The first folks to play this game lived in the Roman Empire, but it was called Terni Lapilli and instead of having any number of pieces (X or O), each player only had three, so they had to move them around to keep playing. Historians have found the hatch grid marks all over Rome. They have also found them in Egypt!
In 1864, the British called it “noughts and crosses”, and it was considered a “children’s game”, since they would play it on their slates. In recent times (1952), OXO was one of the first known video games, as the computer played games against a person.
Tic-Tac-Toe can be fun, but when you get a “cat’s game” (no winner), it can get a little boring pretty quickly, right? In this video, I’ll show you some cool ways to change the game to make it more interesting by changing one or two of the basic rules. It’s much more engaging and strategic that way! Currently there are over 100 variations of Tic-Tac-Toe, and I’m going to show you my favorite ones. In fact, last time I taught a live science workshop, all 120 kids played this at the same time with squeals of delight!
Download Student Worksheet & Exercises
Which variation of Tic-Tac-Toe did you like best? Do you think it changes the game a lot to let each player choose either X or O during their turn? The number Tic-Tac-Toe game is pretty neat – I’ve found it’s easier to keep track by starting with 9 and going down to 1, alternating turns and numbers as you go. Last One Wins is great, too, but 4-In-A-Row Tic-Tac-Toe may be my favorite. It’s really fun for the whole family to play!