SF author Fred Saberhagen used an "automated" tic-tac-toe in one of the first Berserker (intelligent machines bent on wiping out organic life) stories. The pro

SF author Fred Saberhagen used an "automated" tic-tac-toe in one of the first Berserker (intelligent machines bent on wiping out organic life) stories. The protagonist was a scout spaceship pilot, who for plot reasons had to simulate being alert in communication with a Berserker that could kill him if it determined he wasn't. If memory serves, he devised some sort of branch elimination algorithm using matchsticks, so that his tic-tac-toe games improved with iteration... That was 1963: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berserker_(novel_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berserker_(novel_series)