Who wins games of n in a row?

The aim is to be the first player to get n o's or x's in a row. There is no limit to the size of the board.

Try to evaluate if the first player (FRED) or the second player (SID) wins.

Is there always a winner or are some games draws if both players pursue their best strategy.

This type of game is actually known as a zero sum game played with perfect information. This means that both sides can see exactly what the other side has done. A move that is good for one player is equally bad for his opponent. In such a game a perfect strategy always exists. The problem is finding it!

One strategy to use is that of "exhaustive search". Try to come up with all possible (sensible) games that grow out of the 1, 2 or 3 player games. The actual number of games is infinite (Why?) but you can use your brain to "prune" the "game tree" down to a sensible size.