Caro

Your turn00

Get 5 in a row!

Doodle thinks a little. Watch his lines!

Wins: 0
Ties: 0
Games: 0

Paused

You win!

You 1 · Doodle 0 · ties 0

Caro is the five in a row game children in Vietnam play on squared notebook paper. Here the paper is on screen: draw your red X, Doodle draws his blue O, and whoever gets five in a row first wins. Play Doodle on Easy, Medium or Hard, or play a friend on the same screen.

How to play

Tap a square.
You are X. Your red crayon X draws itself in. When the squares are small, tap once to see it and again to draw it.
Watch Doodle.
Doodle thinks for a moment, then draws his blue O. Block him before his line gets long.
Get five in a row!
Across, down or slanted. The winning line lights up like a highlighter.

Controls

Touch: Tap a square. When the squares are small, the first tap shows your mark and a second tap draws it.
Mouse: Click a square to draw your mark.
Keyboard: ↑ ↓ ← → move the yellow square, Enter or Space draws your mark. H shows a good move, U takes back, P or Esc pauses.

Three boards

3 in a row: 3 by 3: tic-tac-toe, the place to start, from about age 4.
4 in a row: 6 by 6, with more room to plan. A good step for ages 5 and 6.
5 in a row: 10 by 10: real caro, for ages 7 and 8 and grown-ups.

Easy, Medium or Hard sets how carefully Doodle plays. On Easy he misses things, so little ones win often.

Tips to beat Doodle

Start near the middle. More lines run through the middle squares than through the edges.
Make an open three. Three in a row with an empty square at each end is hard to stop: Doodle can only block one end at a time.
Watch Doodle’s lines. When he has three in a row with both ends open, block it right away.
Make two lines at once. One move that starts two threats is how most games are won. Stuck? The light bulb shows a good move.

Boards to print

Play caro the classic way, with a pencil and a friend. Each board fits on one page, A4 or Letter. The printer button above the game prints the big board.

Big caro board
15 by 15 squares, for long games of five in a row.
Small caro board
10 by 10 squares, like the board on screen.
Tic-tac-toe boards
Six 3 by 3 boards on one page, for three in a row.

What kids practice

Thinking ahead. Guessing what the other player will do next, and planning a move or two before it happens.
Spotting lines. Seeing rows across, down and slanted, on a board that fills up fast.
Taking turns. Waiting, watching and playing fair, and cheering at the end whoever wins. Doodle does!

For grown-ups

Caro has no ads, no accounts and no trackers. Wins and ties against Doodle are counted only in this browser on this device. Sound stays off until your child turns it on with the speaker button. There’s no timer, and a move can be taken back.

Doodle’s levels are made for children. On Easy he often misses a win or a block and makes silly moves, so little ones win a lot. On Medium he never misses a win or a block. On Hard he also stops your threes before they grow and looks ahead for a run of fours that wins.

Questions

What is caro?

Caro (cờ caro in Vietnamese) is a game for two players on squared paper. You take turns drawing X and O, and the first to get five in a row, across, down or slanted, wins. It belongs to the same family as gomoku and tic-tac-toe.

Is a line blocked at both ends a win?

Yes, here it is. Some players use a rule that five in a row with an O at each end doesn’t count. We left that rule out to keep the game simple for children: any five in a row wins, and so does a longer line.

Can two children play together?

Yes. On the start card, pick “A friend” and take turns on the same screen. X starts the first game, then the players swap, and the score is kept until you change the board.

Which board should my child start with?

Most 4- and 5-year-olds start with 3 in a row, which is tic-tac-toe. 4 in a row on a 6 by 6 board is a good next step, and 5 in a row on the big board suits 7- and 8-year-olds (and grown-ups who want a real game).