After reading about Ultimate Tic Tac Toe, I was inspired to post a bit more about Multiplication Tic-Tac-Toe. Multiplication TTT offers similar constraints to Ultimate tic-tac-toe, but the constraints are tied to the common factors. Check out my earlier post for rules and notes about classroom use.
One main difference though, is that you can claim more than one square at a time. Below I have shared a filled out board, color coded by the amount of numbers you claim with that move. For example, if you place a token on 6 and 4 you in fact get 4 positions on the Tic-Tac-Toe board as 24 shows up 4 times. In the image below, blue represents “quadruple plays”, yellow’s represent “triple plays”, oranges represent “double plays”, and white represents “single plays.”
Here is a google doc of the Color Coded Multiplication Tic-Tac-Toe Board.
Recently I introduced the game to my 3rd and 4th graders. I mentioned you could analyze the game based on how many positions each number occupies. Then, the other day I was walking down the hallway and saw a multiplication tic-tac-toe board on the floor next to their cubbies. The cool thing was, the student had begun to color code the board herself (I have a feeling I know which student it was). This kind of investigation could naturally lead students towards questions related to common factors and multiples.
One of these days, when I have the time, I’d like to figure out the optimal strategy for the game. If anyone out there discovers it, please let me know.