---
title: 'Tutorial: Tic-Tac-Toe'
---
You will build a small tic-tac-toe game during this tutorial. This tutorial does not assume any existing React knowledge. The techniques you'll learn in the tutorial are fundamental to building any React app, and fully understanding it will give you a deep understanding of React.
This tutorial is designed for people who prefer to **learn by doing** and want to quickly try making something tangible. If you prefer learning each concept step by step, start with [Describing the UI.](/learn/describing-the-ui)
The tutorial is divided into several sections:
- [Setup for the tutorial](#setup-for-the-tutorial) will give you **a starting point** to follow the tutorial.
- [Overview](#overview) will teach you **the fundamentals** of React: components, props, and state.
- [Completing the game](#completing-the-game) will teach you **the most common techniques** in React development.
- [Adding time travel](#adding-time-travel) will give you **a deeper insight** into the unique strengths of React.
### What are you building? {/*what-are-you-building*/}
In this tutorial, you'll build an interactive tic-tac-toe game with React.
You can see what it will look like when you're finished here:
```js App.js
import { useState } from 'react';
function Square({ value, onSquareClick }) {
return (
);
}
function Board({ xIsNext, squares, onPlay }) {
function handleClick(i) {
if (calculateWinner(squares) || squares[i]) {
return;
}
const nextSquares = squares.slice();
if (xIsNext) {
nextSquares[i] = 'X';
} else {
nextSquares[i] = 'O';
}
onPlay(nextSquares);
}
const winner = calculateWinner(squares);
let status;
if (winner) {
status = 'Winner: ' + winner;
} else {
status = 'Next player: ' + (xIsNext ? 'X' : 'O');
}
return (
<>
);
}
function calculateWinner(squares) {
const lines = [
[0, 1, 2],
[3, 4, 5],
[6, 7, 8],
[0, 3, 6],
[1, 4, 7],
[2, 5, 8],
[0, 4, 8],
[2, 4, 6],
];
for (let i = 0; i < lines.length; i++) {
const [a, b, c] = lines[i];
if (squares[a] && squares[a] === squares[b] && squares[a] === squares[c]) {
return squares[a];
}
}
return null;
}
```
```css styles.css
* {
box-sizing: border-box;
}
body {
font-family: sans-serif;
margin: 20px;
padding: 0;
}
.square {
background: #fff;
border: 1px solid #999;
float: left;
font-size: 24px;
font-weight: bold;
line-height: 34px;
height: 34px;
margin-right: -1px;
margin-top: -1px;
padding: 0;
text-align: center;
width: 34px;
}
.board-row:after {
clear: both;
content: '';
display: table;
}
.status {
margin-bottom: 10px;
}
.game {
display: flex;
flex-direction: row;
}
.game-info {
margin-left: 20px;
}
```
If the code doesn't make sense to you yet, or if you are unfamiliar with the code's syntax, don't worry! The goal of this tutorial is to help you understand React and its syntax.
We recommend that you check out the tic-tac-toe game above before continuing with the tutorial. One of the features that you'll notice is that there is a numbered list to the right of the game's board. This list gives you a history of all of the moves that have occurred in the game, and it is updated as the game progresses.
Once you've played around with the finished tic-tac-toe game, keep scrolling. You'll start with a simpler template in this tutorial. Our next step is to set you up so that you can start building the game.
## Setup for the tutorial {/*setup-for-the-tutorial*/}
In the live code editor below, click **Fork** in the top-right corner to open the editor in a new tab using the website CodeSandbox. CodeSandbox allows you to write code in your browser and immediately view how your users will see the app you've created. The new tab should display an empty square and the starter code for this tutorial.
```js App.js
export default function Square() {
return ;
}
```
```css styles.css
* {
box-sizing: border-box;
}
body {
font-family: sans-serif;
margin: 20px;
padding: 0;
}
.square {
background: #fff;
border: 1px solid #999;
float: left;
font-size: 24px;
font-weight: bold;
line-height: 34px;
height: 34px;
margin-right: -1px;
margin-top: -1px;
padding: 0;
text-align: center;
width: 34px;
}
.board-row:after {
clear: both;
content: '';
display: table;
}
.status {
margin-bottom: 10px;
}
.game {
display: flex;
flex-direction: row;
}
.game-info {
margin-left: 20px;
}
```
You can also follow this tutorial using your local development environment. To do this, you need to:
1. Install [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/en/)
1. In the CodeSandbox tab you opened earlier, press the top-left corner button to open the menu, and then choose **File > Export to ZIP** in that menu to download an archive of the files locally
1. Unzip the archive, then open a terminal and `cd` to the directory you unzipped
1. Install the dependencies with `npm install`
1. Run `npm start` to start a local server and follow the prompts to view the code running in a browser
If you get stuck, don't let this stop you! Follow along online instead and try a local setup again later.
## Overview {/*overview*/}
Now that you're set up, let's get an overview of React!
### Inspecting the starter code {/*inspecting-the-starter-code*/}
In CodeSandbox you'll see three main sections:

1. The _Files_ section with a list of files like `App.js`, `index.js`, `styles.css` and a folder called `public`
1. The _code editor_ where you'll see the source code of your selected file
1. The _browser_ section where you'll see how the code you've written will be displayed
The `App.js` file should be selected in the _Files_ section. The contents of that file in the _code editor_ should be:
```jsx
export default function Square() {
return ;
}
```
The _browser_ section should be displaying a square with a X in it like this:

Now let's have a look at the files in the starter code.
#### `App.js` {/*appjs*/}
The code in `App.js` creates a _component_. In React, a component is a piece of reusable code that represents a part of a user interface. Components are used to render, manage, and update the UI elements in your application. Let's look at the component line by line to see what's going on:
```js {1}
export default function Square() {
return ;
}
```
The first line defines a function called `Square`. The `export` JavaScript keyword makes this function accessible outside of this file. The `default` keyword tells other files using your code that it's the main function in your file.
```js {2}
export default function Square() {
return ;
}
```
The second line returns a button. The `return` JavaScript keyword means whatever comes after is returned as a value to the caller of the function. `` closes the JSX element to indicate that any following content shouldn't be placed inside the button.
#### `styles.css` {/*stylescss*/}
Click on the file labeled `styles.css` in the _Files_ section of CodeSandbox. This file defines the styles for your React app. The first two _CSS selectors_ (`*` and `body`) define the style of large parts of your app while the `.square` selector defines the style of any component where the `className` property is set to `square`. In your code, that would match the button from your Square component in the `App.js` file.
#### `index.js` {/*indexjs*/}
Click on the file labeled `index.js` in the _Files_ section of CodeSandbox. You won't be editing this file during the tutorial but it is the bridge between the component you created in the `App.js` file and the web browser.
```jsx
import {StrictMode} from 'react';
import {createRoot} from 'react-dom/client';
import './styles.css';
import App from './App';
```
Lines 1-5 brings all the necessary pieces together:
* React
* React's library to talk to web browsers (React DOM)
* the styles for your components
* the component you created in `App.js`.
The remainder of the file brings all the pieces together and injects the final product into `index.html` in the `public` folder.
### Building the board {/*building-the-board*/}
Let's get back to `App.js`. This is where you'll spend the rest of the tutorial.
Currently the board is only a single square, but you need nine! If you just try and copy paste your square to make two squares like this:
```js {2}
export default function Square() {
return ;
}
```
You'll get this error:
/src/App.js: Adjacent JSX elements must be wrapped in an enclosing tag. Did you want a JSX fragment `<>...>`?
React components need to return a single JSX element and not multiple adjacent JSX elements like two buttons. To fix this you can use *fragments* (`<>` and `>`) to wrap multiple adjacent JSX elements like this:
```js {3-6}
export default function Square() {
return (
<>
>
);
}
```
Now you should see:

Great! Now you just need to copy-paste a few times to add nine squares and...

Oh no! The squares are all in a single line, not in a grid like you need for our board. To fix this you'll need to group your squares into rows with `div`s and add some CSS classes. While you're at it, you'll give each square a number to make sure you know where each square is displayed.
In the `App.js` file, update the `Square` component to look like this:
```js {3-19}
export default function Square() {
return (
<>
>
);
}
```
The CSS defined in `styles.css` styles the divs with the `className` of `board-row`. Now that you've grouped your components into rows with the styled `div`s you have your tic-tac-toe board:

But you now have a problem. Your component named `Square`, really isn't a square anymore. Let's fix that by changing the name to `Board`:
```js {1}
export default function Board() {
//...
}
```
At this point your code should look something like this:
```js
export default function Board() {
return (
<>
>
);
}
```
```css styles.css
* {
box-sizing: border-box;
}
body {
font-family: sans-serif;
margin: 20px;
padding: 0;
}
.square {
background: #fff;
border: 1px solid #999;
float: left;
font-size: 24px;
font-weight: bold;
line-height: 34px;
height: 34px;
margin-right: -1px;
margin-top: -1px;
padding: 0;
text-align: center;
width: 34px;
}
.board-row:after {
clear: both;
content: '';
display: table;
}
.status {
margin-bottom: 10px;
}
.game {
display: flex;
flex-direction: row;
}
.game-info {
margin-left: 20px;
}
```
Psssst... That's a lot to type! It's okay to copy and paste code from this page. However, if you're up for a little challenge, we recommend to only copy the code that you've manually typed at least once yourself.
### Passing data through props {/*passing-data-through-props*/}
Next, you'll want to change the value of a square from empty to "X" when the user clicks on the square. With how you've built the board so far you would need to copy-paste the code that updates the square nine times (once for each square you have)! Instead of copy-pasting, React's component architecture allows you to create a reusable component to avoid messy, duplicated code.
First, you are going to copy the line defining your first square (``) from your `Board` component into a new `Square` component:
```js {1-3}
function Square() {
return ;
}
export default function Board() {
// ...
}
```
Then you'll update the Board component to render that `Square` component using JSX syntax:
```js {5-19}
// ...
export default function Board() {
return (
<>
>
);
}
```
Notice how unlike the browser `div`s, your own components `Board` and `Square` must start with a capital letter.
Let's take a look:

Oh no! You lost the numbered squares you had before. Now each square says "1". To fix this, you will use *props* to pass the value each square should have from the parent component (`Board`) to the child component (`Square`).
Update the `Square` component to read the `value` prop that you'll pass from the `Board`:
```js {1}
function Square({ value }) {
return ;
}
```
`function Square({ value })` indicates the Square component can be passed a prop called `value`.
Now you want to display that `value` instead of `1` inside every square. Try doing it like this:
```js {2}
function Square({ value }) {
return ;
}
```
Oops, this is not what you wanted:

You wanted to render the JavaScript variable called `value` from your component, not the word "value". To "escape into JavaScript" from JSX, you need curly braces. Add curly braces around `value` in JSX like so:
```js {2}
function Square({ value }) {
return ;
}
```
For now, you should see a empty board:

This is because the `Board` component hasn't passed the `value` prop to each `Square` component it renders yet. To fix it you'll add the `value` prop to each `Square` component rendered by the `Board` component:
```js {5-7,10-12,15-17}
export default function Board() {
return (
<>
>
);
}
```
Now you should see a grid of numbers again:

Your updated code should look like this:
```js App.js
function Square({ value }) {
return ;
}
export default function Board() {
return (
<>
>
);
}
```
```css styles.css
* {
box-sizing: border-box;
}
body {
font-family: sans-serif;
margin: 20px;
padding: 0;
}
.square {
background: #fff;
border: 1px solid #999;
float: left;
font-size: 24px;
font-weight: bold;
line-height: 34px;
height: 34px;
margin-right: -1px;
margin-top: -1px;
padding: 0;
text-align: center;
width: 34px;
}
.board-row:after {
clear: both;
content: '';
display: table;
}
.status {
margin-bottom: 10px;
}
.game {
display: flex;
flex-direction: row;
}
.game-info {
margin-left: 20px;
}
```
### Making an interactive component {/*making-an-interactive-component*/}
Let's fill the `Square` component with an `X` when you click it. Declare a function called `handleClick` inside of the `Square`. Then, add `onClick` to the props of the button JSX element returned from the `Square` component:
```js {2-4,9}
function Square({ value }) {
function handleClick() {
console.log('clicked!');
}
return (
);
}
```
If you click on a square now, you should see a log saying `"clicked!"` in the _Console_ tab at the bottom of the _Browser_ section in CodeSandbox. Clicking the square more than once will log `"clicked!"` again. Repeated console logs with the same message will not create more lines in the console. Instead, you will see an incrementing counter next to your first `"clicked!"` log.
If you are following this tutorial using your local development environment, you need to open your browser's Console. For example, if you use the Chrome browser, you can view the Console with the keyboard shortcut **Shift + Ctrl + J** (on Windows/Linux) or **Option + ⌘ + J** (on macOS).
As a next step, you want the Square component to "remember" that it got clicked, and fill it with an "X" mark. To "remember" things, components use *state*.
React provides a special function called `useState` that you can call from your component to let it "remember" things. Let's store the current value of the `Square` in state, and change it when the `Square` is clicked.
Import `useState` at the top of the file. Remove the `value` prop from the Square component. Instead, add a new line at the start of the `Square` component that calls `useState`. Have it return a state variable called `value`:
```js {1,3,4}
import { useState } from 'react';
function Square() {
const [value, setValue] = useState(null);
function handleClick() {
//...
```
`value` stores the value and `setValue` is a function that can be used to change the value. The `null` passed to `useState` is used as the initial value for this state variable, so `value` here starts off equal to `null`.
Since the `Square` component no longer accepts props anymore, you'll remove the `value` prop from all nine of the Square components created by the Board component:
```js {6-8,11-13,16-18}
// ...
export default function Board() {
return (
<>
>
);
}
```
Now you'll change `Square` to display an "X" when clicked. Replace the `console.log("clicked!");` event handler with `setValue('X');`. Now your `Square` component looks like this:
```js {5}
function Square() {
const [value, setValue] = useState(null);
function handleClick() {
setValue('X');
}
return (
);
}
```
By calling this `set` function from an `onClick` handler, you're telling React to re-render that `Square` whenever its `