Tic-Tac-Toe (Noughts and Crosses) on EDSAC

Alexander (Sandy) Douglas was a PhD student at the University of Cambridge in 1952 when he developed OXO, a version of tic-tac-toe for the EDSAC computer. The EDSAC was one of the first stored-program computers, meaning that it could be programmed to perform different tasks. OXO was one of the first games ever developed for a stored-program computer.

OXO was a simple game, but it was a significant achievement at the time. It showed that computers could be used to create interactive games, and it paved the way for the development of more complex and sophisticated video games in the years to come.

OXO was played on a 6-inch cathode-ray tube (CRT) display. The player could choose to start or to allow the machine to make the first move. Using a rotary telephone dial, the player would enter their moves, and the EDSAC would display the game board on the screen.

The game was a draw if the board was filled up without either player having three in a row. If one player had three in a row, they would win the game.

OXO was not a commercial success, but it is considered to be one of the most important early video games. It showed the potential of computers to be used for entertainment, and it inspired other programmers to develop new and more complex games.

In addition to OXO, Douglas also developed another game for the EDSAC called “Cows and Bulls”. This game was a simple word guessing game, and it was one of the first games to use a random number generator.

Douglas’s work on OXO and Cows and Bulls helped to lay the foundations for the development of video games as we know them today. He was a pioneer in the field of computer gaming, and his work helped to make video games a popular form of entertainment.