I swore never to do another 3D Pic Tac Toe after the first one, but I keep finding myself drawn back to them…

That someone can create these things still boggles my mind. I made one feeble attempt at a regular pic-tac-toe and it drained me so much I swore never to do it again!

Answers

Rows

A1-A2-A3: NOSTALGIC PICTURES (Historic event, Historic place, Historic people)

A4-A5-A6: MUSICAL ACTS (Faith Hill, Oasis, Rush)

A7-A8-A9: SCHWARZENEGGER MOVIES FROM THE 1980′S (Conan, Terminator, Twins)

B1-B2-B3: BLUE OUTERGARMENTS (Joe Quimby, Cigarette Doctor, Madonna)

B4-B5-B6: EIGHTY (80 best-ever beauty buys, 80th anniversary, Around the World in Eighty Days)

B7-B8-B9: ROCK/STONE (Stone walls, Sam Rockwell, Fred Flintstone)

C1-C2-C3: BEASTS OF BURDEN (Camel, Horse, Dog)

C4-C5-C6: TRAVEL GUIDES (Virgil to Dante, Golf Course book, Cruise guide)

C7-C8-C9: JOHN (John Sullivan, John Bull, John Goodman)

Columns

A1-A4-A7: CHARACTERS FROM THE NOVEL 1984 (Winston, Julia, O’Brien)

A2-A5-A8: TIME (Stopping Time, New York Times, Real-Time)

A3-A6-A9: BASEBALL TEAMS (Phillies, Pirates, Twins)

B1-B4-B7: PRISON (Mug shot, Death Row, Prisoner)

B2-B5-B8: SCARVES (Cigarette Doctor, Snoopy, Ford [actually a towel])

B3-B6-B9: DIE ANOTHER DAY CAST (Madonna, Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry)

C1-C4-C7: PARADISE (Pair o’ Dice, Dante’s Paradise, Welcome to Paradise)

C2-C5-C8: GREAT BRITAIN (Tourist maps, British Isles, John Bull)

C3-C6-C9: BOTTLES OF ALCOHOL (Scotch, Champagne, Beer)

Pillars

A1-B1-C1: JOE (Joe Stalin, Joe Quimby, Joe Camel)

A2-B2-C2: SURVEY (Rephotographic Survey, Nationwide Survey, Ordnance Survey Maps)

A3-B3-C3: PAINTINGS (Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Madonna, Dogs Playing Poker)

A4-B4-C4: APPROVAL SLANG (Beautiful, Fab, Divine)

A5-B5-C5: VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE (Galapagos, Beagle, Darwin)

A6-B6-C6: SHIPS (Pictured, Pictured, Mentioned)

A7-B7-C7: ROMEO + JULIET CAST (Leonardo DiCaprio, Harold Perrineau, Brian Dennehy)

A8-B8-C8: SONG TITLES FROM ENGLAND (”Changes”, “Paranoid Android”, “God Save the Queen”)

A9-B9-C9: JOHN GOODMAN ROLES (Voice of Yellow the Peanut M&M mascot, Fred Flintstone, Walter Sobchak)

Lateral Diagonals

A1-A5-A9: RED (Stalin, Lighting, Red the Plain M&M mascot)

A3-A5-A7: NIGHT (Nighthawks homage, Nightclub, Late Night’s King of Cool)

B1-B5-B9: CHARACTERS FROM ANIMATED SHOWS (The Simpsons, Dora the Explorer, The Flintstones)

B3-B5-B7: NATIONS (Monaco, Turkey, Australia [Oz])

C1-C5-C9: RECREATIONAL PLACES (Casino, Golf Courses, Bowling Alley)

C3-C5-C7: BERNARD (St. Bernard, Bernard Darwin, Crystal Bernard)

A1-B2-C3: WOOD-BACKED CHAIRS (Pictured)

A3-B2-C1: TOBACCO ADVERTISEMENTS (Phillies Cigars, Camel Ad, Camel Ad)

A4-B5-C6: YEARS IN THIS DECADE (2000, 2006, 2001)

A6-B5-C4: FLOAT (Floating Boats, Floats, Floating Boat)

A7-B8-C9: BEN AFFLECK CO-STARS (Matt Damon, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi)

A9-B8-C7: HIP-HOP ARTISTS (Eminem, Mos Def, Bobby Brown)

A1-B4-C7: CHURCH (Churchill, Charlotte Church, Paradise Church)

A7-B4-C1: MAGAZINE PAGES (Entertainment Cover, Cosmopolitan Cover, Magazine Ad)

A2-B5-C8: STREET (Pictured)

A8-B5-C2: EXPLORER (Internet Explorer, Dora the Explorer, Explorer Maps)

A3-B6-C9: LAUREN BACALL CO-STARS (Humphrey Bogart, Pierce Brosnan, Jeff Bridges)

A9-B6-C3: JUNK FOOD (M&Ms, Life Savers, Chips)

Cross-Cube Diagonals

A1-B5-C9: BIG (The Big Three, Big Bird, The Big Lebowski)

A3-B5-C7: GREEN DAY SINGLES (”Boulevard of Broken Dreams”, “Macy’s Day Parade”, “Welcome to Paradise”)

A7-B5-C3: POKER (Ups the Ante, Broadway or Ace High, Dogs Playing Poker)

A9-B5-C1: ADVERTISING MASCOTS (Doublemint Twins et. al., Energizer Bunny, Joe Camel)

Picture Credits

Picture A1
Picture A2
Picture A3
Picture A4
Picture A5
Picture A6
Picture A7
Picture A8
Picture A9
Picture B1
Picture B2
Picture B3
Picture B4
Picture B5
Picture B6
Picture B7
Picture B8
Picture B9
Picture C1
Picture C2
Picture C3
Picture C4
Picture C5
Picture C6
Picture C7
Picture C8
Picture C9

A4-A5-A6: Faith Hill is the key element in A4.

A1-A5-A9: This is the set that uses the M&M mascot name.

B3-B5-B7: Oz is a common nickname for something.

A9-B6-C3: This is the least nutritious theme in the puzzle.

A3-B2-C1: Look at the “Phillies” sign in A3. It’s not about baseball.

A6-B5-C4: Look very closely at the artwork in C4. There’s more there than meets the casual glance.

Happy solving!

C7-C8-C9: JOHN - correct! Point for Neel.

A9-B6-C3: RED - Alternate answer credit. I’ve got RED elsewhere.

A7-B4-C1: FULL PAGES OF MAGAZINES - Yes! Point for Neel.

A1-A2-A3: NOSTALGIC PICTURES, yes. Point for Billie.

B7-B8-B9: ROCK/STONE (Stone walls, Sam Rockwell, Fred Flintstone)… Point for Billie.

B2-B5-B8: HEADGEAR - that works, and too close to mine for an alternate answer credit. I was going for scarves, counting Ford’s towel draped around his neck, but I’m switching it to yours. Point for Billie.

A4-B5-C6: YEARS IN THIS DECADE, whatever we’re calling it. Point for Billie.

Nice work, guys!

The following 6 themes remain unsolved:

A4-A5-A6
A1-A5-A9
B3-B5-B7
A9-B6-C3
A3-B2-C1
A6-B5-C4

a4b5c6 200X year? (2000, 2006, 2001)

Yeah, I’m really scraping now.

b7b8b9 stones? (around pic, large pillars in background, Flint-)

C7-C8-C9: JOHN (character John Sullivan, John Bull, John Goodman)

The M&M mascots are just called Red and Yellow, right?

A9-B6-C3: RED (Red M&M, red wine, red lamp)

A7-B4-C1: FULL PAGES OF MAGAZINES?

The following 12 themes remain unsolved:

A1-A2-A3
A4-A5-A6
A1-A5-A9
B7-B8-B9
B2-B5-B8
B3-B5-B7
C7-C8-C9
A7-B4-C1
A9-B6-C3
A3-B2-C1
A4-B5-C6
A6-B5-C4

It might seem that we’re almost done, but actually we still have 50% more themes left than you’d find in a regular Pic Tac Toe challenge!

And speaking of Eminem, did you know that the M&M mascots have names? Also, Great Britain has a mascot, similar to our Uncle Sam.

In B3, the servant on the right hand side is mostly in side profile. But were you looking for BLUE OUTERWEAR?

A9-B8-C7: Close enough. The answer is HIP-HOP ARTISTS (Eminem, Mos Def, Bobby Brown) Point for Neel.

B1-B2-B3: I can’t really see a side profile in B3. This theme is purely visual.

B3-B5-B7: You got the right artist, but not the right theme. Monaco fits another theme much more obviously, though the other two pictures in the set may require some flexible thinking to fit that theme.

Good work!

B3-B5-B7: TYPEFACES/FONTS? (Monaco, Broadway, Augustus)

Trying to bring more to the table…

A8-B8-C8: BRITISH SONGS? (”Changes”, “Paranoid Android”, “God Save the Queen”)

A9-B8-C7: HIP-HOP / R&B MUSIC? (California Raisin, Mos Def, Dennehy’s character Bobby Brown)

B1-B2-B3: SIDE PROFILES? (I tried my hardest to find a “chowda” theme.)

The fact that I don’t feel confident about any of these themes tells me that I came back too soon.

A1-A2-A3: I like the flexible thinking, but I’m looking for something very simple. It’s not an item in the picture, but the general nature of the pictures themselves.

A9-B8-C7: Marvin is not from Mars, though there is a Marvin the Martian character from the Bugs Bunny cartoons, and that would probably fly here. But yeah, there’s nothing Martian in C7. Check C7 character names.

A3-B2-C1: An earlier guess came close, but I’m looking for something more specific.

A1-A2-A3 — Shot in the Dark: Churchill is a college, Stopping Time was edited by a professor from the University of Nevada, and Dean is position within a university. ITEMS RELATED TO HIGHER EDUCATION.

A9-B8-(C7) — Guess: The first two are both THINGS FROM MARS (Marvin and Mars, Inc.), but I really have no clue whether or not the the Dennehy movie. Still, a tenuous connection almost might pan out.

A3-B2-C1 — Unsure: These are all FAMOUS POSTERS, easily, but I’m not sure this is what you’re looking for. Not quite enough depth in that answer.

The following 15 themes remain unsolved:

A1-A2-A3
A4-A5-A6
A1-A5-A9
B1-B2-B3
B7-B8-B9
B2-B5-B8
B3-B5-B7
C7-C8-C9
A8-B8-C8
A7-B4-C1
A9-B6-C3
A3-B2-C1
A4-B5-C6
A6-B5-C4
A9-B8-C7

a7b8c9 Ben Affleck (Good Will Hunting w/ Matt Damon, Glory Daze w/ Sam Rockwell, and Armageddon w/ Steve Buscemi)