iBoredom: Tic Tac Free

It serves to reason that with all of the new additions to the gaming sphere we are able to leave behind some of the more tired traditions of the past. Mobile gaming, internet communities, and integrated technology provide us so much that some of the more ridiculous entertainment institutions can be now retired. Or not.

Tic Tac Free is a free mobile incarnation of Tic Tac Toe. The game allows three modes. You can play the computer, two people can play, or you can watch the computer play itself. What fun.

The interface is effectively put together and it is very responsive to the players’ choices. You can choose whether or not to have sound effects, whether X or O goes first, and even the difficulty setting. Why you would ever need a difficulty setting for Tic Tac Toe is an enigma built for the X-Files.

The problem with this application is the problem with Tic Tac Toe. The game itself cannot ever be won unless one player is not paying attention. Therefore skill is in no way required, and chance has no effect on the outcome. After one, maybe two matches, both players are so bored that they would find more amusement smashing the touch screen into each other’s faces. Then we have the option that allows you to be an enthused spectator to the computer playing itself. Again, I am not exactly sure the people out there are who find amusement in this but I am sure they are the same people that feel inspired by Mickey Rooney. More than this you also get advertisements at the bottom of the screen, which is actually the most entertaining part of the excursion.

The game is not so bad in its inception, but instead Tic Tac Toe itself. There is not much more the developers could have done with the property, except leave it to the scratched walls in bathroom stalls. The real people to blame are those who continue to pretend that this is actually a game. Because of them we are stilled forced to occasionally play this game that makes Rock Paper Scissors look like a game of speed chess. One and a half out of ten stars.