Playing Tic Tac Toe with a friend: formats, handicaps and house rules
Tic Tac Toe is at its best as a quick duel. A few simple rules about who starts, how you keep score and what you play for turn it into a proper match.
Make it fair: alternate who starts
Going first is a real advantage in Tic Tac Toe. The first player gets five marks on a full board, the second only four, and in casual games the first player wins far more often. If the same person always starts, the score won't reflect who plays better.
The simple fix is to alternate the starting player every round, regardless of who won. The TicTacToe app does this automatically when you play with a friend on one device: X opens the first round, and the starting player switches every round after that.
Choose a match format
A single game is over in under a minute, so most people play a series. Some formats that work well:
| Format | How it works | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Best of five | First to three wins. Draws don't count. | A short, decisive match |
| Fixed number of rounds | Play ten rounds, then compare wins. | Evenly matched players with lots of draws |
| Running tally | Keep counting across days or weeks. | Siblings, couples, office rivals |
| King of the table | The winner stays, a new challenger plays next. | Groups of three or more |
Whatever you choose, make sure the number of rounds is even, so both players start the same number of times. The app's scoreboard keeps wins and draws for every round in two-player mode until you reset it, so you don't need paper to keep track.
When one player is much stronger
If one of you knows the strategy and the other doesn't, the stronger player will never lose and the weaker player will rarely win. These handicaps even things out:
- The weaker player always starts. The simplest handicap, and often enough on its own.
- No centre or corner on the first move. The stronger player has to open on an edge, the least dangerous opening.
- A draw counts as a win for the weaker player. This changes the stronger player's goal from "don't lose" to "find a win", which is much harder.
- Teach while playing. The stronger player says out loud when they see a threat. It turns the game into a lesson. More on this in Tic Tac Toe for kids.
When you're both good: breaking the draws
Two players who both know the strategy will draw almost every game. That's the nature of a solved game. To keep it interesting:
- Speed rounds. Give each player two or three seconds per move. Under time pressure, even experienced players miss forks.
- Draws go to the second player. Then the first player has to take risks to win, and the second player wins by defending perfectly. Swap roles every round.
- Misère rounds. Three in a row loses. Your strategy instincts suddenly work against you.
- Switch to a variant. Ultimate Tic Tac Toe or five in a row on graph paper have much more depth. See Tic Tac Toe variants.
Where to play
The classic way is pencil and paper, and it's still great. Phones have a few advantages when you're on the move: no paper or pen to find, the board is always tidy, the score is kept for you, and you can't argue about whose turn it is. In the TicTacToe app, choose Play with a friend, put the phone or iPad between you, and take turns tapping. It works offline, so it's handy on planes, trains and anywhere with no signal.
Etiquette for a friendly match
- A mark placed is a mark played: no take-backs, unless you've agreed on them for a learner.
- Agree on the format before the first round, not after the score starts to matter.
- If you win with a clever fork, explain it afterwards. The next game will be better for it.
And if your friend keeps beating you, how to win at Tic Tac Toe covers everything you need for the rematch.