TIC.EXE

Game premise and mechanics

TIC.EXE is a puzzle and strategy game for PC that reimagines the traditional three-in-a-row mechanics with a focus on tactical decision-making and resource management. Players align their marks on a grid to trigger detonations that damage hostile processes. Aligning three marks will cause them to explode and inflict damage, while four or five marks lined up results in increased damage output. The grid is dynamic, as hostile processes continually fill it with their own marks, which can backfire on the player if not managed carefully.

Building a strategy

You can clear sectors of the grid to collect modules that enhance your abilities. Each run involves strategic selection from thirty modules across six different schools of upgrades, with eight available slots to hold them. Players can combine modules to form engines of destruction that allow for efficient chaining of detonations, utilizing synergies between abilities to maximize impact. Important modules include ECHO, which leaves a mark after blasts, and INFECTION, which flips enemy marks.