How to Play Tic-Tac-Go

Objective

Your goal is to create a line of three consecutive O pieces. The line may be horizontal or vertical. Diagonal lines do not count.

Your white player piece also counts as an O, so a winning line can consist of two ordinary O pieces and your player.

Board and pieces

Player

The white round piece with eyes. This is the piece you control, and it counts as an O.

O pieces

Round white rings that can be pushed into position to complete a winning line.

X pieces

Brown crosses that can also be pushed. They may help or block you, but three connected X's cause a loss.

Floor

Orange squares that the player and pieces can occupy.

Walls

Dark areas outside the playable path. Nothing can enter or pass through them.

Movement

Each move takes your player exactly one square up, down, left, or right. You cannot move diagonally.

You may move into an adjacent empty floor square. A move is blocked when the destination is a wall or when a piece cannot be pushed.

Pushing pieces

Walk into an adjacent X or O to push it one square in the same direction. A push succeeds only when the square behind that piece is empty floor.

• You may push either an X or an O.
• You may push only one piece at a time.
• You cannot pull pieces toward you.
• You cannot push a piece into a wall or another piece.
• A piece against a wall may become impossible to move again.

Winning the puzzle

You win immediately when three O's occupy consecutive squares in a horizontal or vertical line. There can be no gaps between them.

The player is included when checking O lines. For example, ordinary O + player + ordinary O is a valid winning line.

Losing the puzzle

You lose immediately if three X pieces form a consecutive horizontal or vertical line. This can happen when you push an X into place accidentally.

If a move creates both an X line and an O line, the X line is checked first, so the result is a loss.

Controls

Strategy tips

1. Study the board first. Look for possible O lines and dangerous pairs of X's before moving.
2. Think about approach direction. To push a piece right, you must first reach the square immediately to its left.
3. Avoid dead corners. A piece pushed into a corner usually cannot be recovered.
4. Move pieces out of the way. The shortest-looking route is not always possible; some puzzles require temporary detours.
5. Use your player as the third O. Often it is easier to arrange two O pieces and step into the final position yourself.
6. Undo freely. Experimenting is part of solving the puzzle, and undoing has no penalty.