Tic Tac Toe - The Resurrection

First thoughts on what to change

      Originally when I started out I thought I wanted to change the game space (aka the 3 x 3 board) because of how it limits strategy to get to the win state.  I also thought I would change from drawing 'x's and 'o's to something else.  I considered keeping being able to play with a mere pen and paper but I ended up going with a deviation from that as well.

Testing first game

This first game I developed deviated from Tic Tac Toe in the following ways:  different board, change from 'x's and 'o's, different win state.

    I ended up testing out a game that started with a board like this

Basically, the board starts out as pictured above and then a player has to either:

put a piece on an open circle

or move a piece on a circle to a circle (within a one circle radius).

  There are several different winning formations:

    Once a formation is reached the game starts over again.  The goal of the game is to be the first to make it to 7 points.

This game ended up being a complete failure- too predictable and ultimately very boring and I started anew with a completely different direction....

Final product - explanation of Triple R

The board

The goal- same as always, get three in a row.

                               What's Different?   

• Meant for two to three teams of two players 
• You draw cards when it's your team's turn
• To 'get a space' you place a piece on the board to represent your team- shown below. (by completing a challenge card or someone else fails at an attempt on a card that has your team on it)

There are three team options:  Roach, Rabbit, or Raptor 

On your team's turn you must draw a grey Challenge Card.

Grey cards are Challenge Cards

The card will have up to three components: a team name, a challenge, and it might have '!!!' to indicate that the challenge is for all of the teams playing and not just the team who's turn it is.

The Challenge Cards call upon your team to draw a Topic Card if you choose to attempt the challenge.

Some cards bring forth the Random Rampant Ravaging Shark.  If this card is played the shark will get rid of any pieces on two spots next to each other (of the player's choosing) and stay on the board for two turns after that.  No player can attempt a spot under the shark. 

On your turn:

1. You draw a Challenge Card
2. You choose whether or not you want to attempt it
3. If so: you and your teammate declare which space you are attempting it for (or if the board is full: which space you want to steal)                                                                                                       If not: it becomes the next team's turn (clockwise rotation) .
4. If you succeed in the Challenge: you claim a space for your team                                                    If you did not succeed: the team who is identified on the card gets to claim the space

Overall I thought this game was successful.  It created humorous social interaction and invited a pleasant sense of competition.