h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi there!

When I'm killing time, I sometimes think of various stratagems of how one can win noughts and crosses for certain.

Silly, I know, but it does help you when someone asks - Would you like to play noughts and crosses?

I find it a good way for killing time!

Caper Plip

| |
-+-+-
| |
-+-+-
o| |

(probably works best with a fixed width font.

Can I add that any board or card game is a terrific waste of time. One of the best is probably Battleships: despite hi-tech versions with realistic sounds etc. it can be played with just pencil and paper.

dots and dashes is another game where you just need a sheet of paper and a pen. any number of people can play, and you can draw yourself any size grid you want, so it can take as long or as short a time as you choose. has kept me occupied during many a long and boring wait (like waiting for the rac to turn up).

I like "sprouts", but it doesn't tend to appeal much to non-mathematicians, it seems.

For more variation, give it a different name or use different symbols.
This also helps as an excuse to relate it to something else you're really meant to be doing, e.g. during a boring music rehearsal/performance/lesson, play semibreves(o) and double sharps(x).

sprouts? is that the one where you put 4 random dots on a paper then take turns drawing lines between them and putting a dot somewhere on the new line, last person to draw a line wins?

More or less. I'd use more dots than that, though.

yeah, the number doesn't really matter, and more dots after all means a longer game.