Build Your First Game: Tic Tac Toe Python Code for Beginners

Learning to program can be both exciting and a bit overwhelming, but building small, fun projects is a great way to understand the basics. One of the classic beginner-friendly projects is Tic Tac Toe, a simple two-player game that’s familiar to almost everyone. If you’re new to Python, this project is perfect for grasping core concepts like loops, conditionals, lists, and functions.

In this article, we’ll walk you through building your own Tic Tac Toe game in Python, step by step. Whether you’re a student, self-taught coder, or just someone curious about programming, this guide is crafted to be easy to follow and rewarding to complete.

What You’ll Learn

• Creating and displaying a game board
• Handling player input
• Checking for a win or draw
• Switching turns between players

Step 1: Setting Up the Game Board

The game board for Tic Tac Toe is a 3×3 grid. We can use a Python list to represent it. Let’s start by creating an empty board:

board = [" " for _ in range(9)]

This creates a list with nine spaces, representing the 3×3 layout. Later, we’ll update the list with 'X' or 'O' based on player input.

To make the game interactive, it’s essential to display the board to the players. Here’s a function to print it nicely:

def print_board():
    print(board[0] + "|" + board[1] + "|" + board[2])
    print("-+-+-")
    print(board[3] + "|" + board[4] + "|" + board[5])
    print("-+-+-")
    print(board[6] + "|" + board[7] + "|" + board[8])

This function visually separates the board into rows and columns, helping players see where they can make their move.

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Step 2: Player Moves

Next, we’ll create a function to handle player input. This function will ask players to choose a position from 1 to 9 on the grid and ensure the selected spot is empty before placing their symbol.

def player_move(icon):
    while True:
        try:
            choice = int(input(f"Player {icon}, choose your move (1-9): ")) - 1
            if 0 <= choice < 9 and board[choice] == " ":
                board[choice] = icon
                break
            else:
                print("That space is taken or invalid. Try again.")
        except ValueError:
            print("Invalid input. Please enter a number between 1 and 9.")

This function reduces errors and ensures players only move to legal positions on the board.

Step 3: Checking for a Win

Now let’s implement the logic to check if a player has won the game. There are eight possible ways to win in Tic Tac Toe (three rows, three columns, two diagonals).

def is_victory(icon):
    win_combos = [
        [0,1,2], [3,4,5], [6,7,8],
        [0,3,6], [1,4,7], [2,5,8],
        [0,4,8], [2,4,6]
    ]
    for combo in win_combos:
        if board[combo[0]] == icon and board[combo[1]] == icon and board[combo[2]] == icon:
            return True
    return False

This function loops through all the winning combinations and checks if any of them are occupied by the same symbol ('X' or 'O').

Step 4: Detecting a Draw

Sometimes, all positions are filled without anyone winning. Here’s a function that checks for a draw:

def is_draw():
    return " " not in board

If no empty spaces are left and no winner has been declared, the game ends in a draw.

Step 5: Putting It All Together

Let’s combine all the pieces into a main game loop that alternates turns between two players:

while True:
    print_board()
    player_move("X")
    if is_victory("X"):
        print_board()
        print("Player X wins!")
        break
    elif is_draw():
        print_board()
        print("It's a draw!")
        break

    print_board()
    player_move("O")
    if is_victory("O"):
        print_board()
        print("Player O wins!")
        break
    elif is_draw():
        print_board()
        print("It's a draw!")
        break

This loop runs continuously, allowing both players to take turns until the game ends in a win or a draw.

python terminal, beginner project, code output</ai-img]

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve just built your very first Python game. Through this project, you’ve learned how lists, functions, conditionals, and loops all work together in a real-world application. Tic Tac Toe may be simple, but it provides a solid foundation for tackling more complex projects in the future.

As your next step, try enhancing the game with features like a restart option, score tracking, or even a basic AI opponent. The possibilities are endless and only limited by your creativity.

Keep coding, stay curious, and most importantly—have fun!