How to play “OSO”
Set up
Players
OSO is a game for 2 players from 5 years old.
Required objects
Pen and paper.
Create the grid
We recommend starting to play with an 8×8 grid, but you can try with larger or smaller grids.
Who’s first?
Let the more experienced player go first, then take turns in the following rounds.
Goal of the game
Objective
The goal is to create the word OSO as many times as possible.
OSOS rules: playing a game
Type S or O
The player whose turn it is can write an S or an O on any of the empty squares.
OSO
If the letter you have just written together with two other letters already written form the word OSO, horizontally or vertically, you can circle the word to score a point and also continue with your turn by writing a new letter. You might even chain several OSO in a row during the same turn!
NO OSO
If your letter doesn’t complete an OSO — or you missed it! — your turn ends and it’s the other player’s go.
Next turns
Players will alternate their turns playing always with the same mechanics.
Forgotten OSO
If a player has not realized that he has completed a OSO and passes the turn to the other player, they can start their turn by circling the word and claiming the point.
This can be done with any OSO that is written and has gone unnoticed perhaps for several turns, but can only be done by the player who has the turn at the time.
Game over – who takes the crown??
End of game
The game ends when there are no empty squares left.
And the winner is…
The player who has managed to create the word OSO the most times wins.
Tips for playing “OSO”
Two colors
To distinguish the OSOs of one player from those of the other, the ideal is to use two different colors, one for each player.
If this is not possible, then each player will mark their OSOS differently, e.g. one player may circle the word and another cross it out.
Variants
Also diagonally
A more difficult variant also allows the word OSO to be written diagonally.
Games like “OSO”
OSO is a more interesting and difficult evolution of the classic Tic-tac-toe, of which we propose some very interesting variants, even for team play.
Conecta 4 is a commercial game with a mechanic very similar to OSO that is played vertically.
You can find it in stores specialized in board games, although the best price and the best offers are usually on Amazon.
