Unbeatable Tic-Tac-Toe Bot

Play against an unbeatable Tic-Tac-Toe algorithm using minimax!

Overview

This project is a command-line implementation of the classic Tic-Tac-Toe game, where you can play against an unbeatable computer opponent. The computer uses the Minimax algorithm to make optimal moves, ensuring that it will always either win or the game will end in a draw (sorry to those competitive people out there!).

Gameplay

To play the game, you need to enter your move as two integer inputs representing the row and column where you want to place your mark (X or O). For example, to place your mark in the top-left corner, you would input 0 0, and to place it in the middle, you would input 1 1.The game continues until one player wins or it's a draw. Note: You can also choose to play on a 4x4 grid but for the first couple moves it will take longer than usual for the computer to choose an optimal position.

Implementation

The project is written in C and focuses on efficient memory allocation and deallocation to minimize resource usage. The minimax algorithm is used to determine the computer's moves, ensuring a high level of difficulty for human players. Additionally, this particular implementation of minimax uses alpha-beta pruning to optimize performance. After the algorithm recursively finds optimal moves for both players then it will stop searching and place the player on said square. This reduces the number of comparisons you have to make and speeds up the amount of time it takes to choose a position.

Memory Allocation and Deallocation

Memory is allocated responsibly to avoid memory leaks. When a game is completed, all dynamically allocated memory is freed to ensure clean and efficient resource management.

Getting Started

Follow these steps to get started with the Tic-Tac-Toe game:

1. Clone the repository to your local machine:

$ git clone https://github.com/ccrawford4/tic-tac-toe.git

2. Navigate to the project directory: cd tic-tac-toe

3. Compile the code using the provided Makefile. If you don't have GCC (opens in a new tab) or Make (opens in a new tab) installed then do that. To perform the compilation just type: make into your command line and press enter.

4. Run the game: $ ./Play

5. Follow the on-screen instructions to play the game. Input your moves as row and column integers.

6. Cleanup (Optional)

   If you want to remove the compiled output files and to clean up your directory, you can use the collowing command: make clean This will remove any generated object files and executables.

Example Gameplay: