You can say it's restrictive but you can also say that it gives you the power to decide where your opponent can play! That is the essence of this game. I'll think about allowing to play everywhere but that might end up being too close to the tic-tac-toe.
i understood that you can choose where your opponent will play, but i am speaking about another gamemode, because more customization usually helps, also, it would be easier to get the ideas about the game, like a begginer mode