Git Tic-Tac-Toe Template

A paired collaboration game. You and your partner play tic-tac-toe by committing and pushing moves to a shared GitHub repository.

---

Initial Setup

Decide who is Player X (first mover) and who is Player O (collaborator).

Player X (Host / First Mover)

1. Click Use this template > Create a new repository.
2. Go to Settings > Collaborators > Add people, and invite Player O by their GitHub handle.
3. Register your game to display your board on the workshop Game Wall.
4. Clone the repository locally:

   git clone <your-repo-url>
   cd <repo-folder>

5. You are ready to make Move 1!

Player O (Collaborator / Second Mover)

1. Accept the invitation via email or GitHub notifications.
2. Clone the repository locally:

   git clone <repo-url>
   cd <repo-folder>

3. Wait for Player X to push Move 1. Once they tell you "Your turn!", begin your turn cycle.

---

The Turn Cycle

Every turn follows these five steps in exact order. Always pull before editing!

1. PULL the latest move

git pull origin main

2. EDIT board.txt

Open board.txt in your text editor. Replace one empty square ([ ]) with your mark ([X] or [O]), then save the file.

3. STAGE your change

Verify your diff and stage board.txt:

git status
git diff
git add board.txt

4. COMMIT with a clear message

git commit -m "Move 1: X in center square"

5. PUSH to GitHub

git push origin main

Tell your partner: "Your turn!"

---

Troubleshooting

• Push Rejected ([rejected] main -> main (fetch first)): Your partner pushed before you fetched. Run:

  git pull origin main
  git push origin main

• Merge Conflict in board.txt: Open board.txt, resolve the conflict markers (<<<<<<<, =======, >>>>>>>), save, and run:

  git add board.txt
  git commit -m "Resolve merge conflict in board.txt"
  git push origin main

• Mistake or Typo: Never force push (git push -f). Simply fix board.txt, commit the fix, and push:

  git commit -am "Fix: correct square"
  git push origin main

---

Branch Rematch (Optional)

Finished your match early? Play a rematch on a dedicated branch to keep your first game history intact on main:

1. Player X creates and pushes the branch:

   git checkout -b rematch
   git push -u origin rematch

2. Player O fetches and switches to the branch:

   git fetch origin
   git checkout rematch

3. Reset board.txt back to empty squares ([ ]), commit, and push:

   git commit -am "Start Rematch Game 2"
   git push origin rematch

4. Play your rematch on the rematch branch!