A good tic tac toe strategy comes down to a handful of habits, and with them you can avoid defeat every single game, from either seat. This guide gives a plan for each seat, explains the reasoning, and walks through the positions where games are actually decided.
Why a perfect game is always a draw
Tic tac toe is a solved game. Computers have checked every legal sequence of moves, roughly 255,168 of them, and the result is settled: if both players choose the best move every turn, nobody wins. The first player cannot force a win against a sound defence, and the second player cannot force one either.
That changes what "strategy" means. Your real goal is never to lose, and to win whenever your opponent slips. Most opponents slip often, usually within the first two moves, so those two moves are where this guide spends its time.
Two ideas that run everything
To describe positions without a diagram, number the squares like a phone keypad: 1, 2, 3 across the top, 4, 5, 6 in the middle, 7, 8, 9 along the bottom. Square 5 is the centre. Squares 1, 3, 7 and 9 are corners. Squares 2, 4, 6 and 8 are edges.
- Forced blocks. If your opponent has two marks in a line and the third square is empty, you must fill it immediately, unless you can win on the spot. Check for this before every move of your own.
- Forks. A fork is one move that creates two separate threats at once. Your opponent can block only one, so you complete the other. Nearly every win in tic tac toe is a fork, and nearly every loss is a fork you did not see coming.
Going first (X)
Take a corner or the centre. Sources disagree on which is better, and the honest answer is that both draw with correct play. The difference is how many ways the other side can go wrong. After a corner opening, there are eight possible replies and only the centre holds the draw for O. After a centre opening, O must answer in a corner; the four edge replies lose. A corner therefore sets the harder test, while the centre is the cautious pick if you only care about not losing.
Say you open in square 1. What happens next depends on O's reply.
O takes the centre
Play the opposite corner, square 9. You have no threat yet, but O now has to find an edge. If O answers with a corner, you win: say O takes 3, which threatens 3-5-7. You block at 7, and that block also gives you 1-4-7 and 7-8-9 as open lines, a fork. Against an edge reply you can only keep blocking and take the draw.
O takes a corner
This loses by force. Suppose O plays 3. Take 7, which threatens 4. O must block there. Now play 9: you threaten 5 (the diagonal 1-5-9) and 8 (the bottom row 7-8-9) together. O cannot stop both.
O takes an edge
This also loses. Suppose O plays 2. Take the centre, 5, threatening 9. O must block at 9. Now play 7: you threaten 4 (1-4-7) and 3 (7-5-3). Two threats, one block, game over.
The pattern to remember
Each win follows the same recipe: make a threat that forces a reply, then use your next mark to open two lines at once. Before you move, ask which square would make two lines of two for you. If one exists, find the forcing move that gets you there.
Going second (O)
Playing second is pure defence plus opportunism. You answer the opening first, then block every threat and wait for a mistake. Here are the replies that hold:
| X opens in | You reply | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A corner | The centre | Any corner or edge reply lets X build a forced win. |
| The centre | Any corner | An edge reply loses to a fork. |
| An edge | The centre | It breaks up most of X's lines, then you block each threat in turn. |
After that, run a simple check each turn. First, can you complete a line? Do it. Second, does X have two in a line? Block it. Third, could X's next move create a fork? If so, take that square yourself, or make a threat that forces X elsewhere.
The trap that turns draws into losses
Here is the most common way O loses. X opens in square 1, you take the centre, and X plays the opposite corner, square 9. It feels natural to grab another corner. Don't. If you play 3, you threaten 3-5-7, X must block at 7, and that block hands X a fork (7-8-9 and 1-4-7).
Play an edge instead, such as 2. Now you threaten 2-5-8, so X must block at 8 and loses the initiative. Continue to block, and the board fills with no line of three. The rule: when you hold the centre and X holds two opposite corners, answer on an edge.
Practise against the computer
Reading about forks only goes so far. Super Tris Tic Tac Toe is a 3×3 game against the computer where you pick from three computer levels, Easy, Medium or Hard, and a scoreboard logs how you do. Harder levels unlock as you win. A sensible way to use the levels:
- Easy: try to win. Practise the corner opening and spotting forks.
- Medium: aim not to lose. Look for the opponent's threats before building your own.
- Hard: treat a draw as a success, since there is no forced win against careful defence.
When you want a board game with longer plans, Turkish Draughts can be played against the computer or a friend on the same device, and Ultimate Chess offers Easy, Medium and Hard levels too. More titles sit in the board games and puzzle categories.
Frequently asked questions
Does the first player always win?
No. Going first is an advantage because it gives you more chances to set up a fork, but a defender who answers correctly always draws.
What is the best first move?
Corner and centre both keep the draw in hand. A corner gives an inexperienced opponent more ways to err; the centre is the safer way to avoid losing.
Can I beat a computer that plays perfectly?
No, because a perfect player never makes the slip you would need. A draw is the best possible result, and the only way to win is for the computer to choose a weaker move.