How to Win Tic-Tac-Toe Every Time (or Never Lose)
Nobody can win Tic-Tac-Toe every time: if both players make no mistakes, every game is a draw. What you can do is never lose and win whenever your opponent slips. Go first, take a corner, and aim for a fork, a move that makes two lines of three at once so your opponent can only block one.
Can you win Tic-Tac-Toe every time?
No, and it helps to know why. Tic-Tac-Toe is a solved game: every possible position has been worked out, and with perfect play from both sides the game always ends in a draw. So the real goal is two things at once: play so that you can never lose, and set traps that win against anyone who makes a single wrong move.
The good news is that most people do make that wrong move, especially on their second turn. The rest of this guide shows you exactly which moves are mistakes and how to punish them.
In the diagrams below, squares are numbered by move order. X always goes first.
The best first move: take a corner
The centre is the most popular opening and it's perfectly safe, but a corner gives your opponent more ways to go wrong. Against a corner, the second player has exactly one reply that holds the draw: the centre. Every other reply loses against correct play.
Here's what happens if they answer your corner with an edge square next to it (a very common reply):
- X takes the top-left corner (1). O takes the top-middle edge (2).
- X takes the centre (3). Now X threatens top-left to bottom-right, so O must block the bottom-right corner (4).
- X takes the middle-left edge (5). X now threatens the middle row and the left column. O can only block one, and X wins next turn.
If O answers the corner with the opposite corner, X takes another corner (say top-right). O must block the top row, and X then takes the last free corner on the left side, making two threats at once: the left column and the diagonal. Again O can block only one.
What a fork is, and how to set one up
Every forced win in Tic-Tac-Toe ends with a fork: one move that creates two separate lines that each need just one more mark. You can't block two squares in a single turn, so a fork wins on the spot.
To build forks, think in corners. A corner square sits on three lines (a row, a column and a diagonal), the centre sits on four, and an edge square on only two. Two of your marks in corners plus the centre give you more overlapping lines than anything else, which is why corner-and-centre patterns produce most forks.
The other half of the trick is forcing moves. In the diagram above, X3 makes a threat, so O's reply (O4) is forced. Because O has to block, O never gets a free move to stop the fork that's coming. Threat, forced block, fork: that's the rhythm of almost every win.
Before every move, run this check in order: 1) Can I win right now? 2) Must I block a line of two? 3) Can I make a fork? 4) Can I make a threat that forces a reply? Only then think about anything else.
If you start in the centre
When X opens in the centre, O must answer in a corner. An edge reply loses. Here's how X punishes it:
If O does reply in a corner, the game should be a draw. X can still try the opposite corner to see whether O follows up with a careless corner of their own, but against good defence there is no forced win.
How to never lose when you go second
As O you can't force a win against good play, but you can guarantee a draw if you remember three rules:
- If X takes a corner, take the centre. It's the only safe reply.
- If X takes the centre, take a corner. Never an edge.
- If X takes an edge, the centre is the simplest safe reply (the corners next to X's mark or the edge opposite also hold).
Then watch for the classic trap. X takes a corner, you take the centre, and X takes the opposite corner. It looks natural to grab another corner here, but that loses: X blocks you and gets a fork. The right move is an edge. It makes a threat of your own, X has to block, and the game peters out into a draw.
How to beat impossible Tic-Tac-Toe
An "impossible" Tic-Tac-Toe bot is one that plays perfectly, and a perfect player can't be beaten. The best anyone can do against it is a draw. If you ever see a video or post claiming a trick that beats a perfect bot, either the bot isn't really perfect or the clip isn't showing the whole game.
That's still useful practice. Playing a perfect opponent teaches you the safe replies until they're automatic, and those are the same replies that stop you losing to people. On GameLake, Hop the frog plays perfectly on Hard, so a draw there is a good result. Easy and Medium make real mistakes, which makes them the place to practise the forks above.
Common mistakes
- Chasing your own line and missing theirs. Always check for your opponent's two-in-a-row before going for yours.
- Taking an edge as your first move as O. Against a corner or centre opening, it loses.
- Answering opposite corners with a corner. In the corner, centre, opposite-corner position, play an edge.
- Making a threat that helps them. A threat forces a block. Make sure the square they block with doesn't give them a line of two that you then have to answer.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a way to always win Tic-Tac-Toe?
No. With perfect play from both players the game is always a draw. You can make sure you never lose, and you'll win whenever your opponent makes a mistake, which is often.
What is the best first move in Tic-Tac-Toe?
A corner. It's as safe as the centre and gives the second player only one correct reply (the centre). Every other answer to a corner opening loses.
Who has the advantage in Tic-Tac-Toe?
The first player. Both sides can force a draw, but X has more ways to set traps, so X wins more often in casual games.
How do you beat impossible Tic-Tac-Toe?
You can't. An impossible bot plays perfectly, so the best result is a draw. Use it to practise the safe replies, then use forks to beat players who make mistakes.
What is a fork in Tic-Tac-Toe?
A move that creates two different lines of two at once. Your opponent can block only one, so you complete the other and win.