This is a two person game. You play against your computer. The board consists of a row of nine squares with a 4-letter word in each. Players take turns selecting words. The goal of the game is to select three words that share a common letter.

If the box "I move first" is checked, you have to click the "So, go!" button which will cause the computer to make the first move. Computer selections appear in red, yours in blue.

The cards you select turn blue; the computer selections turn red.

This game is similar to the Game of Fif but may be a little simpler. Of course if you prepare 9 plain cards with the nine words as in the game you'll be able to play it with a live opponent even when away from your computer. Once you know the secret of the game, there is a good chance you'll beat your opponents on a regular basis.

Copyright © 1996-2009 Alexander Bogomolny

The secret

The secret is very simple. Look at the arrangement of the words above. This is another incarnation of TicTacToe. For example, letter "I" is shared by all words in the first column, letter "R" by all words in the second row. Words on the diagonals share letters "H" and "N", etc.

Reference

1. D.L.Silverman, Your Move, McGraw-Hill, 1971

Copyright © 1996-2009 Alexander Bogomolny