Nine Holes (also known as Tapatan) is a strategy game, similar to Tic Tac Toe. The object is to get three markers in a row, either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Each player has three playing pieces, which can be anything. Two players begin with an empty board. They take turns dropping one piece per turn on any vacant space. If there is not a winner after players have positioned their three pieces, they take turns moving along a line, one space at a time.
We love the simplicity of this game, as the game board can easily be drawn on any piece of paper, in the sand box or on the sidewalk with chalk. Our students played this outside drawing the game board on the blacktop and using everything from beanbags to different bottle caps as game pieces. The video below gives you a good look at the game board, but is unfortunately a bad example of how to play, since one of the students moves a marker before all three have been placed and neglects to move it along a line. The jump she makes is not only out of turn but against the rules. Oops.
By Teach Daily
This article was a combined effort by multiple team members.
