● Tic-Tac-Toe Game in C++

In this article, we will learn how to develop a tic-

tac-toe game in C++. Tic-tac-toe is a game
played between two players usually with paper
and pencil but here, we will create a C++
program that will display the game on the
console screen and players can use different
keys from the keyboard to play it.

Before we start, let’s understand some rules to

play the game:

● Rules of Tic-Tac-Toe
Following are the rules that define how to play
the tic tac toe game:
● A player can put only a single letter X or O
in the 3 x 3 grid in each chance.
● Both players will get chances alternatively
one after another till someone wins or
draws.
● To win this game, the player must create a
horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line
consisting of three same letters.
● The game is drawn, if all grids are filled with
X or O letters but no line is made.
Feature of Tic-Tac-Toe in C++
This game provides the following features:
● This game is developed on a 3×3 grid.
● This game is designed for two players.
● Every player may choose a letter between X
and O.
● Both players will get their chances to turn
by turn.
● Components of the Game
The game is made of the following
components that include the functions and
data structures to provide the basic
operations of the game.

1. Game Board
To create a tic-tac-toe board, a 3 x 3 array
initialized with space is used.
char board[3][3] = {{' ', ' ', ' '},
{' ', ' ', ' '}, {' ', ' ', ' '}};
In this array, we will fill the X and O
characters based on the moves of the players.
 2. Movement Of Player
Now we will create a
function drawBoard() to display the Board. It
will initialize the array and display the board
after each move.
The logic for user input and valid input
checking is defined inside the main() function
itself.
How to check if the input is valid or not?
● Valid input: If the cell is empty and is within

the boundary
● Invalid input: If the cell has already been

filled with another letter or is outside the

bounds.

3. Win, Lose or Draw

The checkWin() function is used to check
whether the player has won or not. The draw
condition is checked in the main() function.
C++ Program for Tic Tac Toe Game
Below is the complete code for a basic
console-based Tic-Tac-Toe game in C++:
● C++
// C++ program to implement tic tac toe
game

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

// Function to draw the Tic-Tac-Toe board

void drawBoard(char board[3][3])

cout << "-------------\n";

for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {

cout << "| ";

for (int j = 0; j < 3; j++) {

cout << board[i][j] << " | ";

cout << "\n-------------\n";

 }

// Function to check for a win

bool checkWin(char board[3][3], char player)

// Check rows, columns, and diagonals

for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {

if (board[i][0] == player &&

board[i][1] == player

&& board[i][2] == player)

return true;

if (board[0][i] == player &&

board[1][i] == player

&& board[2][i] == player)

 return true;

if (board[0][0] == player && board[1]

[1] == player

&& board[2][2] == player)

return true;

if (board[0][2] == player && board[1]

[1] == player

&& board[2][0] == player)

return true;

return false;

int main()

{
 // Initialize the board and players

char board[3][3] = { { ' ', ' ', ' ' },

{ ' ', ' ', ' ' },

{ ' ', ' ', ' '

} };

char player = 'X';

int row, col;

int turn; // Declare turn here

cout << "Welcome to Tic-Tac-Toe!\n";

// Game loop

for (turn = 0; turn < 9; turn++) {

// Draw the board

drawBoard(board);
 // Prompt for valid input

while (true) {

cout << "Player " << player

<< ", enter row (0-2) and

column (0-2): ";

cin >> row >> col;

if (board[row][col] != ' ' ||

row < 0 || row > 2

|| col < 0 || col > 2) {

cout << "Invalid move. Try

again.\n";

else {

break; // Valid input,

exit the loop.

// Make the move

board[row][col] = player;

// Check for a win after making a

move

if (checkWin(board, player)) {

drawBoard(board);

cout << "Player " << player <<

" wins!\n";

break; // Exit the loop after

a win.
 }

// Switch to the other player

player = (player == 'X') ? 'O' :

'X';

// End of the game

drawBoard(board);

// Check for a draw

if (turn == 9 && !checkWin(board, 'X')

&& !checkWin(board, 'O')) {

cout << "It's a draw!\n";

 }

return 0;

Output
Welcome to Tic-Tac-Toe!
-------------
| | | |
-------------
| | | |
-------------
| | | |
-------------
Player X, enter row (0-2) and column
(0-2): 1 1
-------------
| | | |
-------------
| | X | |
-------------
| | | |
-------------
Player O, enter row (0-2) and column
(0-2): 0 0
-------------
| O | | |
-------------
| | X | |
-------------
| | | |
-------------
Player X, enter row (0-2) and column
(0-2): 1 0
-------------
| O | | |
-------------
| X | X | |
-------------
| | | |
-------------
Player O, enter row (0-2) and column
(0-2): 2 2
-------------
| O | | |
-------------
| X | X | |
-------------
| | | O |
-------------
Player X, enter row (0-2) and column
(0-2): 1 2
-------------
| O | | |
-------------
| X | X | X |
-------------
| | | O |
-------------
Player X wins!
-------------
| O | | |
-------------
| X | X | X |
-------------
| | | O |
------------

● Conclusion of the Tic-Tac-Toe

Game Microproject

The Tic-Tac-Toe game microproject serves as an excellent

introduction to fundamental programming concepts,
such as control structures (loops, conditionals), data
structures (lists), and handling user input. By building this
project, we achieve several key learning objectives