10 Games Like Tic-Tac-Toe to Play Online (2026)

Tic-Tac-Toe belongs to one of the oldest families of games still played. The Romans played a three-in-a-row game called Terni Lapilli, and three-in-a-row grids have been found scratched into Roman stonework. The X-and-O version most of us know became popular much later, under names like noughts and crosses. It’s a solved game — perfect play always leads to a draw — but it remains the gateway to abstract strategy. Here are 12 free browser games like tic-tac-toe with the same line-up-and-outthink DNA.

Short answer: if you want tic-tac-toe with more room to think, play Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe or Connect Four. If you want the same “make a line” goal on a big board, play Gomoku. If you want a game that can never end in a draw, play Hex. Every game below runs in your browser, needs no account, and offers a CPU opponent and (except Chess) a two-player mode on one device.

Make-a-line games (closest to tic-tac-toe)

1. Tic-Tac-Toe

The classic. Our ‘Impossible’ AI never loses; play it to learn forced-draw patterns. The Hard CPU picks the best move most of the time but slips occasionally, so it can be beaten, and Easy plays at random. You can also play 2 Players on one screen and choose whether X starts, O starts, or the first move alternates each round. Play Tic-Tac-Toe.

2. Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe

Nine tic-tac-toe boards inside one big board. Strategic depth in the meta-board: the square you play in decides which mini-board your opponent must play in next, and winning three mini-boards in a row wins the game. If you are sent to a board that is already finished, you can play anywhere. Easy, Medium and Hard CPU levels, plus Undo. Our Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe guide covers the strategy. Play Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe.

3. Connect Four

Line up 4 on a 7×6 grid. Same family; deeper strategy, because gravity limits where each disc can go. AI uses minimax, with Easy, Medium and Hard levels and an Undo button. Connect Four was solved in 1988: with perfect play the first player can force a win, which is why the centre column matters so much. Play Connect Four.

4. Gomoku

5-in-a-row on a 15×15 board. A long-standing Japanese strategy game played with Go stones. Think of it as tic-tac-toe with no edges in sight: you win by building two threats at once, exactly like a tic-tac-toe fork. The first player has a strong edge, which is why tournament variants such as Renju add restrictions for Black. Three CPU levels; see how to play Gomoku for openings. Play Gomoku.

Connection and territory games

5. Hex

Connect two opposite sides with a chain of stones. Invented by Piet Hein in 1942 and, independently, by John Nash a few years later. Red links top to bottom, Blue links left to right, and the geometry of the board means a game of Hex can never end in a draw. Pick a 7×7, 9×9, 11×11 or 13×13 board; small boards play fast, large ones reward planning. Our Hex guide explains the key shapes. Play Hex.

6. Dots and Boxes

Connect dots to claim boxes. Endgame chain theory: complete a box and you move again, so the late game becomes a battle over who is forced to open the first long chain. Board sizes run from 4×4 dots (3×3 boxes) to 7×7, with three CPU levels. The Hard CPU avoids handing you boxes and, when it has no safe move left, opens the shortest chain it can. Play Dots and Boxes.

7. Nim

Mathematical pile game. Pure logic; perfect solution exists. Take any number of stones from one heap per turn; in Normal mode the player who takes the last stone wins, in Misère the last stone loses. Charles Bouton published the complete winning method in 1901, and our Hard CPU uses it, so beating Hard means finding the right moves yourself. Play Nim.

8. Mancala

Not a line game, but the same turn-by-turn calculation. Each side has six pits of four stones; you sow stones counterclockwise, landing in your store earns an extra turn, and landing in an empty pit on your side captures the stones opposite. Easy, Medium and Hard CPU, 2 Players and Undo. Play Mancala.

Classic board games for the next step

9. Reversi (Othello)

Flip discs by sandwiching. Strategic depth from positional play: corners can never be flipped back, so they are worth fighting for. Golden dots show legal moves, and a Hint button helps while you learn. Play Reversi (Othello).

10. Reversi 6×6

The same rules on a smaller 6×6 board, so games finish faster and the CPU can look further ahead. Play Reversi 6×6.

11. Checkers

Move-and-capture board game. Forced jumps, kinging, race to win. Like tic-tac-toe, checkers has been solved: a computer proof published in 2007 showed that perfect play leads to a draw. Multi-jumps chain automatically, and you can play the CPU on three levels or a friend. Play Checkers.

12. Chess

The benchmark for two-player abstract strategy. Unlike tic-tac-toe, chess is far too large to solve. You play White against the CPU on Easy (random moves), Medium or Hard, with Undo and a Flip board button. Play Chess.

Quick comparison

Game	Board	How you win	Can it end in a draw?	Modes
Tic-Tac-Toe	3×3	3 in a row	Yes (always, with perfect play)	CPU (3 levels), 2 players
Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe	9 mini-boards	3 mini-boards in a row	Yes	CPU (3 levels), 2 players
Connect Four	7×6	4 in a row	Yes, if the grid fills	CPU (3 levels), 2 players
Gomoku	15×15	5 in a row	Only if the board fills	CPU (3 levels), 2 players
Hex	7×7 to 13×13	Connect your two sides	Never	CPU, 2 players
Dots and Boxes	4×4 to 7×7 dots	Most boxes	On some board sizes	CPU (3 levels), 2 players
Nim	Heaps of stones	Take the last stone (or avoid it)	Never	CPU (2 levels), 2 players
Mancala	2×6 pits	Most stones	Yes	CPU (3 levels), 2 players
Reversi / Reversi 6×6	8×8 / 6×6	Most discs	Yes	CPU (3 levels), 2 players
Checkers	8×8	Capture or block all pieces	Yes	CPU (3 levels), 2 players
Chess	8×8	Checkmate	Yes	CPU (3 levels)

How to choose your next strategy game

You like tic-tac-toe forks: Gomoku and Connect Four are built on double threats, just on bigger boards.
You want tic-tac-toe, but not solved in your head: Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe keeps the familiar 3×3 grids and adds a rule that changes everything.
You hate draws: Hex and Nim always produce a winner.
You like puzzles more than opponents: Nim and Dots and Boxes reward working out the mathematics of the position.
You only have five minutes: Tic-Tac-Toe, Nim, Reversi 6×6 or a 7×7 Hex board.
You want a game for life: Chess, Checkers or Reversi.

For a wider tour of this family, our guide to abstract strategy games covers more of the history.

Is Tic-Tac-Toe really ‘solved’?

Yes — and the proof is small enough to check by computer. With perfect play by both sides, every game ends in a draw. There are 255,168 possible games, or 26,830 once you treat rotations and reflections of the board as the same. Exhaustive analysis of that game tree shows that neither player can force a win against correct defense.

Why do beginners lose at Tic-Tac-Toe?

Two patterns. First, beginners don’t respond correctly to the opening: if X takes a corner, O must take the centre, and if X takes the centre, O should take a corner — an edge reply gives X a winning attack. Second, beginners miss ‘fork’ threats — situations where you create two simultaneous winning threats on one move. The opponent can only block one. A classic fork comes from X holding two corners and then taking a third, opening two lines at once.

Our step-by-step guide on how to play tic-tac-toe perfectly walks through every opening reply.

Frequently asked questions

What is a game like tic-tac-toe but harder?

Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe is the most direct step up: it uses the same 3×3 grids, but each move decides where your opponent plays next. Connect Four and Gomoku keep the “make a line” goal on much bigger boards, which makes them far harder to play perfectly.

What is the five-in-a-row version of tic-tac-toe called?

Five in a row on a large grid is usually called Gomoku. Renju is a tournament variant with extra restrictions on the first player. Our Gomoku uses a 15×15 board with free placement.

Can you beat the Impossible tic-tac-toe CPU?

No. The Impossible CPU searches every line, so the best you can do is a draw. The Hard CPU sometimes plays a random move, so a fork can beat it.

Is Connect Four solved like tic-tac-toe?

Yes, but with a different result. Tic-tac-toe is a draw with perfect play, while Connect Four is a win for the first player if they start in the centre column and never make a mistake. In practice, human games are rarely played perfectly.

Which games like tic-tac-toe can two people play on one computer?

Every game on this list except Chess has a 2 Players mode, so you can take turns on the same screen. Tic-Tac-Toe, Connect Four, Dots and Boxes and Nim are the quickest for a short head-to-head.

Are there strategy games like tic-tac-toe that never end in a draw?

Hex and Nim always produce a winner. In Hex, a full board always contains a winning chain for one player; in Nim, someone must take the last stone.

Tic-Tac-Toe is the gateway

Every other game on this list builds on Tic-Tac-Toe’s core ideas: control important squares, create double threats, block opponent’s threats, calculate forced sequences. Learning Tic-Tac-Toe perfectly teaches you the language of abstract strategy that applies to chess, checkers, and beyond. When you need a break from thinking, the Chrome Dino game needs nothing but reflexes.

12 Games Like Tic-Tac-Toe — Free Strategy Games Online