Toss Across - Strategy

Strategy

Unlike traditional tic-tac-toe, a letter placed in a given square may not stay there the rest of the game. A square may change letters multiple times before the game is resolved. This highlights the major game strategy: that it is often more effective to attempt removing opponents' letters than to block them from getting three in a row. In traditional tic-tac-toe, preventing a player from getting three letters in a row is accomplished by placing your symbol in the way such that they cannot get three in a row in a given direction. While this is entirely possible in Toss Across, the somewhat arbitrary effect of hitting a square can work against players.

Example. Joe (playing O) observes that Jane (playing X) has changed both bottom corner squares to X. In traditional tic-tac-toe, Joe would place an O in the bottom center square to block her. However, in Toss Across, unless Joe is confident he can control his throw to the degree that hitting the bottom center block will definitely change it to an O, this is not the best move. There is a 1-in-3 chance that hitting the block will change it to X, giving Jane the victory. Moreover, even if Joe achieves his best possible outcome and changes the block to O, Jane will still aim for this block to change it to X. Joe's move is essentially wasted. Instead, Joe aims for one of Jane's established corners. If he hits it, there is a 2-in-3 chance that he will remove the X from the board, and he even has a 1-in-3 chance to flip the square to O, radically altering Jane's strategy.

While no method of tossing the beanbag is guaranteed to have the desired effect, tossing the bag vertically (such that it rotates corner over corner) rather than horizontally (such that it stays mostly flat) tends to create more significant impacts and more often turns the blocks.

Although no official rules prevent overhand tossing, some players ban this practice merely to prevent high-power throws at the board, which is not particularly sturdy.