TTTM Playtest 1 — Tester Guide

Why we're testing

We want to know one thing: is TTTM fun enough that you want one more game? Please play at least 20 matches over a few sessions, then tell us how it felt.

TTTM is fast, competitive tic-tac-toe on a bigger board. Every move is against a short timer, the board sometimes turns under you, and you climb five leagues from Tadpoles to Megalodons. This is an early build: the game itself works, but some art and all sounds are placeholders. Judge the game, not the polish.

What we need from you:

at least 20 matches, in sessions of whatever length suits you;
a few quick answers after each session (see What to record);
anything that confused you, annoyed you or broke, as soon as you notice it.

Getting the game

Android phones get the app from Google Play, as an early-access test.

On your phone, open Join the Android test, signed in with the Google account you gave us.
Tap Become a tester, then Download it on Google Play.
Install TTTM from the Play Store. Updates arrive through the Play Store like any app.

iPhones play the web version: open Play in the browser in Safari. Add it to your home screen (Share, then Add to Home Screen) so it opens full screen.

For both:

Turn your sound on. Sound and vibration are part of the feel.
Play in portrait, one-handed if you like.
Your progress stays on that phone. Don't clear the app's data or you start again from 0 LP.

How to play

Get a line of your pieces before your opponent does: 3 in a row on the small board, 4 on the large one. Lines count across, down and diagonally.

Your pieces are always blue, theirs always orange. Whoever starts a game plays X, so you'll be X in some games and O in others. The colour never changes.

A match is best of 3. First to win 2 games takes the match. Drawn games don't count, up to 5 games in all. You start game 1 on a coin flip, the other player starts game 2, and after that the loser of the last decided game starts.

Every move is against the clock. The ring around the board is your timer: it empties as time runs out and pulses in the last 3 seconds. On your turn it glows and beeps, faster and faster, with a long beep for the last second. Run out and you lose that turn. Time out 3 turns in a row and you lose the game.

The board turns. In higher leagues the whole board rotates every few moves. It's the same game, just seen from a new angle. Your timer waits until the turn has finished.

Blocked squares (rocks, coral and so on) can't be played. They're placed at random at the start of each game.

Special moves

You start with 2 of each. One tap uses a special, so be sure before you tap:

Delete (left): takes back their last move. This uses your turn. It only works while their last piece is still theirs, so not after a Swap.
Swap (middle): every X becomes O and every O becomes X, so you take over their position. This uses your turn, and it can't win the game on its own.
+Time (right): 5 more seconds. You still have to move.

Each game you can use 1 Delete or Swap, and 1 +Time.

League points and leagues

A win earns 3 league points (LP), a draw 1, and a loss costs 1. For this test each league takes about 4 wins to climb. You never drop out of a league once you've reached it. Opponents marked BOT are practice matches: a win there earns 1 LP and a loss costs nothing.

League	Points to reach it	Board	Move timer	Board turns	Blocked squares
Tadpoles	0	4×4, 3 in a row	10 s	never	none
Little Fish	12	4×4, 3 in a row	7 s	90° clockwise, every 3rd move	up to 1
Big Fish	24	5×5, 4 in a row	6 s	90° either way, every 2nd move	up to 2
Sharks	36	5×5, 4 in a row	5 s	any amount, every 2nd move	up to 2
Megalodons	48	5×5, 4 in a row	4 s	any amount, every move	up to 2

The screen at a glance

From top to bottom during a match:

Ticker: news from around the game (promotions, big wins, streaks) and how many games are live.
You versus them: your card on the left with your league points and a bar showing how close you are to the next league, the score in the middle, your opponent on the right. The glowing ring shows whose turn it is.
The board inside the timer ring. The "!" at the top marks where the countdown starts.
Depth gauge (the tube on the right): your league's leaderboard at a glance. It shows the top 2, then the player above you, you and the player below. A "+3" bubble floats up when someone wins; a "−1" means someone passed you.
Special moves with how many you have left. A lock means you've used your allowance for this game.
A hint under the specials: "Your move", or what a picked special wants next.

Between matches the game keeps you moving:

Finding an opponent: names spin like a slot machine until your opponent is found.
3-2-1-GO with both players' cards. You can't move until GO.
Between games, a banner shows the result, the score and who starts next.
Result: win or lose, your league points change, and your progress to the next league.
Break: the full leaderboard and a 5-second countdown, then the next search starts by itself. Tap Play now to skip the wait, or Take a break to stop. Settings (sound, music, vibration, animations) are here and on the home screen.

What to try

Play at least 20 matches, spread across all five leagues. You'll climb a league every 4 wins or so; to try the ones you haven't reached yet, the home screen has a Playtest league menu that drops you straight into any league's rules and look. It doesn't change your points.

A suggested run:

Matches	League to pick	What to notice
5	From my LP (Tadpoles)	Learning the game with a generous 10 s timer
4	Little Fish	The first blocked square and the first board turn
4	Big Fish	The bigger board and 4 in a row
4	Sharks	Turns in either direction, shorter timer
4	Megalodons	The board turns after every move, 4 s timer

Along the way:

use each special move at least twice, and tell us whether it felt worth it;
let the break run out at least once, and notice whether you wanted the next match;
play at least one session with sound on and one with it off.

What to record

After each session, take two minutes to answer these. Short answers are fine; honest ones matter most.

Question	Your answer
How fun was it, from 1 (a chore) to 5 (couldn't put it down)?
When you stopped, did you want one more game? Why did you stop?
Matches played this session
Did the special moves feel worth using? Which one, and when?
What confused you, even for a moment?
What annoyed you?
Anything you loved?

At the end of the test, rate each league's pace:

League	Timer: too short, right or too long?	Board turning: too often, right or too rarely?	Notes
Tadpoles		(never turns)
Little Fish
Big Fish
Sharks
Megalodons

Reporting a problem

When something breaks or looks wrong, note it straight away:

what you did, what happened, and what you expected;
the league, and roughly what time it was;
a screenshot or screen recording if you can.

Known rough edges

These are known and on the list. No need to report them, though tell us if one spoils the game for you.

All sounds are placeholders, and some art is too: the 3-2-1-GO numbers, the lock on used-up specials and the streak flame.
No accounts yet. Your progress lives on your phone only.
The leaderboard players and the ticker news are made up for this test.
Settings can't be opened mid-match, only from the home screen and the break.
No ads, streaks or challenges yet. Empty spaces marked "Banner ad" are placeholders.
Big Fish: the Delete button's barracuda looks like a shark.
iPhone web version: no vibration, and the screen may dim during long thinking.