Toss Across

Toss Across is a game first introduced in 1969 by the now defunct Ideal Toy Company. The game was designed by Marvin Glass and Associates and created by Hank Kramer, Larry Reiner and Walter Moe, and is now distributed by Mattel. It is a game in which participants play tic-tac-toe by lobbing small beanbags at targets in an attempt to change the targets to their desired letter. As in traditional tic-tac-toe, the first player to get three of their letters in a row wins the game. There are other similar games to Toss Across known under different names, such as Tic Tac Throw.

The targets are three-sided blocks situated on a frame such that the impact of the beanbags can turn the block, changing the letter. Each block has a blank side, an X, and an O. Modern boards are entirely plastic, less than a meter square. Six beanbags are included with the game.

The official rules as included with the game call for the X player to go first. Each player starts with three beanbags. Players stand approximately six feet from the board to toss their beanbags, alternating turns. The beanbags are only retrieved after all six are thrown. Whenever three matching symbols in a row are turned over by either player, the game ends immediately.

Multiple players may participate by dividing into two teams. (Turn order: 1. Player 1 from Team A, 2. Player 1 from Team B, 3. Player 2 from Team A, 4. Player 2 from Team B.)

Variations:

The strength of Toss Across is its balance between luck and skill. While the game generally rewards accurate tossing and effective strategy, there are elements of luck to game play. Even if a player succeeds in hitting the square they wish to change, it is often impossible to control the effect one's beanbag impact will have. Blocks may turn quickly, spinning a few times before coming to rest, at which point any side may be facing up. Players can be frustrated by hitting the square they want, only to change it to their opponent's letter. Further, the low quality of the plastic board can punish players. Blocks do not always turn, even when impacted.

Occasionally a beanbag toss can affect two (or in rare cases, more) squares simultaneously. Skillful players can attempt to do this on purpose, but more often it happens without intent.

With practice, players can become increasingly adept at hitting the precise location on the board that they wish, enabling them a better chance of affecting the square they wish to change.

In the original 1969 edition of the game, the pieces in the squares did not turn freely, but could instead only turn one face either direction from neutral. This is why the neutral squares had small X and O decals on them; if you hit the small X, the square would turn to X and stop. To turn it off of X, a bag had to strike the other half of the square. It might then turn back to neutral, or to O. So the original game had a much stronger emphasis on skill than the current version.

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