Noughts and crosses against the computer or a friend on one device. Pick Easy, Medium or Hard; Hard never loses, so a draw counts as a win.
1–3 min1–2 players Made for touch
Tap a square to place your mark
Play the computer or a friend
Get three in a row
A little about the game
Meet Tic-Tac-Toe
Noughts and crosses against the computer or a friend on one device. Pick Easy, Medium or Hard; Hard never loses, so a draw counts as a win.
How to play Tic-Tac-Toe
Choose the computer or a friend on this device. Against the computer, pick Easy, Medium or Hard and whether you play X (first) or O (second). Tap a square to place your mark; the first player to get three in a row, column or diagonal wins, and a full board is a draw. Hint (3 per game) points at a strong square, and Undo takes back your last move and the computer's reply. Keyboard: press 1 to 9 to place a mark (1 is top-left, 9 is bottom-right), use the arrow keys and Enter to move around the board, H for a hint and U to undo.
A tip for your next run
Take the centre or a corner first. Hard never loses, so a draw against it is a good result.
Can you win at Tic-Tac-Toe every time?
No. When both players make the best move every turn, Tic-Tac-Toe always ends in a draw. Hard plays a full search of every possible continuation and never loses, so the best you can do against it is draw. Easy and Medium can be beaten: Medium plays a random move about one turn in five.
Is Tic-Tac-Toe the same as noughts and crosses?
Yes. Noughts and crosses is the British name for the same game: two players take turns marking a three by three grid with X or O, and the first to get three in a row, column or diagonal wins.
How many possible Tic-Tac-Toe games are there?
There are 255,168 different games from the empty board to a finish, and 5,478 different positions can appear along the way. Of those games, 131,184 are won by X, 77,904 by O and 46,080 end in a draw.
How does the Tic-Tac-Toe computer choose its moves?
Easy mostly plays random squares and only sometimes spots a win. Medium takes a win, blocks yours, makes a fork, then prefers the centre, corners and sides, with an occasional random slip. Hard searches every possible continuation, so it never loses.
Who goes first in Tic-Tac-Toe?
X always goes first. Against the computer you choose to play X and move first, or O and let the computer open. Between two people on one device, X starts.
Are my Tic-Tac-Toe results saved?
Yes, on this device. Wins, losses and draws are kept for each difficulty level, along with your win streak against the computer. Games against a friend are counted separately and never change the streak. Clearing your browser data starts the record over.
Quick answers about Tic-Tac-Toe
What is Tic-Tac-Toe?
Tic-Tac-Toe is a free party game you play in your browser. It is also listed under Brain & Puzzle, Retro Classics and Quick Play. Noughts and crosses against the computer or a friend on one device. Pick Easy, Medium or Hard; Hard never loses, so a draw counts as a win.
Is Tic-Tac-Toe free to play?
Yes. Tic-Tac-Toe is free on SlayArcade, with no download or install. It runs in your browser on desktop, tablet and mobile.
Can I play Tic-Tac-Toe on my phone?
Yes. Tic-Tac-Toe works in the browser on phones and tablets with touch controls, and on a computer with a mouse or keyboard. The how-to-play section on this page lists the exact controls.
How long does a game of Tic-Tac-Toe take?
A session takes about 1–3 min.
How many people can play Tic-Tac-Toe?
Tic-Tac-Toe is for 1–2 players, taking turns on the same device.
