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Three in a row: the oldest goal in games

“Get three in a row” might be the oldest victory condition in the world — morris boards are carved into ancient temple roofs. It's the first strategic goal most children ever learn, and designers have spent centuries rescuing it from Tic-Tac-Toe's famous dead end.

This shelf follows the family tree: why small in-a-row games collapse into draws, how Connect Four and Gomoku scaled the idea up, and how modern duels revive the old goal by making the board itself fight back — in Oustwit's case, by letting every placement push the line you were building.

Articles on this shelf

• From Tic-Tac-Toe to Gomoku: the in-a-row family tree

  One goal, a hundred games: how in-a-row grew from a children's doodle to serious tournament play.

• Why Tic-Tac-Toe always ends in a draw (and how designers fix it)

  The kiddie pool of strategy, fully solved — and the three classic tricks that give three-in-a-row its teeth back.

• Connect Four is solved: what perfect play looks like

  First player wins — it's proven. What “solved” means, how it was done, and why the game is still fun anyway.

• Gomoku and Renju: the five-in-a-row arms race

  When five in a row got too strong for the first player, rulemakers fought back. A century of balance patches.

• Three in a row on a 6×6: how Oustwit modifies the oldest goal

  Three in a row is easy — until every enemy placement can shove your line apart. The old goal, made slippery.

• The double threat: the one skill every in-a-row game rewards

  Two threats, one defender: forks and forcing moves from Tic-Tac-Toe to tournament Gomoku — and how to build them.

While you wait for the next article: Oustwit is free for Android and iOS, and the rules take a minute to learn.