We’ve all be there. You’re bored in class or a conference or while waiting for an appointment. You start to doodle. Eventually, to pass the time, you play a game of tic-tac-toe to pass the time. But it rarely helps. Why does tic-tac-toe fail? One word: tie. Game after game, tie after tie. Then it’s back to doodling or moving on to another game. But what if tic-tac-toe became more interesting? What about a lot more interesting?
I present to you: Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe. As explained in that link, instead of playing on one board, you play on nine smaller boards, each located within the squares of a larger board. You win when you get three small boards in a row.
But there’s a twist: you don’t get to pick which small board you play in. You must play within the small board indicated by your opponent’s previous move. In other words, if your opponent chooses the center square of a small board, you must make a play within the center small board. What if the small board is already won? Doesn’t matter. Choose a blank spot. What if the board is already full? Ah, then you get a free move. Click on that link above. He includes a lot of graphics to help explain the game.
What I like about this is that it introduces a whole other level of strategy and creativity to the game. It may look a little strange or silly or random to observers, but I think players will agree that tic-tac-toe has never been this fun. It’s the multi-dimensional chess of tic-tac-toe.