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Tic-tac-toe
In Greenwich Village, tic-tac-toe is played in an atypical way. At
each turn a player marks as many squares as he wishes provided they are
in the same vertical or horizontal row (they need not be adjacent). The
winner is the one who marks the last square.
Which player has the advantage, and what strategy should he employ?
Solution
If the 1st player marks 1 square, the 2nd marks two to form a connected
right angle. If instead he marks 2 or 3 squares, the 2nd player marks
as many as necessary to complete either an L or a T of 5 squares. In
either occasion, the 2nd player wins.
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