Quarto (board game)



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

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.

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