tic
Original: tic on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Title: NEW GAME VARIANT: "KRIEGSPIEL TIC-TAC-TOE"
SETUP:
Requires 3 people: 2 players and 1 "monitor."
Each player has three private tic-tac-toe boards, which their opponent cannot see, but the monitor can. They are labeled A, B, and C.
There are also 3 public tic-tac-toe boards which everyone can see. These are also labeled A, B, and C.
GAMEPLAY:
Players take turns writing one symbol in one square on their private board. Squares that are occupied on a private board are also occupied on the corresponding public board.
Once a player draws a symbol on their private board, the monitor checks to see if their opponent has already occupied that square by writing a symbol on THEIR private board.
If the square is already occupied, the player who tried to occupy it a second time loses their turn. The symbol in that occupied square is then drawn in the corresponding square of the public board.
SCORING:
Whenever a player gets three in a row on a board, up-down, left-right, or diagonal, they get a point. The winning board is not publicly revealed, but players may no longer play on it.
WINNING:
Whoever has the most points when no more moves are possible wins.
Votey:
Caption text: COMING IN 2032: AN ENTIRE SMBC BOOK THAT'S JUST VERSIONS OF TIC-TAC-TOE WITH INCOMPLETE INFORMATION.
SETUP:
Requires 3 people: 2 players and 1 "monitor."
Each player has three private tic-tac-toe boards, which their opponent cannot see, but the monitor can. They are labeled A, B, and C.
There are also 3 public tic-tac-toe boards which everyone can see. These are also labeled A, B, and C.
GAMEPLAY:
Players take turns writing one symbol in one square on their private board. Squares that are occupied on a private board are also occupied on the corresponding public board.
Once a player draws a symbol on their private board, the monitor checks to see if their opponent has already occupied that square by writing a symbol on THEIR private board.
If the square is already occupied, the player who tried to occupy it a second time loses their turn. The symbol in that occupied square is then drawn in the corresponding square of the public board.
SCORING:
Whenever a player gets three in a row on a board, up-down, left-right, or diagonal, they get a point. The winning board is not publicly revealed, but players may no longer play on it.
WINNING:
Whoever has the most points when no more moves are possible wins.
Votey:
Caption text: COMING IN 2032: AN ENTIRE SMBC BOOK THAT'S JUST VERSIONS OF TIC-TAC-TOE WITH INCOMPLETE INFORMATION.
Alt text
A text-only comic styled as a rulebook page on yellowish paper with a hand-drawn border. The title reads: NEW GAME VARIANT: "KRIEGSPIEL TIC-TAC-TOE." It lays out elaborate rules for a hidden-information tic-tac-toe game. SETUP: 3 people, 2 players and 1 monitor; each player has three private tic-tac-toe boards (A, B, C) hidden from the opponent but visible to the monitor, plus 3 public boards everyone can see. GAMEPLAY: players take turns marking one square on a private board; the monitor checks whether the opponent already occupied that square. If a square is already taken, the player who tried to occupy it loses their turn and that mark is revealed on the corresponding public board. SCORING: three in a row earns a point, but the winning board stays hidden and can no longer be played on. WINNING: whoever has the most points when no moves remain wins. The joke is the absurd over-engineering of tic-tac-toe into a fog-of-war strategy game. Votey: a small framed panel with only caption text reading, "COMING IN 2032: AN ENTIRE SMBC BOOK THAT'S JUST VERSIONS OF TIC-TAC-TOE WITH INCOMPLETE INFORMATION."
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.