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Impossible Tic Tac Toe

Our Hard bot plays 3×3 perfectly. You can’t beat it — can you hold the draw?

Opponent
Difficulty
YouX · moves first
BotO · Medium

Your move

Why you can't win

On a 3×3 board the Hard bot searches every possible continuation before it moves, so it never misses a win and never walks into a loss. Every time we update the site, a test plays it against every possible sequence of moves — with the bot going first and going second — and it never loses.

Tic tac toe is a solved game: with perfect play from both sides it's always a draw. So against this bot, a draw is a perfect score. Make one slip and it wins.

How to hold the draw

  • Going second and the bot opens in a corner? Take the centre. It's the only one of your eight replies that doesn't lose.
  • If it opens in the centre, take a corner. An edge loses.
  • Going first? Every opening draws with perfect play. A corner gives a human the most ways to go wrong — just not this opponent.

Stuck? Press Hint to see which squares win, draw or lose. The full playbook is in How to win at tic tac toe, and the numbers behind it in Is tic tac toe solved?

Questions people ask

Can you beat impossible tic tac toe?

No. On 3×3 the Hard bot searches every possible continuation and never loses, so the best you can do is a draw.

How do you draw against an unbeatable tic tac toe bot?

Answer a corner opening with the centre, and a centre opening with a corner. Then block every two-in-a-row the moment it appears.

Is tic tac toe always a draw?

With perfect play from both sides, yes — every first move leads to a draw. Yet of all 255,168 possible games, only 46,080 end in a draw.

More ways to play

Play a friend onlineNew: create a game, send the link, and play live on two devices. CLASH — everyone moves at onceNew: tic tac toe for 2–4 players. Pick the same square as someone else and it cracks. Classic tic tac toeThree in a row on the board everyone knows. 4×4 tic tac toeFour in a row on 16 squares — only 10 ways to win. 5×5 tic tac toeFour in a row with room for traps: 28 winning lines. 6×6 tic tac toeThe big board. With perfect play, the first player wins. Infinite tic tac toeOur Fade mode on 3×3: keep three marks, lose the oldest. 2 player tic tac toePlay a friend on one screen, with Best of 3.