Most people are familiar with the game noughts and crosses (or tic tac toe). Here is a game you can play against the computer; click in the grid to begin.
Oxo is a variation of noughts and crosses. The objective is to spell out the word oxo. Here is a grid you can use to play against a friend. Drag the letters onto the grid to play.
If you can't see the images above it may be because you do not have a recent version of the Flash Player installed or that your device (such as the iPad) cannot show Flash diagrams.
Is it better to be "O" or "X" in this game?
Click on a link below to explore other parts of the Transum web site:
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Do you have any comments? It is always useful to receive feedback and helps make this free resource even more useful for those learning Mathematics anywhere in the world. Click here to enter your comments.
The javascript for the game at the top of this page was kindly made public by Stephen Ostermiller (GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation) who also provides an excellent description of Tic-Tac-Toe Strategy.
Transum,
Friday, November 14, 2014
"Here is an idea for playing two person games like this with a class. Arrange the desks along three of the outside walls of the classroom in a sort of horseshoe shape. Pupils sit, two to a computer (laptop, iPad etc) to play the game. The teacher starts the game time and each pair plays one game then turns their chairs to face the teacher when they have finished. When everyone has finished the teacher instructs the pupils to move clockwise if they just won the game or anticlockwise if they lost. The pupils at either end of the horseshoe stay where they are. Repeat this many times. The pupils will move towards playing other pupils of similar insight into the strategies of the game and hopefully discover more about the number patterns involved. It is always, yes always in my experience, great fun for all involved."