# Nobody wins at Tic Tac Toe right? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 26, 2015, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-wins-at-tic-tac-toe-right/720880 "2015-05-26T14:13:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-wins-at-tic-tac-toe-right/720880/21 "2015-05-27T17:49:41Z")
If the first player chose a side cell, then the second player can force victory. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-wins-at-tic-tac-toe-right/720880/22 "2015-05-27T18:00:58Z")
If both players know what they’re doing, it SHOULD always be a draw. If you’re playing a little kid or someone who’s only done it a few times, you can win. If you go first and STILL lose, you’re not very bright. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-wins-at-tic-tac-toe-right/720880/23 "2015-05-27T18:02:40Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If the first player chose a side cell, then the second player can force victory. No, that isn’t true. Think of it this way: if you’re the first player, you can’t force a win. Being the second player after the first player has chosen a side cell is like being the first player, only with a handicap of sorts. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-wins-at-tic-tac-toe-right/720880/24 "2015-05-27T19:31:39Z")
I was always able to win when I took the center block. Of course I never played against a super computer. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-wins-at-tic-tac-toe-right/720880/25 "2015-05-27T20:02:32Z")
Ah, right. All the strategies I’ve seen for player 1 start with a corner, so I was thinking that was necessary… but of course it’s not. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-wins-at-tic-tac-toe-right/720880/26 "2015-05-27T21:11:15Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > I was always able to win when I took the center block. Of course I never played against a super computer. :eek: You shouldn’t always be able to win. If you take center in your first move as X, and your opponent takes a side, then, yes, you will always be able to force a win. If you take center as X in your first move and your opponent takes a corner (which is what they should always do if you take center), it should be a draw, unless they (or you) play really idiotically. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-wins-at-tic-tac-toe-right/720880/27 "2015-05-27T21:28:19Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > I was always able to win when I took the center block. Of course I never played against a super computer. :eek: Funny enough, the first video game (if you can call it that) that I ever played was tic-tac-toe against a computer at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto. I was probably 8 or 10 at the time, so circa 1972-1974. The computer won sometimes, and we tied a whole lot. The computer never lost and to me this was simply amazing at the time. How could a machine be so intelligent? I knew it was simply programming at the time, but knew nothing about programming, so it was fascinating. When my kids were little we played this game a lot. It’s fascinating to see kids go from being duped to being your equal in a few weeks. Brains are wonderful machines too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-wins-at-tic-tac-toe-right/720880.md?page=1)