You know how regular Tic Tac Toe is basically a solved game? If you’re over the age of seven and you have at least half a brain, you know it always ends in a draw. It's boring. But then someone went and nested the whole thing inside itself, and suddenly, Ultimate Tic Tac Toe turned a playground pastime into something that feels more like high-stakes chess. It’s mean. It’s complicated. It’s addictive.
Honestly, the first time you see the board, it looks like a mess. You’ve got a massive 3x3 grid, but every single one of those nine squares contains another 3x3 grid. It’s a fractal. You aren’t just trying to get three in a row once; you’re trying to win three small games that line up to win the big game. But here’s the kicker—and this is what trips everyone up—you don't get to choose where you play. Your opponent chooses for you.
The Rule That Changes Everything
In a standard game, you just go wherever you want. In Ultimate Tic Tac Toe, the "local" square you pick in a small grid determines which "global" grid your opponent has to play in next. If you play in the top-right corner of a small box, your opponent is forced to move somewhere in the top-right box of the giant board.
That’s it. That’s the whole twist.
It sounds simple until you realize you’re constantly being baited. You might see a perfect move to win a small board, but if that move sends your opponent to a square where they can win a small board (or worse, win the whole game), you can’t take it. You have to play sub-optimally on the micro level to win on the macro level. It’s about sacrifice. You’re basically playing nine games at once while also playing a tenth game that sits on top of them like a boss fight.
Ben Orlin, a math teacher who helped popularize the game on his blog Math with Bad Drawings, points out that this specific mechanic is what makes the game "deep." It removes the "solved" nature of the original. In the classic version, the first player has a massive advantage. In the ultimate version, being the first player is still an advantage, but it's much harder to maintain because every move you make hands a specific set of options to your rival.
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Why You Keep Losing (The Strategy Problem)
Most people lose because they focus too much on winning the individual small boards. That's a rookie mistake. Winning a small board is great, but sometimes it’s actually better to lose one if it means you get to control the flow of the rest of the game.
Think about the center square. In regular Tic Tac Toe, the center is king. In Ultimate Tic Tac Toe, the center is a double-edged sword. If you play in the center of a small board, you send your opponent to the center of the large board. The center of the large board is the most powerful position because it touches eight possible winning lines. By trying to take a small advantage, you might be handing them the keys to the kingdom.
Boards are Dead, but Moves Aren't
What happens if someone sends you to a small board that has already been won? Or a board that's full?
This is where the rules can vary slightly depending on who you're playing with, but the standard "pro" rule is that if you're sent to a dead board, you get a "wildcard." You can play anywhere on the entire 81-square map. This is the most dangerous moment in the game. Getting a free move usually means you can snipe a win or set up a trap that's impossible to escape. Smart players will actually "sacrifice" a board by filling it up just to avoid sending their opponent there later.
The Mathematical Complexity
Let's get nerdy for a second. The state space complexity of Ultimate Tic Tac Toe is significantly higher than people realize. While regular Tic Tac Toe has about 765 essentially different positions, the ultimate version explodes into the trillions.
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Computer scientists have actually spent time on this. Unlike Chess or Go, there isn't a massive, centuries-old database of opening theory, but we do know that the game isn't easily "solved" by human intuition. Because every move has a "teleportation" effect, you have to look ahead at least two or three "global" moves to see if you're walking into a trap.
Most casual players only look at the small board in front of them. If you want to win, you have to look at the big board first, then decide which small board move gets you closer to a global line without giving away a wildcard.
Common Tactics to Memorize
- The Redirect: If your opponent is one move away from winning a small board, don't just block them if it sends them to a powerful global position. Instead, try to force them into a board where they have no good moves.
- The Board Sacrifice: Sometimes, letting your opponent win a corner board is fine if it keeps them trapped in a cycle of moves that don't help them finish a line of three.
- The Center Stall: Avoid the center of small boards in the early game. It's too much power to give away.
The Social Renaissance of Paper Games
It's weird that in an era of 4K gaming and VR, people are still obsessed with a game you can draw on the back of a napkin. But that's the charm. It’s accessible. You can explain the rules to a friend in thirty seconds, but you'll spend the next hour arguing over whether a specific move was a stroke of genius or a total fluke.
There are digital versions now, of course. Websites like Board Game Arena or various mobile apps let you play against AI, and that’s where you really see how punishing the game is. An AI doesn't get distracted by the "mini-wins." It only cares about the final 3x3 alignment. Playing against a computer is a quick way to realize how often we fall for bait.
How to Get Started Right Now
You don't need an app. You just need a pen and a piece of paper.
- Draw the grid: Make a large Tic Tac Toe board.
- Fill the grid: Inside each of those nine spaces, draw a smaller Tic Tac Toe board.
- Pick a side: X or O.
- First move: The first player can move anywhere in any of the 81 squares.
- The Loop: Wherever that person played within the small board determines which large square the second player must go to.
- Winning: Win a small board, and you "claim" that square on the big board. Get three big squares in a row to win it all.
If you find yourself in a stalemate—which happens often if both players are defensive—the game usually goes to a "point" system based on who won the most small boards. But usually, someone makes a mistake. Someone always gets greedy, takes a small win, and realizes two turns later they’ve opened the door for their opponent to take the center and the game.
Stop playing the basic version. It's for kids. If you want to actually test your brain without learning a hundred different chess openings, this is the way to do it.
Actionable Next Steps:
Grab a sheet of paper and draw the grid. Your first game will be messy—you'll probably forget whose turn it is or which board you were sent to. That's fine. Focus on the "teleportation" mechanic. Instead of looking for a move that helps you, look for a move that puts your opponent in a corner where they have zero productive options. Once you stop playing the "small" game and start playing the "big" game, you'll never go back to the original version again.