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Two Row Tic Tac Toe

Game continues until one player gets two rows.
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Tac tac toe is a simple game that everyone has played. In this version the game does not stop when a player gets three of his symbols in a vertical, horizontal or diagonal row. The game continues with players marking over the occupied cell with their own symbol until a second row is achieved. This makes for an interesting game because so called 'cats games' or draws do not mean the end, and niether does getting three in a row. The game continues until one player has occupied two rows.
rcarty, Nov 06 2013

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       I thought you'd be proposing a version on a 2x3 grid, but this is better.
the porpoise, Nov 06 2013
  

       Thanks, in my opinion its better than the one row version. I wonder why such a simple variation is not known.
rcarty, Nov 06 2013
  

       I think "O" will probably be the most-often winner here. That's because you are requiring the board to be filled before you can overwrite a square, and in a "cat" game, "X" always has a useless last move, which fills the board.   

       Remember that for any two people who are very familiar with the game, the result is always a draw, a "cat" game.   

       So "O" comes along with the first opportunity to overwrite, and immediately overwrites a "blocking X" somewhere, and now has one instance of 3-in-a-row. "X" can do the same. But now it is the turn of "O" again, and I suspect that most of the time "O" can get a second 3-in-a-row, and thereby become the most-often winner.
Vernon, Nov 06 2013
  

       You might come to a situation where the optimal move for both players is to overwrite the opponent's last move, in which case the game would effectively come to a standstill. To prevent this, you could either disallow playing on the same space as the opponent on the turn immediately following, or implement a rule that the board can never look like any previous board (similar to Go).
ytk, Nov 06 2013
  

       Right, that would be a problem. Every cell has to remain occupied for a full turn.
rcarty, Nov 06 2013
  

       If I overwrite your symbol, does your symbol still count? Do we both occupy? Or are the symbols here like a coin: a box can be empty or have heads or tails, and on my move I can place a coin or flip an already placed coin to my symbol.
bungston, Nov 07 2013
  

       If the flip version is allowed, there should be a rule that you cannot reflip the same coin your opponent just flipped. Because that might go on forever.
bungston, Nov 07 2013
  

       Obviously the previous symbol complicates the game, but if the players can somehow manage to erase the previous symbol, write over it, or something else then the game can continue. Where there's a will there's a way. I like the coin idea, but the last problem you present has been covered with the rule "every cell has to remain occupied for a full turn". Therfore a cell that was not occupied on the start of the last turn, for instance the last cell to be filled, is not playable.
rcarty, Nov 07 2013
  

       If the o and x are drawn small, overwriting can be indicated by the largest symbol in the square. Extending the x past the circle or circling the x.
wjt, Nov 09 2013
  

       If the overwriting gets too big, the board can always be refreshed to another piece of paper.
wjt, Nov 09 2013
  

       How is this different than just playing two games?
tatterdemalion, Nov 09 2013
  

       Well, in this version you tell your opponent to try and get two rows, in two games you say "hey, do you want to play again?".
rcarty, Nov 09 2013
  

       If a wet day and my nieces are around, I'll test this.
wjt, Nov 09 2013
  

       I just tried this with my daughter....the game finished very quickly several times, so I tried a variation that required more strategy....and it is basically the same idea except you can change the other persons symbol to yours ( except the most recently changed ) at ANY time in the game...even before the board is filled. This changed it into a longer game.
Ling, Nov 10 2013
  

       It will be interesting how far this meme will go.
wjt, Nov 10 2013
  

       Yes, it will. My daughter is going to teach her friends at school, and....
Ling, Nov 10 2013
  

       Today the world wide wide web, tomorrow the world!
rcarty, Nov 10 2013
  
      
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