How To Never Lose At Tic-Tac-Toe
- May 14, 2009
- 22,532 Views
Voice Over Artist
Tiffany Baker
Writer
Howcast Studios
Almost anyone knows how to play tic-tac-toe, but not everyone knows the strategy that guarantees they’ll never lose another game.
You Will Need
- An opponent
- A pencil or pen
- Paper
Step 1: Draw a tic-tac-toe board
Draw your tic-tac-toe board on a piece of paper using a pen or pencil. It should have nine squares total, with three on the top, three in the middle, and three on the bottom.
Step 2: Get the first turn
Whether you are flipping a coin or throwing dice, you need to win the right to the first move if you don’t want to lose the game.
Step 3: Mark the center square
Mark the center square with an “X” or an “O.” This is the key to guaranteeing you’ll never lose in tic-tac-toe when you have the first move.
Following this rule will not guarantee you a win. It will guarantee that, even against a tic-tac-toe master, you will never lose.
Step 4: Go to the right
After your opponent makes their mark, look to see if there is a square to the right of it available. If so, take it with your next move.
Step 5: If you can't go right, go left
If the square to the right isn’t available, take the square to the left with your next move.
Step 6: If you can't go right or left, go above
If the squares to the right and left are taken, place your next mark above their last mark.
Step 7: If all else fails, go below
If the squares to the right and left and above your opponent’s last move are taken, choose the square below it.
Step 8: Repeat
Repeat the right-left-above-and-below rule for each move you play. Congratulations! You may not win, but you’ll never be a loser.
In the movie “WarGames,” war is averted when the computer is shown that nuclear war, like tic-tac-toe, can not be won.
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Comments (10)
OHHHH YEAH YO GOING DOWN GRANDMA!!!
over 2 years ago by shelly_shellz
This rocks and or rolls! You two make quite the team.....
over 2 years ago by deliciousbeam
AWESOME! What can I say more?
over 2 years ago by crazyp3t3
Yeah I figured this out a long time ago. Good vid.
over 2 years ago by kpfingaz
Lol nice cast! some drunk emo's with black lipstick who want to beat each other at tick-tack-toe Bravo! as if they have nothing more to do.
over 2 years ago by N_Lexie_101
nice, well done.
over 2 years ago by dogtide
Oh damn, the above only makes sense with line breaks, which they apparently don't allow ...
Marked myself as spam, hope someone removes that pile of signs :)
about 1 year ago by TinoK
This doesn't work, you guys fail, there's one way to win , you have to use that rule AND common sense, that rule wont always work.
about 1 year ago by David_Clayton_Bradshaw
wow i went to Denny's and played my brother and i won every single time lol! XD
about 1 year ago by awesomeus
With the system in the video you might not loose but also you might have the chance to win and miss it.
Now here is the only way to always win IF POSSIBLE:
You must hope for the opponent to make a mistake in one of the first two choices he makes...
-Start in the middle like they say
-now the oponent has basically two choices: choosing a middle or choosing an edge.
--if he chooses a middle, you have won (you X, opponent O):
?O?
?X?
???
->; (if it's another middle, mentaly rotate the pictures)
?OX
?X?
???
->; forces him to
?OX
?X?
O??
->; you can close the trap, leaving you with 2 sets of 2
?OX
?XX
O??
->; you can close off downwards or sideways.
-- now if the opponent chooses an edge in his first round, he did right. But you have one more chance. always choose the edge to the exact opposite side and hope that instead of an edge, he chooses another middle, then you have won:
??O
?X?
???
->;like described above, choose the exact opposite
??O
?X?
X??
->;hope he does this
??O
?XO
X?X
->;he basically forced you into winning, now you can close off sideways and diagonally
That's the system that gives you the best chance of winning.
-IF YOU DON'T BEGIN ... simply remember to block off edges in the first two rounds and at least you won