent goes for center, in reply simply put your mark in corner. This will make the game interesting and create chances of not losing the game. Here you main task is to block and counter your opponent’s shots. And if you do so the game will end up on a tie.
• If your opponent chooses to put his first mark in a corner, then never go without the center in reply, because this will increase the opponent’s chances of winning the game. Then you have to try to put your marks on the edges, which will block the opponent’s shots and avoid the corners. Thus you can save the game and finish it with a tie.

So if you follow the strategies well you will never lose a game. Going first will surely give you more advantages, but you can also win games from going second although this is too much difficult.