How to Win Tic Tac Toe (and Never Lose)
To win tic tac toe, start in a corner: if your opponent answers anywhere except the center, you can force a win by building a fork, a move that makes two lines of two at once. Against a player who never makes a mistake, tic tac toe is always a draw, so winning means setting traps and never losing means knowing the right replies.
Key points
- Open in a corner. Of the 8 possible replies, 7 lose by force. Only the center holds the draw.
- The fork wins: one move that creates two lines of two. Your opponent can block only one.
- To never lose as O: answer a corner with the center, and the center with a corner.
- We checked all 255,168 possible games: X wins 131,184, O wins 77,904, and 46,080 end in a draw.
- On NitroPlayer, Hard never loses, while Medium can be beaten in about 64% of games with perfect play.
Play Tic-Tac-Toe freeNo download, no sign-up. Play solo, online or with a friend.
The corner trick, move by move
This is the game from the video. You play X and move first. Number the squares 1 to 9 from the top left, reading left to right like a book.
- X takes corner 1. A corner is part of three lines: a row, a column and a diagonal.
- O answers on edge 2 (top middle). This is already a losing move.
- X takes the center, 5. Now X threatens the diagonal 1-5-9, so O must block on 9.
- X takes corner 7. That creates two threats at once: the left column 1-4-7 needs square 4, and the diagonal 3-5-7 needs square 3.
- O can block only one. X plays the other and wins.
In the video the computer was set up to make that edge reply. On NitroPlayer's Hard level it would answer your corner with the center instead, and the game would end in a draw.
Which replies lose? We checked every game
We solved tic tac toe completely with a short program that plays out all 255,168 possible games. Then we checked, for each opening move by X, which replies by O still lead to a draw with best play and which ones lose by force.
| X opens in | O replies that hold the draw | O replies that lose |
|---|---|---|
| A corner | Only the center (1 of 8) | 7 of 8: every edge and every other corner |
| The center | Any corner (4 of 8) | 4 of 8: every edge |
| An edge | The center, the two corners next to it, or the opposite edge (4 of 8) | 4 of 8: the two other edges and the two far corners |
That is why the corner is the best practical opening. Every first move is a draw with perfect play, but the corner gives your opponent seven ways to go wrong and only one way to survive.
How to never lose tic tac toe
When you play O, you cannot force a win against good play, but you never have to lose. Learn these replies:
- X opens in a corner: take the center. Nothing else is safe.
- X opens in the center: take a corner. An edge reply loses.
- X opens on an edge: take the center, one of the two corners touching that edge, or the opposite edge.
- The opposite corners trap: X has corners 1 and 9 and you hold the center. Play an edge now. If you take corner 3 or 7, X blocks you and gets a fork.
- Center against corner: X has the center and corner 9, you have corner 1. Here you must take another corner (3 or 7). An edge loses.
Tic tac toe tricks: the order to think in
Run through this list before every move, in this order. It is enough to play perfectly.
- Win: if you have two in a line and the third square is open, take it.
- Block: if your opponent has two in a line, block the third square.
- Fork: make a move that creates two open lines of two.
- Stop their fork: if your opponent could fork next turn, take that square, or make a threat of two that forces them to answer somewhere harmless.
- Center, then corners: with nothing urgent, take the center, then a corner opposite your opponent's corner, then any corner. Edges come last.
How to beat the computer on NitroPlayer
In our tic tac toe game you are X and always move first. We calculated the best possible result against each level, using the exact rules the computer follows in the game code.
| Level | How the computer plays | Your best win rate |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | Random empty square | 99.5% (corner opening) |
| Medium | Perfect move about 2 times in 3, otherwise random | About 64% (with no losses) |
| Hard | Checks every continuation, never loses | 0%: a draw is the best result |
On Medium the opening barely matters: center, edge and corner all give a win rate between 63.8% and 64.4%, because the computer answers well most of the time. What matters is never missing a block and taking every fork it offers. Use Hard as practice: once you draw it every single game, your defense is perfect.
Play a friend and keep score
Against people, the corner trick wins far more often, because few players know that the center is the only safe reply. On NitroPlayer you can play online with whoever is available, or send a friend a private link: no download, no sign-up. In online games the first player is picked at random, so switch between your X traps and your O defense as you go. A best of five is a good format: it is long enough for both players to open a few times, and short enough that one missed block still matters.
Frequently asked questions
Can you always win tic tac toe?
No. If both players make no mistakes, every game ends in a draw. You can only win when your opponent makes an error, and the corner opening gives them the most chances to make one: 7 of their 8 replies lose.
What is the best first move in tic tac toe?
A corner. It is just as safe as the center, and only one reply, the center, saves your opponent. After a center opening, four of the eight replies still hold the draw.
How do you never lose at tic tac toe?
Block every two in a row, answer a corner opening with the center, answer a center opening with a corner, and watch for forks. If X holds two opposite corners and you hold the center, play an edge.
Can you beat the computer on Hard?
No. On NitroPlayer the Hard level checks every possible continuation before it moves, so it never loses. A draw is the best result. Medium and Easy can both be beaten.
Video transcript
Want to beat the computer at Tic-Tac-Toe? Use the corner trick.
Start in a corner, not in the middle.
If the computer answers on an edge, it's already in trouble.
Take the center. Now it has to block.
Then grab the other corner. Two ways to win!
It can only block one of them. You win!
Now you try! And on NitroPlayer, you can play with your friends. Games are so much more fun together.
Play free at NitroPlayer dot com.
