An m,n,k-game is an abstract board game in which two players take turns in placing a stone of their color on an m×n board, the winner being the player who first gets k stones of their own color in a row, horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Thus, tic-tac-toe is the 3,3,3-game and free-style gomoku is the 15,15,5-game. An m,n,k-game is also called a k-in-a-row game on an m×n board.
m,n,k-games are mainly of mathematical interest. One seeks to find the game-theoretic value, which is the result of the game with perfect play. This is known as solving the game.
== Strategy stealing argument ==
A...