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This is the typical reaction to losing a game of Triptych - frustration that you missed seeing something obvious. It's tough, keeping track of three different qualities across three dimensions.

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(Monday. INT: living room, JH and EB are playing Triptych)

EB (handing JH a piece): This turn order is really counter-intuitive. Why can't I just place a piece myself?
JH: That was actually how I played it when I first invented the thing, but games were even shorter than they are now.
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JH (placing piece): You see, when you pick what piece you play, you have to struggle to keep from creating any compatible pairs that someone else can complete.
JH: When you pick the piece to give them, you have to look at all the many possible lines, and pick out a piece that fulfills none of the target conditions.
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EB: Does it ever come to a cat's game?
JH (handing EB a piece): Never. I'm pretty sure it's impossible. With regular tic tac toe, you only have 8 possible lines. With Triptych, you have 49 line vectors, 13 of which pass through the center square.
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EB (placing that piece): Such as this vertical blue line, here.
JH: Oh, goddammit.