Halloween Tic Tac Toe: 7 Spooky Ways to Play (Plus an Online Version)

Halloween Tic Tac Toe is the easiest party game there is: you already know the rules, it takes a minute, and swapping the X and O for pumpkins and ghosts makes it feel seasonal. It works for a classroom, a trick-or-treat waiting line, a party table or a quiet evening before the doorbell starts. Here are seven ways to play it, and one for when you aren't in the same place.

Seven spooky ways to play

• Pumpkins vs. ghosts. Draw the grid on paper. One player draws a pumpkin each turn and the other draws a ghost. Easy for young kids, because the shapes are simple.
• Candy corn vs. mini chocolates. Lay a grid out on a tray with tape and play with real sweets. The winner eats the lot, and a draw means the sweets are shared.
• Chalk grid on the pavement. Draw a big grid outside and play with people as the marks, or with bats and spiders drawn in chalk. Good for a front step before trick-or-treaters arrive.
• Pumpkin-seed grid. Use dried pumpkin seeds for one player and something dark, like black beans, for the other. A quiet table game for small children.
• Spooky scoreboard. Play best of five and give each win a tally mark drawn as a tombstone. First to three tombstones is the champion.
• Costume rules. The loser has to do a witch cackle or a ghost noise. It works well with groups of children and it keeps the games moving.
• Tournament at the party. Pair everyone up, play one game each, and the winners move on to the next round until there's one player left. A grid takes seconds, so a room of twenty finishes in a few rounds.

Playing online when you can't be together

If a grandparent, a cousin or a friend is somewhere else, you can still play. Tic Tac Toe on Game Room runs in the browser with no account and nothing to install. One person creates a room, the other joins with the four-digit code or the link, and you both see the same grid. The online version uses classic X and O rather than pumpkins, but it's the same game, and it's quick enough to fit in between costume changes. No one free to play? Add a computer player from the lobby.

Tips to win at any version

• Start in a corner. It gives your opponent the most ways to go wrong.
• Build a fork. Two lines that each need one more mark can't both be blocked.
• Block before you build. If your opponent has two in a row, close it first.

For the full strategy, see how to play Tic Tac Toe online.

When you want something bigger

Tic Tac Toe is a good warm-up, but a Halloween night usually needs a few games. Pumpkin Patch is a Halloween memory-matching game with one cursed pair to avoid, Ghost Hunt is a hidden-role game for older players, and the Halloween games page has the whole list. When you're ready, create a room and start with a quick game.