Tic-tac-toe maker

How to play

1. Choose a board and check together that both players can see the whole grid before the first move.
2. Players take turns placing an X or an O in an empty square. X always goes first.
3. The first player to get three marks in a row across, down or diagonally wins. On a big board, four in a row wins.
4. If every square is full and nobody has a line, the game is a draw.
5. Record each result in the tally row under the board, one mark for each win or draw.

Tips

• On a classic board, the centre square belongs to more winning lines than any other, so it is often a good first move.
• Use a different pencil for each player, or write X and O clearly, so nobody is unsure whose move it was.
• Play several rounds and keep the tally to see who takes the series.
• Classic boards suit quick breaks. Big and ultimate boards are better for longer, more thoughtful games.
• Large print puts fewer, bigger boards on each page, which suits a classroom or a group around one table.

Where it comes from

Tic-tac-toe goes by many names: noughts and crosses in the UK, tres en raya in Spain, jogo da velha in Brazil, morpion in France, 井字棋 in China and XO in many Arabic-speaking countries. Whatever it is called, the game is the same, with two players, one grid and three marks in a row.

Questions