Quartino

Designer	Petr Doubek
Publisher	Djeco
Players	2-6
Playing Time	15-20 mins
Suggested Age	8 and up
Additional Info	225940/quartino http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/225940/quartino/forums/63

QUARTINO Did you always want to try an abstract boardgame, but were afraid of Chess, Checkers was too boring, and nobody was willing to teach you Go? QUARTINO is just for you! This dynamic and clever game from Czech author Petr Doubek shall satisfy your gaming needs…

QUARTINO is an original abstract strategy game with simple rules. It is full of unexpected turns and the suspense lasts until the very last turn. Be the first to clear your hand by creating the right pattern on the board and you’re the winner. Easy, right? However, be aware your opponents all have the same goal.

QUARTINO rewards forward thinking, spatial awareness, and sustained focus. However, there is just enough oportunities to allow for unexpected twists and keep players on their toes!
Design of the game is very elegant and the game uses only natural materials. The game revolves around a laser-cut wooden board, complemented with wooden stands and wooden stones of four different colors. The game also contains 24 QUARTINO cards, each with a unique combination of four colors.

How to play QUARTINO?
Each player draws four QUARTINO cards and places them secretly in his card stand. Each card contains a unique combination of four colors. Players take turns, and in each turn they place one stone of their choice on the game board. They try to complete one of their QUARTINO cards, i.e. create a color combination matching one of their cards. Game stones can be placed on top of each other. For the completion of QUARTINO, only the top stones count.
If a player completes a QUARTINO on the game board, he shows the card and removes all stones from the QUARTINO from the game board. Then she plays again, i.e. places a new stone.
Whoever completes all his QUARTINO cards first, wins the game.
Before each player´s turn, two special rules can come to play:
If there are 4 or more stones of the same color on the board (all stones, not just top stones), the player can say “color” and place an additional stone.
if there are 4 or more stones of any color on top of each other on the board, the player needs to remove all the stones in such columns. The player can then place an additional stone.
Team version of the game
QUARTINO is a game for 2 to 4 players. Play the first few games in two only, then after understanding of optimal strategy is possible to play with more players. When playing with 4 players, it is possible to play a team version too, which opens new strategic options.
In this version, each two players play as a team. Each player draws 2 cards, and the two players on the team sit next to each other, so that they can see each other´s cards.
Players take turns so that no two players from the same team play after each other (so-called “zig-zag”).
During his turn each player places stones and plays QUARTINO cards. He can complete only his own QUARTINO cards. After she placed both cards, she continues playing and tries to help her teammate.
The team, which completes all their QUARTINO cards first, wins the game.