Country grid puzzle

Terra Tac Toe: how to play

Fill a 3x3 grid with countries that match both the row and the column clue. Play solo, or take turns with a friend to make three in a row.

Play Terra Tac Toe

What is Terra Tac Toe?

Terra Tac Toe is a grid puzzle built on country facts. Three clues run down the side and three population bands run across the top. Each of the nine squares needs a country that satisfies both its row and its column. A country can be used only once per board.

Solo is a calm puzzle with no clock, where the aim is to fill all nine squares. Play against friend turns the same board into noughts and crosses for two people sharing one screen: a correct answer claims the square, and three in a line wins.

Players: 1, or 2 on the same device
Board: 3x3 grid, 9 squares
Difficulty levels: Easy and Hard
Countries accepted: 98
Time limit: None

How to play

1Choose Play solo or Play against friend, then pick Easy or Hard. Changing either setting deals a fresh board.
2Click or tap an empty square marked with a question mark to open a text box in it.
3Type a country that fits both the row clue and the column clue, then press Enter.
4A correct country is written into the square and locked. A wrong one flashes red and the message under the grid explains why.
5In the two-player game, pass the device when the message names the other player. Press New board at any time for different clues.

Scoring

Solo has no points, lives or timer. A counter shows how many of the nine squares you have solved. Wrong guesses cost nothing, so you can keep trying.

Against a friend, Player 1 (blue) starts. A correct answer claims the square and passes the turn. A failed answer also ends your turn, including a misspelt name, a country not on the list, or one already used. The square stays open.

The first player to own three squares in a row, column or diagonal wins. If all nine squares are filled with no line, the match is a draw.

Tips

The columns are always population bands. Easy uses under 10 million, 10 to 50 million and over 50 million. Hard uses under 20 million, 20 to 100 million and over 100 million.
Only 98 countries are accepted and spelling must match, so against a friend choose countries you can spell. Short forms such as UK, USA, UAE and Holland work.
On Easy, every square has at least three valid answers. On Hard, a square can have just one, so fill the hardest square before its answer gets used elsewhere.
For "Won the FIFA World Cup" the game accepts the United Kingdom, counting England's 1966 win.
Against a friend, take the centre early and answer a square to block a line, even if another square is easier.

What you learn

Each square combines two facts about one country. Easy boards draw on continents, island and coastal nations, hemispheres, EU membership, flag colours and official languages. Hard boards use landlocked countries, number of neighbours, NATO members, World Cup winners, capital city initials and flag stars and emblems. Because every column is a population band, you also build a sense of which countries are small, medium or very large.

Questions and answers

Why was a real country rejected?: The game recognises 98 countries. A name that is not on that list, or is spelt differently, counts as unrecognised. Try the common English name.
Is every board solvable?: Yes. A board is only dealt if all nine squares can be filled with nine different countries.
What is the difference between Easy and Hard?: Easy picks its row clues from 10 broad categories. Hard picks from 15 more specific ones and uses wider population bands.
Is my progress saved?: No. Nothing is stored, so leaving the page ends the current board.