Play Tic Tac Toe Online
A clean online version of the classic X and O game. Invite a friend, add a bot, and play a quick match in the browser.
Can you play Tic Tac Toe online with a friend for free?
Yes. Share a lobby code and take turns on the 3×3 grid in real time, or add a bot on easy, medium or hard when nobody is around. A lobby keeps playing rounds with a running score unless you set a best of 3, 5 or 10. Free, in the browser, a guest name is enough.
What is Tic Tac Toe?
Tic Tac Toe is a game for two on a three-by-three grid. One player marks X, the other O, and you take turns claiming one empty square at a time until someone completes a line or the grid runs out.
On Boardly a lobby runs open-ended with a running score, or as a best of 3, 5 or 10, and a bot on one of three levels can take the second seat.
How to play
- 1Create or join a lobbyOpen a room from the lobbies page, or enter a friend's four-digit code. The room's creator sets the series length.
- 2Choose friend or botSend the code or the link to one other person. If nobody is free, seat a bot in the second chair.
- 3Place your markTap or click any empty square while it is your turn. A countdown shows how many seconds are left for the move.
- 4Win the lineThree marks in a straight line take the round, and the winning line lights up. The host starts the next round, and the score carries over.
Tic-Tac-Toe rules
- 1Two players share the grid as X and O, placing one mark per turn in any empty square.
- 2X opens the first round; after that the first move alternates, so O starts round two.
- 3Three of your marks in a row, column or diagonal win the round at once.
- 4A full grid with no line is a draw: it counts as a round played, and nobody scores.
- 5A move is never skipped when the clock runs out: the whole round goes to your opponent instead.
- 6Undo and draw offers take effect only if the opponent accepts, and a draw can be offered once the first mark is down.
- 7Between rounds the host starts the next one; the grid clears and the score stays.
Modes and settings
- Best of 3, 5 or 10, or no limit
A series ends once someone has won more than half its rounds: two in a best of 3, three in a best of 5, six in a best of 10. Draws use up rounds, so it can also finish level. Pick ∞ and rounds keep coming.
- Seconds on every move
Each move gets 60 seconds in a lobby you create; before the game starts, the host can change that in 30-second steps from 30 to 180. A Play vs Bot game gives 45 seconds a move.
- Easy, medium and hard bots
Grid Rookie plays a random empty square. Grid Tactician wins when it can, blocks when it must, and otherwise takes the centre, then a corner. Grid Grandmaster searches every line of play and never loses.
Tic-Tac-Toe strategy
- 1.Claim the middle square
Four of the eight lines run through the middle square, so an X there works in more directions than anywhere else.
- 2.Meet the centre with a corner
When X opens in the middle, O is safe only in a corner; an edge reply lets X build two threats.
- 3.Meet a corner with the centre
If X opens in a corner, only the centre holds the draw for O. Any other reply loses to best play.
- 4.Look for your win before your block
Before each mark, check for a square that completes your own line. Block only when there is none.
- 5.Build a fork
A fork is one mark that leaves two of your lines a square short each. Only one of them can be blocked.
- 6.Against opposite corners, take an edge
As O holding the centre against two opposite corners, play an edge. A third corner lets X fork you at once.
- 7.Press in the rounds you open
In a series the first move alternates: push for a win when you start, and play safe when you do not.
- 8.Practise against the right bot
Grid Tactician only reacts to lines one square from complete, so a fork beats it. Against Grid Grandmaster a draw is a flawless round.
Common mistakes
- Opening on an edge
An edge square sits on just two lines. It still draws with best play, but gives you fewer winning chances.
- Chasing your own line
Unless you can complete your own line this move, building it while the opponent has two in a row loses the round.
- Taking the third corner
As O against opposite corners, a corner reply walks into a fork.
- Treating an offer as a pause
A draw or undo request does not stop your clock, and a timeout while you wait still loses the round.
Playing together online
- Play a friend who is far away
Send the four-digit code or the link and play from anywhere. Each mark shows on both screens as it lands, with a chat when two people play.
- Practise alone
Play vs Bot above starts a game at the level you pick, or you can seat a bot in your own lobby.
- The same countdown for both
Both players see one countdown, and at zero the round goes to whoever was waiting.
- Straight from the browser
Nothing to install and no sign-up: a guest name works on a phone, a tablet or a computer.
Why play Tic Tac Toe on Boardly?
- Fast rooms for quick matches.
- Bot support for solo play.
- Match mode for best-of series.
- Free to play as a guest.
Who it suits
Tic Tac Toe suits anyone with a minute to spare, from two friends on a break to a parent teaching a child to spot a threat. On a grid this small, attention decides most rounds.
Where Tic-Tac-Toe comes from
Three-in-a-row games are older than any of their names: noughts and crosses in Britain, tic-tac-toe in the United States, where a drawn game is called a cat's game.
The game is solved: best play from both sides always draws. Yet most of the 255,168 possible games end in a win, because somebody slipped.
Questions about Tic-Tac-Toe on Boardly
- Does Tic Tac Toe on Boardly cost anything?
- No. Friends, all three bots and every series length are free. Premium adds extras such as spectators, replays and custom lobby themes; the game itself is the same.
- Do I have to register first?
- No. A guest name is enough to create a lobby, join one with a code or play a bot; an account is optional.
- Can I play it on my phone?
- Yes. It runs in the mobile browser with no app to download; tap an empty square to place your mark.
- How many people take part in one game?
- Two, one X and one O, both people or one of them a bot. A Premium host can also open the lobby to spectators.
- What happens when my time runs out?
- You lose that round and your opponent takes the point. The game never skips your move or plays one for you.
- Can I play with a friend who is not in the same room?
- Yes. Create a lobby, send the four-digit code or the link, and play in real time from two devices anywhere online.
- Can I undo a move or agree to a draw?
- You can ask, and your opponent decides. A bot accepts every undo, but a draw only when perfect play from there would end level, which is most positions until someone slips.
New to Tic-Tac-Toe? Read the rules and how to play.