Two players

Play Tic Tac Toe with friends

Two ways to play against a person instead of the computer — pass-and-play on one device, or a challenge link you send.

Two player on one device

The simplest way to play a person: pick Two Player on the play screen and pass the phone, tablet or keyboard back and forth. Both players get a name, the board tracks a running tally across rounds, and nothing is saved anywhere except your own browser.

It works on anything with a screen. A phone on a table between two people is genuinely the best version of Tic Tac Toe there is — the whole game takes thirty seconds and the arguments last longer than the round.

Keeping it fair

Going first is a real advantage in Tic Tac Toe: X gets five marks to O's four and shapes the game. Over a session, alternate who opens each round. The strategy guide explains exactly how much that first move is worth and how the second player holds a draw.

Challenge a friend by link

If your friend isn't in the room, use the Friend Challenge. You play a three-round gauntlet against the AI, and the site gives you a link carrying your score. Send it however you like. When they open it, they play the same gauntlet and find out at the end whether they beat you.

It isn't turn-by-turn play — you're comparing performances rather than sharing a board — but it travels through any chat app and needs nothing installed on either side.

What about live online play?

Real-time play across two devices, where you and a friend share one board from different places, is in development and is not available yet. When it ships it will be announced on the site. Until then the two options above are what's live, and this page will be updated the day that changes rather than before.

Not got anyone to play?

The AI opponent has three difficulty levels and never needs an invitation, and there's a fresh daily challenge every day.