Tic Tac Toes - a Small Boardgame With a Twist - Made With Fusion 360

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This is Tic Tac Toes, by me, Nesko

I am a student at the Oslo school of architecture and design in Norway, second semester out of a five year degree.

My criteria for this project:

Everything must be designed in Autodesk Fusion 360.
Game pieces must be 3D printed.
Gameboard must be made physically in preferred material (e.g. wood, plastic, textile, etc.).

This was a training exercise in order for me to be more comfortable in Fusion 360, at 3D printing and being in the workshop, so it is a perfect project for you if you want to get better at all three, just make sure you stay true to the criteria.

In this instructable, I will be going through the process of designing the game, step by step instructions in Fusion 360, how to build it in the workshop and finally, my take on the project.

Before we begin with supplies and steps, a little about design process:

As you can see on the above pictures, there were multiple iterations of the tic tac toe games. I started off on paper first, before moving on to Fusion 360. The reason i chose the square design with gamepieces stacking came down to three things in design; simplify, simplify and (you guessed it) simplify.

The cylindrical design with the cone-shaped game pieces was impractical when it comes to making the board with materials such as wood or plastic, however, the game pieces were simple enough for 3D Print.
The standing square design with flat game pieces with handles was also impractical to make in the workshop, while it was also tricky with the 3D Print (due to some restrictions, see below)
That leaves the square design with stackable game pieces; relatively simple to make using a laser cutter and some skills in the workshop, as well as the game pieces being straight forward 3D printing.

A little about the game:

It is a standard tic tac toe game with the rules everyone knows, three in a row wins the game. However, there is a twist, each player gets 6 game pieces; two large, two medium and two small. The twist is that you can retake the opponents spot on the board as long as your game piece is bigger than their game piece on the board.

That's it! Design it, build it and enjoy with friends, family and strangers! Now, let's get started:)

Supplies

I have listed the materials, software and equipment below:

Software used

Fusion 360
Adobe Illustrator (for laser cutter and design)

Materials used

14mm Poplar wood
Paint from Jotun (optional/you can choose your own colours)

Equipment used

3D Printer (I had access to an industrial 3D Printer at school, but it is fully possible to do this with a smaller commercial printer)
Laser cutter machine (this is crucial for the design, if you don't have access to one at your school, try to find providers that do in your area, another tip is forums and Facebook groups)
Band saw machine
Paint brush
Sandpaper
Wood glue
Clamps

Step 1: Making the Gameboard

If you are intermediate in Fusion 360 then this is a good opportunity to try to make this just by looking at these three pictures.

Create a new sketch and make sure you always work from the center. Copy this sketch and pay close attention to the dimensions as the game pieces will fit into the grooves in the end.

Step 2: Extruding and Rectangular Pattern

Once you have the sketch of the board you can start extruding the sections.

Follow the pictures step by step and you will end up with an extruded shape by using the <extrude> function, that you replicate by using the <rectangular pattern>.

Thus, ending up with a 3x3 grid with identical shapes.

Step 3: Repeating Step 2

Go ahead and extrude the rest to form the completed board.

My original design did not have the cross connecting everything, but i quickly realised it was not possible to laser cut without it, this is because i would end up with a lot of cut off and loose pieces as it is not connected. Thus, the cross was the solution.

Once you've extruded the cross, you can go ahead making it in a 3x3 pattern with the <rectangular pattern> function.

And Tada! You've successfully finished the gameboard in Fusion 360.

Step 4: Making the Gamepieces: X

Now we're going to make the game pieces, we'll start with the square ''X'' pieces.

Copy this sketch by the mm, as they will have to fit into the grooves of the gameboard.

The reason there are so many squares is because we are making three sizes: trust the process.

Step 5: Making the Gamepieces: X

Using the <extrude> function, extrude the whole square. Next, make it hollow by using the <shell> function.

After that cut out the corners, as depicted on the photo, due to the grooves in the gameboard. This is achieved using <extrude>, but make sure it set to <cut>.

Step 6: Making the Gamepieces: X

Lastly, make the edges on the top for a smoother look (this is optional), this is achieved by using the <fillet> function.

Next make a new sketch on the top and put an X on it by clicking <create text> inside the sketch. Then you can finish sketch and <extrude> the X.

This is purely aesthetics as the game pieces are recognisable by shape and not necessarily what's on top. Therefore, you could play with this, add a smiley face or something else. Go nuts.

Step 7: Making the Gamepieces: X

Now, repeat steps 5 & 6 to make the smaller pieces. I made them 60mm, 40mm and 20mm in height, however this can be changed. but keep in mind there are some restrictions on the 3d print (more about this below)

You don't need duplicates for the 3d print as you can just print the same twice, however if you want to have 6 pieces as intended on fusion you can duplicate by pressing <Ctrl + C> and <Ctrl - V) on the piece you want to duplicate.

Step 8: Making the Gamepieces: O

The process for the round game pieces is pretty much identical as the ''X'' pieces, so i'll be quick.

Make a sketch and make sure it is exact.

Step 9: Making the Gamepieces: O

<Extrude>, you get a cylinder. Then hollow it out with <shell> function. And lastly <cut>, by using <extrude>, out the cross in the middle, making grooves up the cylinder.

Step 10: Making the Gamepieces: O

This part is also purely for the aesthetics, meaning it's optional. Use <fillet> function to round off the top. Create a sketch on the top and make two circles. Next <extrude> the circle in the middle and use <fillet> to make it smooth.

Step 11: Making the Gamepieces: O

Same as the ''X'' pieces, repeat steps 9 & 10 to make them three different sizes. I used 60mm, 40mm and 20mm in height. But if you changed this for the ''X'' pieces, then make sure the ''O'' pieces are the same height.

And Tada! you have successfully made the game pieces in Fusion 360.

Before we go to 3d print and workshop, i made a lid just for fun which i am going to show you quickly.

Step 12: Making the Lid

This is fairly simple. Create a sketch and follow the sketch. Then you're going to construct an <offset plane> above the sketch and <extrude>, thus getting a form of a cube. Next hollow out with <shell>. And engrave some text to make it your own, this you can do by creating a sketch on the surface you want to engrave and <extruding> into it (make sure it is set on <cut>.

Step 13: 3D Printing the Gamepieces

When designing something in Fusion 360 for 3d print, you have to be careful of some restrictions depending on the 3d printer. Above you can see some of the restrictions I had to work with. Another thing i had to do was to export the game pieces as an STL file, however this might be different depending on the printer.

Step 14: Making the Board

To make the board I exported the respective sketches from Fusion 360 as DXF files, which I opened in illustrator to doublecheck that everything was correct. Then I used a laser cutting machine to cut out the pattern of the board, as well as engraving ''Made in Norway'' on the bottom (this is obviously, optional and you can put whatever you'd like under).

Then I glued the slightly bigger square (with the ''Made in Norway'') to the other (the one with patterns).

I also painted it just for looks.

*Side note: I accidentally broke some pieces in the middle, however it still worked in the end, so was not a huge mistake.

Step 15: Making the Lid

Same with the lid <export> as an DXF file and check in adobe illustrator that it is correct. Use laser cutter to cut out your design.

Now you should have a square with a design. I then cut out several identical squares (without a design) with a band saw. Which I then hollowed out in the middle, meaning i cut the middle part so I was left with something looking like a frame. I did this 7 times, and once you have your 7 ''frames'', glue them together with the square with the design on top. Thus, getting a lid.

I painted it for aesthetics.

Step 16: Making the Poster

Just for fun, I wanted to have a playful poster to go with the game explaining the rules. This was made in Adobe Illustrator which you can copy, however I suggest you design a new one with your own design for practice.

Step 17: The End

There is no step 17, you are finished! congratulations!

This was a fun and educational project. It gets you out of your comfort zone not only in Fusion 360, but also making things at the workshop and 3D printing. You get to master all three with this project.

Now go have fun with your new game!