Demolition Tic-Tac-Toe: Because Tic-Tac-Toe is so much more interesting when you break the rules

Players will break through the limitations of classic Tic-Tac-Toe and dabble in the use of threats and counter-threats in order to overpower their opponents. Let’s blow this game out of the water!

 

As The Games Bible author Leigh Anderson says, “If you’re over eight years old, Tic-Tac-Toe can be a little dull,” and I whole-heartedly agree! That’s why I wrote about Tic-Tac-Toe before and why I’m doing it again. Demolition Tic-Tac-Toe is much more entertaining and stimulating that easily flips the game on its head. As this is the first post of the new semester, this will be a bit of an easier read, which means that hopefully you will be able to more easily remember this the next time someone asks to play Tic-Tac-Toe!

 

Are you ready to DESTROY Tic-Tac-Toe? Let’s find out…

 

---

 

Players: 2

Gear: Paper, Pencils

 

^ BORING! ^

 

HOW TO PLAY

 

Ideally, the game is played on a gridded piece of paper. Set up a regular 3 x 3 Tic-Tac-Toe board. The basic idea of the game is that you can play on squares OUTSIDE the original board, as long as they are adjacently connected (up, down, left, right… NOT diagonally) to a previously played square. With the expansion of where you can play, the objective becomes trying to get four in a line (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) instead of three in a line.

 

 

As demonstrated in the example, X and O alternate turns and can play in spaces outside the original grid (in bold), as long as it is connected to a previously played square and there is a path back to a played square on the original board. The red O demonstrates a square that is currently unavailable to play in because there are no previously played spaces around it. 

 

X would win in this scenario because they got four in a row (illustrated by the pink highlighted cells). 

 

 

THE TWIST

 

The fun begins with this simple extra rule: players can DESTROY an opponent’s square by surrounding that square on three sides!

This means that if X plays in the squares above, below, and the right of O’s square, then O’s square is blacked out, or permanently removed from the game. Any squares that only have a connection to a blacked out square will also be removed, since they have lost that connection to the original board.

 

 

In this example, O successfully destroyed one of X’s squares because they surrounded X on the top, right, and bottom with O’s. This means that the X is scribbled out and that square is removed from play. Because the O square above it was only connected to the original board by the square that just got destroyed, that square is removed from the game as well.

 

Despite this, X still wins in this scenario because they got four in a row (illustrated by the pink highlighted cells). 

 

 

WINNING THE GAME

The games ends when one person gets 4 in a row! Use this demolition tactic to block and ruin your opponent’s advance to victory while also making sure that you’re aware of the same tactics they could use against you!

 

 

---

 

Author’s Note

Unlike my previous post about Strategic Tic-Tac-Toe, I have not played this game yet! It didn’t seem like something that would be very attention grabbing, but as I looked more into it, I became aware of how tricky and bold this game really is! In a way it is similar to Chess, where you have to focus on using your tools in order to prevent your opponent from winning, while also trying to win yourself, and avoid any setbacks your opponent can force on you. I will definitely test this one soon though! Also, if you’re  enjoying these blogs, check out some from last semester! There are a ton of amazing ideas and great games, and just because you’re in this semester doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look at them!

 

 

Analysis

After playing some sample games, I think I may have dramatized it a bit too much in the intro… oops. It wasn’t nearly as intense with “threats” and “counter-threats” but it was still quite fun, playing Tic-Tac-Toe with a cherry on top. What I most enjoyed about this game was its pure simplicity. Everyone knows Tic-Tac-Toe and this is a very easy expansion on that knowledge, so it was fast to get someone else to play it with me! It’s the small things that make some games great.

Creativity:  I think that this game’s creative aspect comes from your ability to visualize patterns.  Instead of thinking purely about which move is the most effective in maximizing your opportunity to win, coming up with shapes, patterns, and flows will aid your game play.  This is especially innovative if you try a new idea each time. 

Luck: Luck doesn’t have a lot of impact on this game since everything revolves around the choices you and your opponent make. Where your opponent plays, which ultimately affects your next move could be considered luck, but not in the traditional sense.  

Strategy:  Although the game isn’t as cut and dry as regular Tic-Tac-Toe,  there are some overall general principles that you can apply during gameplay. Since there are only a limited number of available spaces, I’m sure that there are ways that one could analyze each possible move and determine it’s probability of winning, but that would be too much for this blog. If that kind of analysis is more your speed, check out this diagram, which literally maps out your best strategy for regular Tic-Tac-Toe.

 

Tips & Strategies

• • If you’ve ever played Connect Four before, think of this game like that, except you aren’t restricted by gravity! Thinking this way helps put the game into a different perspective
  • DON’T focus on using the demolition strategy; in fact, it was counter-productive in the few sample games I played because they didn’t add to the overall objective of getting four in a row.  Often, focusing on destroying an opponent’s square result in the loss of one of your squares and sometimes even gives the opponent an advantage
  • Your ACTUAL goal is to make a three in a row with none of your opponent’s pieces on either end.  Try thinking about the game like this and it may guide you in what direction you need to go
  • That being said… if the real goal is to make three in a row, then that means pay attention to when your opponent has two in a row because you might want to block it immediately or be prepared to block it soon before you set yourself up for defeat

 

Variations: Try this out next time you play!

• If you weren’t jazzed about the demolition aspect of the game, then just playing without the twist is actually just another game! This is referred to as Expanda-Toe since you expand the playing board, nonetheless, it’s still a variation of Demolition Tic-Tac-Toe!

• But if you really really want more, visit this page for some more amazing variations! 

 

Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful day!

 

 

 

Credits

I cannot stress enough the importance of Leigh Anderson’s fantastic book The Games Bible for inspiring these blog posts. Her book has hundreds of amazing ideas, from icebreakers, family games, and weekend getaways. This blog would not be possible without all the hard work she put into writing the book so my source for ideas and research are from her book.

 

Sources

• Anderson, Leigh. The Games Bible. Workman Publishing Company, 2010.
• Anderson, Leigh. “The Games BIBLE: The Ultimate Gamebook… Book by Leigh Anderson.” ThriftBooks, www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-games-bible-the-ultimate-gamebook-for-grown-ups-307-games-to-put-the-fun-back-in-parties_leigh-anderson/571781/#edition=5740103&idiq=12407424
• 330px-Tictactoe-X.svg.png
• https://upepo.substack.com/p/6-amazing-versions-of-tic-tac-toe

Image Sources

• Explosion
• Tic Tac Toe Draw
• Formula D
• All images related to Demolition Tic-Tac-Toe were created by Nicholas Bodie