Have you ever played Tic Tac Toe against yourself? No, of course not. Why would you? In this game from Minute to Win It however, that's exactly what you'll be doing. Instead of paper and a pencil though, you'll be using drinking glasses and ping pong balls -- because that's how Minute to Win It rolls.


 

The Goal

The goal of Ping Tac Toe is to score a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal line of same-colored ping pong balls. You'll accomplish this by bouncing the balls into a grid of drinking glasses filled with water. The catch is that you'll be playing two different colors of ping pong balls simultaneously, alternating between colors as you score. It sounds tricky and I'm not going to lie -- it is.

 

Equipment Needed

Ping Tac Toe is one of those games that can be a bit difficult to plan for, since you don't really know how many ping pong balls you'll need. Get more than you think you'll need but don't spend a ton of money on the balls - they're available in multi-packs at most dollar or deep discount stores, so do your supply shopping at one of those. Here's your complete shopping list:

• Ping pong balls in two distinct colors
• Two baskets to hold the balls
• Nine standard-size drinking glasses -- you want these to be heavy enough that they won't be knocked over, but if kids are playing then perhaps glass isn't your best option
• Masking tape or chalk to mark a foul line on the floor of the play area
• A one minute timer or stop watch

Setting Up the Game Before You Play

First, set up your tic tac toe grid. Each drinking glass should be almost full of water. Place them in a 3x3 grid to create the playing field, leaving a bit of space between each glass.

Measure the distance from the grid that you want your foul line to be. This can be whatever distance you think will be challenging but not impossible, so throw a few practice balls to decide where you want to start from. Mark this line on the floor clearly with masking tape or chalk (depending on whether you're playing indoors or out).

 

Finally, place the ping pong balls in the two baskets, one basket for each color of ball. Place the baskets just behind the marked foul line.

How to Play

The player begins the game standing at the foul line. When the timer begins, grab one ping pong ball (of either color) and attempt to bounce it into one of the glasses. The ball must bounce once on the floor before hitting the glass in order to count, so you'll need a spotter. Keep playing with the same colored balls until you land one, then switch to the other color and continue. You cannot change colors at any point during the game unless you've just landed one of the opposite color in a glass.

Score three balls of the same color in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line (just like in tic tac toe) in sixty seconds or less in order to win the game.

The Rules

The rules for Ping Tac Toe are:

• You cannot change colors until you land a ball of the opposite color in a glass
• You must stay behind the foul line as you bounce the balls
• Balls must bounce once and only once before hitting a glass in order to count

Tips and Tricks

You're going to need to have fairly good aim in order to keep this game going, since the real danger is in blocking yourself from making a row of one color. Try to aim one color at one side of the grid, and the other color at the other side. If you accidentally land a colored ball in an awkward spot don't panic -- when you have to return to that color, aim for an open throwaway spot.