[.uk] Family Games Quarto!

• Each of the 16 pieces has 4 different attributes.
• The goal is to line up 4 pieces which share the same attribute.
• Your opponent chooses the piece that you will play.
• Ages 6 years and up. 2 players, 10-20 minutes.
• 1 board, 16 wooden pieces.

Editorial Review:
Winner of a stack of international awards, Quarto! Classic requires eagle eyes and scheming minds. The first of two players selects one of 16 different wooden playing pieces, each with four physical traits (light or dark, round or square, tall or short, solid or hollow) and gives it to the opponent. That player places the piece on any circle on the lovely, 10-by-10-inch, dark wood board, and then chooses another piece to give to the first player, who places it anywhere on the board. The object is to establish--or be the first to notice--a line of four pieces with at least one common characteristic, and call "Quarto!" With variations for beginning or advanced players, and countless playable combinations, this fun and challenging game is indeed a classic. --Emilie Coulter

Strategy Plus!:
We had a family tournament with this game. Onlookers enjoyed the game as much as the 2 players competing. As an onlooker, my sister could not help but call out the next play! We loved how you had to choose your opponent's play piece -this added so much to the game. I gave my first game to my great niece and immediately ordered another for my family!

Quarto: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Being Square:
On the game board there is a 4×4 grid of circles surrounded by a larger circle, which in turn is inside of the square of the game board. The object of the game is to be the person who completes a line of 4 pieces, each sharing a common aspect. There are 4 aspects in the game that the pieces may share: height, shape, solidity, and color. The person who makes that line calls out "Quarto!" and notes the line that he made and the aspect that they share. He's the winner. There are 16 pieces in this game, each unique. There are: * 8 circular pieces and 8 square pieces * 8 dark pieces and 8 light pieces * 8 hollow pieces and 8 solid pieces * 8 tall pieces and 8 short pieces So, for example, one of the pieces is a tall dark hollow round piece. Another is a tall dark hollow short piece. To start, the first player selects one of the 16 pieces and gives it to his opponent to place. After placing that piece, the other player selects one of the remaining pieces and gives it to his opponent. In this way, the game proceeds until someone has created a line of 4 pieces sharing the same aspect (say, 4 dark pieces or 4 square pieces). The game is simple. It's ingenious, really. It goes quickly at first, because you're not running into any possibilities that you might have 4 in a row that share the same aspect. But before too long, 3 in a row with the same aspect start popping up. Should you leave them there, or close them up so they can't be used? I guess it all depends on what's left out there, and the rest of the board. If you leave them there, it gives your opponent a chance to fill it in. But it also gives you a chance to fill it in. So if you can figure out a way to confound your opponent into giving you what you want, you're in good shape. You'll look down at the pieces on the board and be like "Hmmm, I can't give him a square piece, because there's a line of 3 square pieces. And there's also a line of 3 hollow pieces, so I can't give him that either. So I need to find a piece that's solid and round." So you look at the remaining pieces and discount all of the hollow and square pieces, choosing one and giving it to him. He can then either "close out" one of those lines, hence freeing that aspect so he can give it to you (if he's been painted into a corner), or try and ride it out and force you to give him the piece he desires. When you first start to play there'll be a lot of Homerish "D'oh!"s. A lot of forehead slapping fun. But then you'll start to see how the game is played, and try to maneuver so that your opponent has limited choices as to what to give you. And then your placements will reflect that as well. The game is tactically rich, and opportunistic. It plays very quickly, provided the players don't suffer too bad from AP. Piece selection is very careless in the beginning, when it doesn't matter. But thereafter it's just as important, if not more important, than where you actually place the piece. Quarto is an excellent game.

Quarto is a fun game!:
I love teaching my friends this game! It is for two players and you have to pay attention to four different variables. It is a simple concept, but challenging. I like the wood pieces - it's not your average board game.

A real test of strategy:
This is an addictive game...for all ages! My third- sixth-grade students run impromptu tournaments, and my husband's high-school mathematics students play after completing their work. One great feature is that a game can be played quickly...and will always attract an audience. We keep a board set up on a coffee table at home as well--you never know when you might have those few extra minutes! Buy this game.

A fun board game:
This game will have something familiar to players of "Set", namely, looking for groups of pieces that have any of several properties in common. But the fact that each player is selecting pieces for their opponent to play will probably lead even seasoned gamers into novel strategizing. Quite fun. And as a board game the pieces have a nice, elegant look and feel to them.