Nick – To cut slightly. The arrow just nicked that box. Nock – To place an arrow on the bow string. NO! – What a Nick, Nock, NO! player shouts when the opponent blocks his or her square or defeats the archer by getting three in a row. Nick, Nock, NO! – Our version of archery Tic Tac Toe, invented at Malta Archery and now playing at Lincoln City Archery.

The rules for Nick, Nock, NO! are simple. You get three of your arrows in a row while your opponent tries to do the same. You can also attempt to block your opponent from getting three in a row. The archery version allows both players to shoot all three arrows, which means both players can win in the same game! If neither player gets three in a row, neither wins. An arrow that breaks the line of two boxes counts for neither box. The first person to hit a particular box, owns it; that box cannot be occupied by the other player. If an arrow hits a box that is already occupied, it simply doesn’t count.

For those wishing to add a point system, players can score one point for each box occupied by a single arrow. Three boxes in a row count gets a two-point bonus for a total of five points in the round. If one player wins, he or she gets an additional five points. If both players win, they get no bonus.

Individuals can play by themselves. A single player would only score points according to the first two rules of the above paragraph. Alternatively, keeping track of how many times the player gets three in a row during a specific time period (we suggest 15 minutes) will allow the archer to compare games won to other archers during the same time frame.

There are two versions of the game target – one that is simpler and one that is more difficult. The simple version has a black dot in the center of the squares. This focus point helps some players get their arrows in the boxes easier. A blank box is harder to hit for many archers.

At Lincoln City Archery, we focus on tradition archery using the Mediterranean draw for beginners. We offer expansive lesson that run for six hours over the course of six weeks, and we have shorter instructions for those who simply want to get their feet wet – 15 minutes at our range is sufficient enough for most people to get on the target. If you’d like to enjoy “archery near me,” come to Lincoln City Archery. Reservations are suggested, but walk-ins are welcome when there is range availability. If you can’t make it to our range and would like to download a Nick, Nock, NO! Archery Tic Tac Toe game sheet, check out our downloads here.