Noughts and Crosses squared

I introduced Super Noughts'n'Crosses to my class this morning - a challenge for their planning, logic and reasoning skills.

It starts off with a large noughts and crosses board, and in each of the nine squares you draw a mini noughts and crosses - these are the 'mini-games'. You have to win a mini-game to win that square on the larger board - and the one who wins the larger board wins the entire thing.

Where you can go is determined by the placement of your opponent's mark on their last go. Regardless of which mini-game they went on, you have to go on the mini-game in the corresponding square they placed their mark. For example, if they put a cross in the middle square of a mini-game, you have to put a nought somewhere in the mini-game located in the middle square of the larger gird; if they placed a cross in the bottom-right of a mini-game, you have to put a nought somewhere in the mini-game located in the bottom-right of the larger grid, etc. So where you place your mark determines the mini-game your opponent then has to play on - tactics a go-go!!!!

We turned it into a knockout tournament and the eventual winner was Jnr Snr!!!! She was so chuffed at this as she knocked out the school chess champion in the semi-final. I've never played it myself, but am hesitant to do so now against her in case I get a whooping.

(if you are wanting to have a go - we used a couple of extra rules: if the mini-game you have to play in has already been completed, you just stick to the same mini-game that was just played on by your opponent. If the mini-game you have to play in has already been completed AND the one just gone in has been completed on that move, the next person has freedom of choice of the entire board.)

Clear as mud eh?

Oh, and if it's a draw it's a fight to the death.

Oh, oh, noughts and crosses = tic tac toe