Letter to place:
Pick a letter, then tap an empty square
| Pick S or O | Choose which letter to place. |
| Tap a square | Place it there. |
| Mode | Play the computer or a friend. |
SOS is the school exercise-book game where you place either an S or an O in a grid, and score every time you complete the sequence S-O-S in any direction. Make one and you go again, which is where the game gets its bite.
The letters work identically in English, which is why this one travels where most paper games do not. The strategy is genuinely subtle: placing a letter that cannot immediately be exploited is often better than the obvious move, because most squares hand your opponent an SOS if you are careless.
Avoid placing an S two squares from another S. That leaves the middle square as a free SOS for your opponent, and it is the single most common way beginners hand over points.
An isolated O is usually the safest opening move. It cannot complete anything on its own and it does not create the S-gap-S pattern that gives the game away.
Look for double scores. A single letter placed where two lines intersect can complete two SOS sequences at once, and since scoring earns another turn, that can start a long run.
Count safe squares late in the game. When the board is nearly full, every remaining square gives something away, so the player forced to move first in that situation loses ground.
By completing the sequence S-O-S in a row, column or diagonal. Each one earns a point and another turn.
Yes, you choose S or O on each turn, which is the main strategic decision.
When the grid is full. Whoever made more SOS sequences wins.
Yes, unlike most paper word games. The letters S and O carry over unchanged.
Nothing at all. The whole of SOS is built into the page itself, which is why there is no loading bar and no waiting before you can play.