Want to make your first game with Python? Great choice! Let’s build a simple and fun classic — Tic Tac Toe. It’s a perfect project for beginners. You’ll learn about loops, conditionals, and functions — all while having fun.
This guide is easy to follow. No long explanations. Just bite-sized steps and a working game at the end. Ready? Let’s jump in!
What You Need
- A computer with Python installed
- A text editor (VS Code, Sublime, or even Notepad)
- Some excitement!
Step 1: Plan the Game
Tic Tac Toe is a 2-player game. Each player picks X or O and places it on a 3×3 grid. First to get three in a row wins.
We want a board, a way to check if someone has won, and a way to switch turns.
Step 2: Create the Game Board
We’ll use a list of 9 elements to represent the 3×3 grid.
board = [" " for _ in range(9)]
def print_board():
print(f"{board[0]} | {board[1]} | {board[2]}")
print("--+---+--")
print(f"{board[3]} | {board[4]} | {board[5]}")
print("--+---+--")
print(f"{board[6]} | {board[7]} | {board[8]}")
This function sets up the board and prints it nicely. Each time someone makes a move, we’ll call this.
Step 3: Player Moves
Let’s write a function for the player to make a move.
def player_move(icon):
if icon == "X":
number = 1
else:
number = 2
print(f"Your turn player {number}")
choice = int(input("Enter your move (1-9): ").strip())
if board[choice - 1] == " ":
board[choice - 1] = icon
else:
print("That space is taken!")
This lets players input a number between 1 and 9 to place their icon.
Step 4: Check for a Win
We need to check if someone wins the game after every move.
def is_victory(icon):
win_conditions = [
(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 condition in win_conditions:
if board[condition[0]] == icon and board[condition[1]] == icon and board[condition[2]] == icon:
return True
return False
This function checks every possible win scenario: rows, columns, and diagonals.
Step 5: Make It a Game Loop
Now we just tie it all together in a loop so players keep taking turns until there’s a winner or a draw.
while True:
print_board()
player_move("X")
if is_victory("X"):
print_board()
print("X wins! Congratulations!")
break
elif " " not in board:
print("It’s a tie!")
break
print_board()
player_move("O")
if is_victory("O"):
print_board()
print("O wins! Congratulations!")
break
elif " " not in board:
print("It’s a tie!")
break
This loop runs until someone wins or the board is full. Simple and clean.
Awesome, You Did It!
You just built your first game in Python. High five! 🖐️
This project may be small, but you learned a ton:
- How to create and print a board
- How to take user input
- Using conditionals and lists effectively
- Building game logic step by step
What’s Next?
- Add a score counter
- Make an AI opponent
- Create a GUI with Tkinter
There’s no limit to what you can build. Start simple, stay curious, and keep coding!
