What Is Quarto?
Quarto is a two-player abstract strategy board game invented by Swiss mathematician Blaise Müller in 1991. Played on a 4×4 board with 16 uniquely distinct pieces, it has one brilliantly subversive rule: your opponent chooses which piece you must play. You then decide where on the board to place it — and pick the next piece for them.
Every piece has four binary properties — tall or short, dark or light, round or square, hollow or solid — giving exactly 16 unique combinations. Win by lining up four pieces in a row (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) that all share at least one property.
Quarto has won more international board game awards than almost any other abstract strategy game, including the prestigious Mensa Select award. Its elegant mechanics pack enormous strategic depth into just 16 pieces and a 4×4 grid.
How It Works
Each turn has two phases: First, place the piece your opponent handed you somewhere on the board. Second, select any remaining piece from the pool and give it to your opponent. If you complete a line of four sharing any property while placing, you win. If all 16 pieces are placed without a winning line, the game is a draw.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you win Quarto?
You win Quarto by placing four pieces in a row (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) that all share at least one property — all tall, all short, all dark, all light, all round, all square, all hollow, or all solid. You can win using any single shared property, so always scan all eight lines and all four properties before deciding where to place.
What are the four properties?
Each Quarto piece has four binary properties: Height (tall or short), Color (dark or light), Shape (round or square), and Fill (hollow or solid). With 4 properties each having 2 states, there are exactly 2×2×2×2 = 16 unique pieces — one for every combination. No two pieces are alike.
Why does my opponent pick my piece?
This is Quarto's genius twist! Your opponent chooses which piece you must place, and you choose where to place it on the board. This creates a shared fate mechanic — every piece you hand your opponent could come back to haunt you. You must think both offensively (setting up your own wins) and defensively (avoiding giving your opponent a winning piece).
Last updated: April 2026