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Here’s a concise, one-page rules summary for the board game Quarto. (Formatted in clean markdown so you can paste it into a Quarto document if you want.)
Quarto – One-Page Rules Summary
Objective
Be the first player to create a line of four pieces that share at least one common attribute.
Components
-
4×4 board
-
16 unique pieces, each defined by four attributes:
- Color: light / dark
- Shape: square / round
- Height: tall / short
- Top: solid / hollow
Every combination exists exactly once.
Gameplay Overview
1. Setup
- Place the empty board between players.
- All 16 pieces are available off the board.
2. Turn Structure
Unlike most games, you do not choose your own piece. A turn consists of two actions:
- Your opponent chooses a piece and gives it to you.
- You must place that piece on any empty board space.
After placing the piece:
- If you formed a winning line → declare “Quarto!” and win.
- If not, choose a piece for your opponent’s next turn.
Players alternate.
Winning
Immediately after placing a piece, you win if you complete a line of four pieces (row, column, or diagonal) with any one shared attribute, such as:
- All tall
- All round
- All dark
- All solid
- Or any other single attribute shared by all four pieces.
Important:
- A winning line only counts when the piece is placed, not when a piece is handed to a player.
Draw
If all 16 pieces are placed and no winning line exists → the game is a draw.
Optional Variant: “Quarto+”
After receiving a piece, a player may instead reject it and choose any other available piece to place, but may only do this once per game.
If you’d like this turned into a print-ready Quarto (.qmd) file, a graphic cheat sheet, or a diagram-based rules page, just tell me!