Tic-Tac-Toe has achievements and a progression system now. Thanks, the year 2015.
Yes, the Tic-Tac-Toe, that most ancient of gentlemanly playground sports, dating all the way back to the Roman Empire by some estimates. It might seem a bit odd, but Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe actually sounds, dare I say it, kinda interesting. See, you’re not just playing a single square like some kind of Jello-skulled BABY. No, no, this is grown-up Tic-Tac-Toe. Much like a real-life adult, it’s got layers:
- Each square of the 3x3 game board contains another, smaller, 3x3 game board.
- Where you make your move in a square of any small board, you send the opponent in the respective square of the big board.
- 3 in a row in a small board wins the small board and the big square.
- 3 small boards in a row wins the game.
- Strategize your play, plan your next move, let the opponent win some small boards, while you win the game.
This variant wasn’t invented by the Steam game, but I have to confess that it’s my first exposure to it. Ultimate also includes multiple forms of multiplayer, difficulty levels, and a “forget” mode in which “each 4th move of the same player in a board will erase his oldest move.”
And yes, there are now achievements in Tic-Tac-Toe, something I still can’t quite wrap my head around. But you know what? Some of these are pretty great. Case in point: “Kindergarten,” which you get for winning a game with X. Also “Bully,” which you nab after five consecutive wins.
Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe just hit Steam, and it’s free. Will you become one of the world’s few, proud, devastatingly attractive level 50 Tic-Tac-Toe players? Not that it matters. You’ll never triumph over our own Stephen Totilo.
You’re reading Steamed, Kotaku’s page dedicated to all things in and around Valve’s stupidly popular PC gaming service. Games, culture, community creations, criticism, guides, videos—everything. If you’ve found anything cool/awful on Steam, send us an email to let us know.
To contact the author of this post, write to nathan.grayson@kotaku.com or find him on Twitter @vahn16.