Quarto (board game)

Updated on Nov 25, 2023

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Quarto is a board game for two players invented by Swiss mathematician Blaise Müller in 1991. It is published and copyrighted by Gigamic.

The game is played on a 4×4 board. There are 16 unique pieces, each of which is either:

tall or short;

red or blue (or a different pair of colors, e.g. light- or dark-stained wood);

square or circular; and

hollow-top or solid-top.

Players take turns choosing a piece which the other player must then place on the board. A player wins by placing a piece on the board which forms a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal row of four pieces, all of which have a common attribute (all short, all circular, etc.). A variant rule included in many editions gives a second way to win by placing four matching pieces in a 2x2 square.

Quarto is distinctive in that there is only one set of common pieces, rather than a set for one player and a different set for the other. It is therefore an impartial game.

Awards

Dé d’Or des Créateurs de Jeux 1989 – Paris, FRANCE • Oscar du Jouet-Toy Oscar 1992– Paris, FRANCE • Jouet de l’année-Game of the Year 1992 - BRUSSELS • Super As d’Or Festival International des Jeux-Super Golden Ace 1992 –Cannes, FRANCE • Toy Award 1992– BENELUX • Spiel des Jahres-Game of the Year 1993– GERMANY • Giocco Dell’anno-Game of the Year 1993– ITALY • Speelgoed Vant Jaar-Game of the year 1993– NETHERLANDS • Mensa Select Top 5 Best Games 1993 – USA • Parent’s Choice Gold Award 1993 – USA • Best Bet of the Toy Testing Council 1994– CANADA • Prix d’Excellence des Consommateurs-Consumer’s Toy Award 1994–Quebec, CANADA • Games Magazine “Games 100 Selection”1995 – USA • Games Magazine “Games 100 Selection” 1996 – USA • Games Magazine “Games 100 Selection” 1997 - USA • Game of the Year 2004 – FINLAND • Parent’s Choice Top 25 games in 25 years 2004 – USA

References

Quarto (board game) Wikipedia

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