Rock-a-Tac Combines Two Classics To Create A Whole New Game

Using the basic rules of tic-tac-toe, players try to fill the board with their respective “Xs” and “Os,” but instead of the familiar letters distinguishing the opponents, they are represented by the colors red and blue. Red is for villains while blue is for heroes.

Instead of marking a spot on the six-by-six grid with a single symbol, players are given the choice to use a rock, a paper notebook or a pair of scissors. To win the game, line up one of each across a row.

There is no such thing as a tie in this game. Once the board fills up with both player’s various items, the rock-paper-scissors aspect of the game begins. You can eliminate your opponent’s mark by winning against his rock, paper or scissors. For example, if you have a rock and a pair of scissors in one row, but your opponent has the third square marked with his own scissors, you can place your rock on it and, not only will you win against his scissors, but you will win that game because you will have completed a row.

You can play this game as a single player and compete against an artificial intelligence computer opponent or against friends and strangers using Game Center to link up.

This game is surprisingly fun for being so simple. Mixing the two classic games is a brilliant way to spark new interest. On the iPhone/iPod touch, there are a couple of awkward glitches that will shut down the game, but they only happen within the options menu, so they don’t affect gameplay. On the iPad, there are so many bugs that you will want to break out a can of Raid. It freezes up and shuts down. Sometimes, when you are trying to move your piece around, it will lock up for a few seconds. My recommendation is to avoid this app until it receives an update if you only play on the iPad.

Although this game is terribly buggy on the iPad, it works great on the iPhone or iPod touch. It is entertaining and the graphics are nice. It is priced right at only $0.99. If you don’t mind ads, there is a free version, as well. The game is definitely worth the download. Hopefully, the developers will fix the glitches soon.