Quick summary
A polished, two-player Tic Tac Toe. Click to place, track session scores for X, O, and draws, and reset with a reload. It’s entirely self-contained in one HTML file with inline styling, which makes it the smallest possible complete game.
Who this template is for
This is the smallest game that still counts as complete. It’s for anyone who needs that as a starting point.
- Developers who want a reference for a whole game (state, rendering, win detection, and scoring) in one readable file
- Teachers and workshop leads who need a working example small enough to explain in a single session
- Anyone who needs a zero-dependency interactive element that can be dropped anywhere and just works
What problem this template solves
Most “browser games” on offer are either heavy engine exports or toy demos that fall apart the moment you look under the hood. This build is neither.
- Engine exports ship megabytes of runtime before the first frame ever draws
- Toy demos skip the hard parts: real collision, game states, difficulty curves, and persistence
- Builders who want to learn from a finished game almost never get to see the instructions that produced it
What you get with this template
You get a polished two-player Tic Tac Toe with session scoring, self-contained in a single HTML file with no external scripts.
- Click-to-place two-player local play with win and draw detection handled cleanly
- Session scores tracked for X, O, and draws, resetting on reload
- All logic and styling inline in one file, with no build step, no dependencies, and no external requests
Page sections overview
| Section | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Single-file architecture | Keep all markup, styling, and logic in one portable file |
| Win and draw detection | Resolve every terminal board state correctly, including full-board draws |
| Session score tracking | Hold running X, O, and draw totals across a sitting |
| Arcade visual treatment | Dress the classic board in bold primaries and bitmap type |
| Zero-dependency delivery | Ship with no framework, no bundler, and no network requests |
Design and branding system
The identity is arcade-cabinet: saturated primaries, a bitmap display face, and generous hit targets sized for confident clicking.
- A four-colour arcade palette of cabinet yellow, player blue, player red, and black, with no intermediate tones
- Bitmap display type for headings and buttons, matched to the era the palette is quoting
- Oversized tap targets throughout, so the board stays comfortable to play with a finger as well as a cursor
Mobile and speed optimization
The game targets desktop first, with keyboard and mouse as the primary controls. It stays light enough to load instantly anywhere.
- There’s no engine runtime and no asset downloads, so the whole game arrives in a handful of requests
- A capped frame delta keeps the simulation stable even when the browser tab stutters or loses focus
- The page stays lean, with no frameworks or trackers between the visitor and the game loop
How this template helps you convert
A playable game holds attention longer than any showreel. The page around it is built to turn that attention into a next step.
- Visitors play right away, with no signup, download, or install before the first round
- The finished build is fully inspectable, which turns curious players into builders who want the prompt behind it
- Paying once for the prompt is a small, concrete next step while the session is still hot
Other information about this template
A few notes on what this build is and isn’t.
- Play is two-player local on one device; there’s no networked or online mode
- Scores live in memory only and reset on reload, so nothing is written to storage
- The board size and win-line table are data, so a four-by-four variant is a small change rather than a rewrite
- It’s the best starting point in the library for learning how the other games are structured
How it works
All logic and styling live in one file with no external scripts. Session scores sit in a plain JS object, and a reload resets the match. It’s simple and instant, with no dependencies.
Screenshots
Captured from the live build: the title screen, then gameplay, level by level.
