
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
Azar and Carl play a game of tic-tac-toe. Azar places an $X$ in one of the boxes in a $4$-by-$4$ array of boxes, then Carl places an $O$ in one of the remaining boxes. After that, Azar places another $X$ in one of the remaining boxes, and so on until all boxes are filled or one of the players has their symbols in a row—horizontal, vertical, or diagonal—whichever comes first, in which case that player wins the game. Suppose the players make their moves at random, rather than trying to follow a rational strategy, and that Carl wins the game when he places his second $O$. How many ways can the board look after the game is over?
A) 130
B) 135
C) 140
D) 145
E) 150

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
user