Tic Tac Drop

Tic Tac Drop.

Tic Tac Drop is a puzzle video game developed and published by Microsoft in the Microsoft Entertainment Pack 4 for Windows 3 in 1992. The game is a rendition of Connect Four but with several additional features like the ability to customize the size and shape of the play field as well as the length of line needed to win.

The configuration and stats of the game are stored in the EntPack.ini file in the Windows directory.

Personal

Although I didn't have this game growing up, some of my friends did. However, since it's little more than Connect Four, we rarely played it. As an adult trying to reacquaint myself with the games of Windows 3, I replayed the game in detail. I was able to beat the AI on Advanced difficulty, CPU goes first, for all default-sized layouts, with a line length of 4 on 2020-07-28.

Status

I do not own this game, but I have beaten various layouts against the most difficult AI.

Review

3	3	2	1	6

Best Version: Windows 3

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

• The game has a nice amount of customization allowing for very large game boards provided you had the graphics card to handle it.
• The AI is flexible enough to play competently at every possible play field setting.
• Unlike most 2-player games in the Entertainment Packs, this one actually lets you play with a second human.
• The game accommodates large screen sizes.

Bad

• When playing with a very large play field, the game slows down a lot as marbles fill the area.
• Rather than scroll the play field around, its maximum size is dependent on the resolution of Windows. This means, people with better video hardware could play more complex games.
• Even at the hardest difficulty, the AI isn't too difficult for 3 and 4-in-a-row. I'm no expert, but I was still able to beat the AI on Advanced, even after giving the CPU first move without much difficulty.
• Like all Entertainment Pack games, it's severely media-challenged.

Ugly

• Nothing.

Media

Icon

• 

  The game's icon.

Screenshots

• 

  Starting a game with the default settings.

• 

  The about menu.

• 

  One move away from victory in the standard game.

• 

  I beat the AI in the pyramid layout with a victory length of 3.

• 

  The game can scale up to the screen size, so very large and long games can exist.

Credits

Roles	Staff
Entire Game	Glenn Bulat, Troy Strain