Tic Tac Toe Challenge

Everyone knows how to play tic-tac-toe. But can you solve the tic tac toe challenge puzzle? This fun brain teaser is simple to explain, but it can be hard to solve!

Setting up the Tic Tac Toe Puzzle

While normal tic-tac-toe (or noughts and crosses) uses X’s and O’s, this tic tac toe puzzle only requires the standard grid and six X’s.

While you can draw the grid on paper and try to solve the puzzle that way, I find the puzzle is much easier to solve with physical paper pieces to manipulate and move around during the puzzle solving process.

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.

Don’t want to print the puzzle? I also created digital versions of the puzzle while teaching during the pandemic that are linked later in the post.

Tic Tac Toe Challenge Instructions

Place six X’s on a standard tic-tac-toe board without making three-in-a-row in any direction.

I really like that the instructions and set-up for this tic tac toe brain teaser are so simple that you can issue the challenge to someone at a moment’s notice.

Will your friends be able to solve this tic tac toe riddle?

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.