Walkthrough for by Andrew Schultz blurglecruncheon@gmail.com http://andrewschultz.itch.io http://github.com/andrewschultz/ In order to please the kid, you need to be able to let them win at tic-tac-toe. But you can't let them win by being dumb and missing an immediate three-in-a-row! The key is to set things up so the kid can win two ways with their next move, and you can't block both. There are six possible scenarios you need to fulfill. You can start on the edge, in a corner, or in the center. So can the kid. Note that starting on any corner square is equivalent, as is starting on any side square. You can just rotate or mirror the board. We'll go roughly from easiest to lose to hardest. The exact difficulty is debatable, but it seems most orderly to organize things this way: 1. kid goes first, center 2. kid goes first, corner 3. kid goes first, side 4. you go first, side 5. you go first, corner6 6. you go first, center Note the kid moves randomly on the first move, but after that, it's relatively fixed, and they always block or find a fork when they can. To understand the notation, the numbers are the orders of moves. X goes first, third and fifth, and so forth. I hope the rotations won't be too hard to figure out. I also assume that O plays second. ==========================1. kid goes first, center Unsurprisingly, the easiest way for the kid to win is by starting in the center. You have all kinds of ways to mess up. However, this is the one the kid chooses. ..|5x|3x --+--+-- ..|1x|2o --+--+-- 4o|..|.. (Note that if the kid placed an X on the side the corner as their second move, they could still force a win. But this might overlap with other cases, for instance, when the kid started in the corner.) There are other ways to win, but I hard-coded this so the kid's win wouldn't overlap others. ==========================2. kid goes first, corner If you move on the side square next to them, this happens: ..|..|.. --+--+-- 2o|5x|.. --+--+-- 1x|4o|3x If you move on a far side square, the same thing happens, with a slight transposition: 3x|2o|.. --+--+-- 4o|5x|.. --+--+-- 1x|..|.. Note (3x) in the lower right corner would've worked, too, as the kid would still take the center. It's worth noting that O taking the center would make it very hard for X to win, but taking the final corner would lose: 4o|..|1x --+--+-- ..|2o|.. --+--+-- 3x|..|5x ==========================3. kid goes first, side Finally, if the kid starts on the side, it's a bit tricky, but with thoughtful enough bad play, O can allow a win. 5x|1x|.. --+--+-- 2o|3x|.. --+--+-- ..|4o|.. ..|4o|.. --+--+-- 1x|3x|2o --+--+-- 5x|..|.. Note that this second one may overlap with the kid going first, because you can switch your first and second moves. But the first way is an ironclad way through. ==========================4. you go first, side So this brings us to tougher stuff. What if the player goes first? You can imagine it's easiest for the kid to win if the player starts on the side. You'd be right. ..|5x|.. --+--+-- 1x|2o|3x --+--+-- 6o|4o|.. This is sort of like how the kid goes first, as you wasted a move on the side. ==========================5. you go first, corner The kid plays a bit oddly here. The reason is that I realized starting in the corner can transform into one of the ways to start on the side. So the game would be unwinnable if you started on the side and lost, then started in the corner. 1x|3x|4o --+--+-- ..|..|5x --+--+-- 6o|..|2o If the kid took the center, this could happen: 1x|..|.. --+--+-- 5x|2o|3x --+--+-- 6o|..|4o Here is how you can also get this position from starting on the side, just with a different order. 3x|..|.. --+--+-- 5x|2o|1x --+--+-- 6o|..|4o Here, you have to play a little dumb-tricky, and so does the kid ... but the kid is maybe smarter than you'd expect. The kid can also distinguish rotations or flips, so you can't get credit for the above position from both starts. Fortunately, there are other ways to lose from each start. And now, finally, you might not think you could plausibly lose after taking the center without obvious oversights. But in fact you can! Yes, it's clearly not best play, but it's sensible. 2o|..|6o --+--+-- 3x|1x|4o --+--+-- 5x|..|.. Once you've fallen into all six of these (or other) traps, the kid is happy. =========================================================