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The Tic Tac Toe Challenge Puzzle asks “Can you place six X’s on a Tic Tac Toe board without making three-in-a-row in any direction?”
I ran across this puzzle several years ago. I typed it up along with a few other puzzles, and I named the file “Brain Teasers.” Then, I promptly forgot about the puzzle and file. I ran across the file yesterday while organizing my puzzles folder.
I originally typed up this tic tac toe challenge puzzle with the intention of using it on my puzzle table with laminated x pieces for students to place on the tic tac toe grid.
Once COVID becomes something that we can read about in a history book, I will likely end up printing off this puzzle and laminating the pieces. But, since it’s 2021, I decided to take this puzzle and make a few digital versions to share.
Free Download of Tic Tac Toe Challenge
Tic Tac Toe Challenge (PDF) (1898 downloads)
Tic Tac Toe Challenge (Editable Publisher File ZIP) (412 downloads)
Jumbo Magnetic Version of Tic Tac Toe Challenge
I decided this would make a great magnetic puzzle for my dry erase board if I made the pieces JUMBO sized. I was right! Students loved it. Some students even tried using it to play regular games of tic tac toe by having one student use a dry erase marker to draw the O’s.
I added disc magnets to the back of the laminated pieces to make it easy for students to place the pieces on the dry erase board while playing tic-tac-toe.
Tic Tac Toe Challenge – Jumbo Version (PDF) (588 downloads)
Tic Tac Toe Challenge – Jumbo Version (Editable Publisher File ZIP) (301 downloads)
Digital Versions of Tic Tac Toe Challenge
Jamboard
Link to make a copy of Tic Tac Toe Challenge Jamboard Version
Google Slides
Link to make a copy of Tic Tac Toe Challenge Google Slides Version
Want more puzzles? Check out my puzzles page!
Puzzle Solutions
I intentionally do not share solutions to the puzzles I feature on my website because I strive to provide learning experiences for my students that are not google-able. I would like other teachers to be able to use these puzzles in their classrooms as well without the solutions being easily found on the Internet.
However, I do recognize that us teachers are busy people and sometimes need to quickly reference an answer key to see if a student has solved a puzzle correctly or to see if they have interpreted the instructions properly.
If you are a teacher who is using these puzzles in your classroom, please send me an email at sarah@mathequalslove.net with information about what you teach and where you teach. I will be happy to forward an answer key to you.
Sue Hellman
Tuesday 26th of October 2021
Hi Sarah. I like the strategy behind this game so have expanded your Google Slide template to add slides for 9 questions & solutions. I've also added game play directions for students to play in pairs. Here's the link to my version of your game (credits in Speaker Notes) -- https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1GZ4MpukrvWmS-snW2A-44mXT4xkM1WAzP2Gfbu3_xRU/copy.
Sarah Carter
Wednesday 3rd of November 2021
Brilliant! I love this (especially the name you gave it). Thanks for sharing!