Puzzle Description:

#1: Jan Wolter (jan) on Jan 5, 2007 [SPOILER]

Cool idea for a puzzle, but two little problems.

First, there is not a unique solution. Each "O" can be solved three ways, and each "X" sixteen or more, for a total of eighty-million or more possible solutions to this puzzle. It's pretty easy to guess anyway, but puzzles without guessing are better. See the "Puzzle Creation Advice" link on the "Create Puzzles" page for advice on how to fix this kind of problem.

The other problem only effects obsessive game players like me: the board position shown is very unlikely to be the outcome of an actual game of tic-tac-toe (or naughts-and-crosses, if you like). Both players would have to be playing rather badly, and they'd need to have kept on playing after "X" already won.

I'd also lose the outside blue boundary, which isn't usually drawn.

It reminds me of a quilt. Frankly I guessed most of it and am pretty sure that I ended up with the intended solution.

Yeah, I was thinking more of a quilt than a Tic-Tac-Toe myself.

Actually, Jan, they wouldn't have to keep playing after X won if the LAST place played is the center. A technicality though :)

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