Strategy guide
How to win at tic tac toe (and never lose)
Here's the honest truth first: against a perfect opponent, nobody can force a win at tic tac toe — the game always ends in a draw. But real opponents aren't perfect. With the rules below you will never lose, and you'll win most games against anyone who hasn't read this page.
The short version
- Win if you can. Block if you must. Otherwise, build a fork.
- Going first? Start in a corner.
- Going second? Answer a corner with the centre, and the centre with a corner.
- Forks — two threats at once — are how almost every game is won.
Throughout this guide, squares are named like a spreadsheet: columns A–C from left to right, rows 1–3 from top to bottom. So A1 is the top-left corner and B2 is the centre — the same names our game uses in its move list.
The three-step rule for every turn
Check these in order, every single move. This alone makes you impossible to beat by accident.
- Can I win right now? If you have two in a row with the third square empty, take it.
- Can my opponent win next turn? If they have two in a row with the third square empty, block it.
- Can I make a fork? Play a move that creates two different two-in-a-rows at once. Your opponent can only block one of them.
If none of those apply, prefer the centre, then corners, then edges. The centre sits on four of the eight possible lines, each corner on three, and each edge on only two.
The best first move: a corner
Every opening move draws if both players are perfect — we checked all of them. So the best opening is the one that gives your opponent the most chances to go wrong. That's a corner:
| X opens in… | O replies that hold the draw | O replies that lose |
|---|---|---|
| A corner | 1 of 8 (the centre) | 7 |
| The centre | 4 of 8 (any corner) | 4 |
| An edge | 4 of 8 | 4 |
After a corner opening, seven of the eight possible replies lose by force. Only the centre saves O — and plenty of casual players don't know that.
Three traps that win games
Each of these starts with a natural-looking reply from O and ends with a fork: X makes two threats at once, and O can only stop one.
1. Corner, then O takes an edge next to it
X plays A1 and O answers at B1. X takes the centre (B2), threatening the diagonal, so O is forced to block at C3. Now X plays A3 — threatening both the A column (A2) and the other diagonal (C1). Game over.
2. Corner, then O takes the opposite corner
X plays A1 and O answers at C3. X takes another corner, A3, threatening A2, so O must block there. X then plays C1, which threatens both B1 (top row) and B2 (diagonal). O can't cover both.
3. Centre, then O takes an edge
X opens in the centre and O replies on an edge, say B1. X plays A3, threatening C1 on the diagonal. O blocks C1 — which gives O two in a row on top, so X must block at A1. But that block is itself a fork: A1 threatens both A2 and C3.
How to never lose when you go second
Playing O, your job is to survive the first two moves. Memorise these replies:
- X takes a corner → you take the centre. Nothing else holds.
- X takes the centre → you take any corner. An edge loses (that's trap 3).
- X takes an edge → take the centre, the opposite edge, or one of the two corners touching X's edge.
There's one more classic ambush. If X opens in a corner, you take the centre, and X then takes the opposite corner, you must reply on an edge. It feels wrong, but taking a corner here loses: X blocks your diagonal by grabbing the last corner and forks you.
How to stop a fork
When you can see your opponent's fork coming, you have two defences:
- Take the square they need to make the fork.
- Attack first. Make your own two-in-a-row so they're forced to block — but check that their forced block doesn't land on the fork square and win them the game anyway.
Practise it
The fastest way to learn this is to play with feedback. Turn on the Coach in our game and every move you make is graded from Best to Blunder; hit Hint to see which squares win, draw or lose. Try to beat Medium with the traps above, then try to hold a draw against Hard — it plays 3×3 perfectly, so a draw is a perfect score.
Try the corner trap against the bot.
Play nowQuestions people ask
Can you always win at tic tac toe?
No. Against a player who never makes a mistake, tic tac toe always ends in a draw. What you can do is never lose, and win whenever your opponent slips — which most people do.
What is the best first move in tic tac toe?
A corner. Every first move draws with perfect play, but after a corner opening only one of your opponent's eight replies (the centre) avoids a forced loss. After a centre or edge opening, four replies hold the draw.
Is it better to go first or second in tic tac toe?
First. With perfect play it makes no difference, but the first player has more ways to set traps. When both players move completely at random, X wins 58.5% of games and O only 28.8%.
How do you stop a fork in tic tac toe?
Either take the square your opponent needs for the fork, or make a two-in-a-row of your own that forces them to block — as long as their forced block doesn't create the fork anyway.