Tic-Tac-Tome: The Automonous
Tic-Tac-Toe Playing Book

Author: Willy Yonkers
Release Date: June 11, 2014
Publisher: Quirk Books
Source: Quirk Books
Genre(s): Novelty, Game, Fun

Rating: ★★★★☆
Review Spoilers:  N/A
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That’s what I’ve been saying to this freakin’ book.

Okay, it’s not actually what I’ve been saying to it but it’s definitely what I’ve been thinking. This freakin’ thing is difficult. It’s hard to review this as a book since, obviously, it’s more of a game. Basically the idea behind Tic-Tac-Tome is that tic-tac-toe is a difficult game. Everyone likes to say they are good at it and everyone likes to say if you get the center piece you’re guaranteed to win. But most of the time you’re not going to win. Most of the time the game is going to end in a draw.

Tic-Tac-Tome is basically a book full of no-win scenarios with one caveat: you can win.

Once.

There is one way to win in this entire book.

You can start or the book can start. You can start with any space you like. But there is only one way you can win. (And I haven’t even found it yet.)

Each move has you flipping to the relevant page which fills out the board for you. It’s kind of like those choose your own adventure books. Except in this case you’re choosing moves and in this case you are going to probably be disappointed each and ever time.

Still, its a lot of fun.

The bottom line: this is the kind of book you can get for a friend or get for a gift exchange without feeling guilty. It’s fun, it’s quirky, and at just under $10 on Amazon (list price $12.95) it’s easily worth the price for the hours of frustration.

Final Thoughts:
Game lovers are going to enjoy this and the endless ways to lose will keep people endlessly entertained. You’ll want to keep playing just to see if you’ll ever best the book.