Tic-Tac-Toe Games

Tic-tac-toe is the game of Xs and Os: two players take turns marking squares on a 3x3 grid, and whoever gets three in a row, across, down or diagonally, wins. It's the simplest pencil-and-paper game there is, and here you'll find about 40 games, the classic and its variants.

The classic

The most common are the usual ones: Tic Tac Toe, Tic Tac Toe Master, Tic Tac Toe Arcade, Tic Tac Toe Free or Tic Tac Toe Multiplayer, which says you can play against other people. With a paper look, there's Tic Tac Toe Paper Note and its sequel, and with a setting, Tic Tac Toe Office, Sunset Tic Tac Toe and Sonic Tic Tac Toe 3.

There's also the bigger cousin: 4 in a row, or Connect 4 (4 en Raya and Connect 4), which is similar but on a vertical grid of 7 columns by 6 rows. The pieces drop to the bottom, and you have to line up four of the same color.

How not to lose

Classic tic-tac-toe has one quirk: if both players play well, it always ends in a draw. In other words, you can't beat someone who doesn't slip. What you can do is take advantage of their mistakes. If you go first, start in the center or a corner. And the most important thing is to set up two lines at once: if a single move threatens two alignments, your opponent can only block one and you win.

In Connect 4 the trick is similar, with more room to work. The center column is the most valuable, because it takes part in more combinations. Thinking a couple of moves ahead makes a big difference, and here you really can win with technique, since whoever goes first has the advantage if they play perfectly.

Who it's for

Almost anyone: the rules take a minute to learn and a game is short. It's a good way to teach kids to think about the other player's turn, and a simple way to pass a few minutes.