With the circled letters, a literal depiction of what you need to win tic tac toe - NYT Mini Crossword Clue Answer

Looking for the answer to "With the circled letters, a literal depiction of what you need to win tic tac toe" from March 21, 2025 NYT Mini crossword? The 5-letter answer is: THREE.

Why is THREE the Answer?

The answer THREE is both literal and clever in this context:

• In tic-tac-toe, you need to get THREE X's or O's in a row to win
• The circled letters in the puzzle literally spell out THREE
• This makes it a perfect answer that works on multiple levels - both as the solution and as a visual representation

About Tic-Tac-Toe

Tic-tac-toe is a classic paper-and-pencil game where:

• Two players take turns marking X's and O's on a 3×3 grid
• The goal is to get three of your marks in a row - horizontally, vertically, or diagonally
• The first player to achieve three in a row wins the game