So this week in Game Design we were issued a remix and remodel
challenge, which we immediately accepted. To complete the first part of the remolding and remixing challenge (the second part is found Here) we needed
to take the game of Tic Tac Toe, which is a game of pure skill, and change it to
be more of a chance based game and then choose a previously made game. This is
to be achieved by adding one or more chance-based mechanics, now this can be as
simple as adding a dice roll to the game (but that wouldn’t be to fun now will
it). Now before I explain how I changed the rules of Tic Tac Toe let me quickly
explain the game and its rules for anyone who has never played.
Now Tic Tac Toe is a paper and pencil game in which players
take turns placing X’s and O’s along a 3×3 grid. The goal of the game is to
place 3 markers (either X or O) in consecutive order, either in a horizontal,
vertical or diagonal row. An example of the game is seen below:
The rules of Tic Tac Toe are as followed:
- X always goes first
- Players must place X’s and O’s alternately on the board until one player has a row of 3 or the board is filled.
- If a player is able to draw 3 of the same markers, that player wins.
- If all squares are filled and neither player has 3 markers in a row, it is a draw.
Tic Tac Toe Strategy
My Modifications:
Now when looking at Tic Tac Toe and playing a few rounds
online and against some friends (depending on who I played it against the
results were very mixed, I won some, I lost some and we tied some.) I began
thinking of ways to change the game. Now the first thing I decided was to
change some of the pre-existing rules by both increasing the board size to be a
6×6 grid rather than a 3×3 one. After increasing the size I decided that
instead of having to match 3 in the row player will have to match 4 in a row,
however matching 5 and 6 in a row is entirely possible to achieve but not
necessary to win the game.
Now with the increased board I added a number range
along the board on its Y and X axis ranging from 1 to 6, I utilized in my 1st
modification where players must roll 2 dice, the dice must be rolled one after
another to determine where you play your marker(either an X or an O). The first
dice corresponds to your X value while the second dice corresponds with your Y
value. Now if the tile you rolled already has a marker on it you will lose your
current turn, meaning you cannot place a marker on the board during the current
round.
The next modification I made to Tic Tac Toe was to add a
mechanic that determines who is what marker, X or Y, each turn, I did this by making
each player call a side on a coin and flip the coin. The player who wins the
coin toss is allowed to choose which marker they wish to play as in that round,
the players are encouraged to choose the current winning marker and attempt to
win the game, however they are free to choose the losing marker if they feel
like it.
Next I added another mechanic to the game, which will change the order
of who starts each round, meaning at the beginning of every round in a game of
Tic Tac Toe, after deciding who is what marker, players must determine which
marker goes first in every round, rather than having the same person go first every
time. I implemented this mechanic by making players play a quick game of Rock
Paper Scissors to determine go goes first in every round, players can set the
limit to the number of rounds of Rock Paper Scissors that must be won and
played.
A video of my playtest of my modified can be found below
(Note: This was played with my brother who has just learned the modified game
rules and I had him give me feedback after the game):
Play Testing:
Commentary on The Modifications:
Some Changes That Came After The Play Test:
- Two other winning patterns
- Players can either make a square out of 4 consecutive acquired spots
- Players can make an L shape out of 4 consecutive acquired spots
- Adding more than 2 players, which would require a different set of rules
In case You Were Interested
Here are some links for more info on Tic Tac Toe.
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