''Quarto'' is a

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...

for two players invented by Swiss mathematician

Blaise Müller Blaise is a personal name (from Greek Βλασιος, the name of Saint Blaise) and a place name. It can refer to: People * Blaise (name), including lists of people with the given name or surname ''Blaise'' Places France * Blaise-sous-Ar ...

. It is published and copyrighted by

Gigamic Gigamic is a French publisher and distributor of games started up by three brothers. Gigamic started in 1991 by three of six brothers named Stéphane Gires, Ludovic Gires and Jean-Christophe Gires. Since 2001, Gigamic has operated a distribution ...

. The game is played on a 4×4 board. There are 16 unique pieces to play with, 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 2×2 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 In combinatorial game theory, an impartial game is a game in which the allowable moves depend only on the position and not on which of the two players is currently moving, and where the payoffs are symmetric. In other words, the only difference betw ...

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 nominee – Germany * Gioco Dell'anno – Game of the Year 1993 – Italy * Speelgoed Vant Jaar – Game of the year 1993 – Netherlands *

Mensa Select Mensa Select is an annual award given by American Mensa Mensa is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organisation open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised I ...

Top 5 Best Games 1993 – US * Parent's Choice Gold Award 1993 – US * Best Bet of the

Canadian Toy Testing Council The Canadian Toy Testing Council was a volunteer-operated not-for-profit organization established in 1952 to test toys for playability and safety. The organization ceased operations in June 2015. History Each year, the organization solicited fa ...

1994 – Canada * Prix d'Excellence des Consommateurs – Consumer's Toy Award 1994 – Quebec, Canada * ''Games Magazine'' "Games 100 Selection" 1995 – US * ''Games Magazine'' "Games 100 Selection" 1996 – US * ''Games Magazine'' "Games 100 Selection" 1997 – US * Game of the Year 2004 – Finland * Parent's Choice Top 25 games in 25 years 2004 – US

Awards

References

External links