Review Fix Exclusive: Robert Appelblatt Talks TicStacToe

Review Fix chats with Robert Appelblatt, who discusses his modern-day remix on Tic-Tac-Toe, TicStacToe, which allows gamers to stack pieces on top of each other, turning the paper and pen game into a more visual and frenetic experience.

Review Fix: How did you come up with the idea for the game?

Robert Appelblatt: On a total whim.  My five-year-old daughter was playing blocks with our coffee table tic-tac-toe game and happened to stack 4X pieces vertically. I was simply at the right place at the right time.

Review Fix: Can you explain the rules?

Appelblatt: It’s super easy. Get 4 in-a-row in any direction. Horizontal, vertical or diagonal.

Review Fix: Who do you think will enjoy it the most?

Appelblatt: Anyone who likes family thinking games between the ages of 8 and 80.

Review Fix: What are your goals for the game?

Appelblatt: Spread the word and expand on the product line. Out with the old and in with the new. TIC STAC TOE makes the old game obsolete.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Appelblatt: A smaller version shipping to stores now. Even nicer price and no set-up time at all. Unbox and play.

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?

Appelblatt: If you like classic games like Checkers and Chess you will most definitely love TIC STAC TOE.  It’s so familiar and simple but quickly escalates into an intense match of wits demanding focus and careful planning as pieces stack up.  Thinking dimensionally also improves spatial reasoning skills. And there’s no more boring tie games.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14263 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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