Pocket Games
Tic Tac Toe Evolution
Tic Tac Toe Evolution takes the most boring game in the world and gives it depth with a single rule: the cell you play in decides which grid your opponent has to play in. Suddenly every move means two things, and the draw is no longer guaranteed.
The rules
There are nine tic tac toe grids arranged as a 3×3 grid of grids. Winning a small grid claims the corresponding cell of the big grid, and whoever lines up three small grids horizontally, vertically or diagonally wins.
The rule that changes everything: the cell you choose inside a small grid sends your opponent to the matching grid on the big board. Play the top-right cell of your grid and your opponent has to play in the top-right small grid.
If the grid they would be sent to is already finished — won or full — your opponent is free to play anywhere. And that is the most dangerous event in the game.
On Pocket Games
Before you start you choose against the bot or two players on the same phone, passing it back and forth as X and O. Against the bot, the symbol you get and who opens the game are drawn at random every time.
| Level | How the bot plays |
|---|---|
| Easy | A random move among the legal ones |
| Medium | Looks two moves ahead: its own and your best reply |
| Hard | Looks four moves ahead and weighs grids won and open lines on the big grid |
During the game the grid you have to play in is highlighted, and a line of text under the board tells you whether you are forced or have a free move. The last square played stays tinted, so you can see at once where your opponent has sent you; marks in grids that are already closed fade out.
Moves cannot be undone. A game in progress is saved after every move: when you come back there is a button to continue it, showing the mode and how many moves have been played. Wins, draws and losses are counted for each bot level and stay on the device; two-player games are not recorded. On a computer you play with the mouse: there are no keyboard controls. Classic Tic Tac Toe is a separate game.
The core idea: never hand over a free move
A beginner reasons only about the grid they are playing in: they try to win it and ignore where they are sending their opponent. It is the mistake that decides almost every game between beginners.
The correct reasoning has two steps:
1. Where am I sending my opponent? Before even assessing whether the move is good for you, look at the destination grid: if they have two in a row there, you are handing them a grid. 2. What suits me in this grid? Only then.
And the worst move of all is the one sending your opponent to an already-closed grid, because at that point they choose where to play — and they will choose the grid where they are about to win.
Strategies that work
Losing a small grid is not a disaster. There are nine of them and you need three in a row: sacrificing a peripheral grid to send your opponent to a harmless cell is nearly always a good deal.
The central grid is worth more. Like the centre cell in ordinary tic tac toe, it takes part in four of the big grid’s eight lines. It is worth fighting there more than elsewhere.
Build your threats on the big grid. The aim is not to win grids, it is to win three in a row: two grids in line with the third contested is worth more than four scattered grids.
Centre cells are safe destinations. Sending your opponent to the central grid is dangerous, but playing the centre cell of your own grid is often excellent for you. You have to decide each time which effect weighs more: that tension is exactly what makes the game interesting.
Look two moves ahead, not one. The typical sequence is: I play here, they are forced there, from there they can only send me to that grid. Forced chains are long and whoever sees them wins.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if a small grid ends in a draw?
It stays unowned: that cell of the big grid goes to nobody, and the line running through it can no longer be completed.
Who starts?
A draw decides. Against the bot, both the symbol you get, X or O, and who makes the first move are picked at random; the first move is free, so it can go in any grid. If the bot starts, its move comes on its own after a moment.
Is the hard bot unbeatable like in tic tac toe?
No: there are far too many possible games to examine them all. The hard level looks four moves ahead, and beyond that horizon it judges the position by the grids won, with the centre one counting most, and by the lines still open on the big grid. A trap that takes five or six moves to spring is one it does not see coming.
Can I undo a move or finish the game later?
Undo, no, in any mode. Finish later, yes: the game is saved after every move and when you leave, and the start screen offers to continue it.
Do my stats follow me to another phone?
No. Wins, draws and losses against the bot stay on the device you played on, even if you are signed in with an account.
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