A game of Quarto takes 10 to 20 minutes, according to its publisher, Gigamic. Measured in moves, it's short: there are only 16 pieces, so a game never lasts more than 16 placements. In 4,000 games between strong computer players, the average game ended after 12.7 placements, and 30.3% went all the way to a full board. Between beginners it's faster still.
About us: we make Quads, an independent game built on the same hand-your-opponent-the-piece mechanic as Quarto. It isn't affiliated with Gigamic or the makers of Quarto.
In minutes
Gigamic lists Quarto as a game for 2 players, ages 8 and up, lasting 10 to 20 minutes on its product page. A 1994 review in the Swiss teachers' journal Math-Ecole gave the same range: "une partie dure de dix à vingt minutes" (a game lasts ten to twenty minutes). It's republished by the IREM of Grenoble.
That makes Quarto a good game to play in rounds. Best of three takes about as long as one game of many other strategy games, and swapping who hands over the first piece each round evens things out.
In moves
A Quarto turn is one placement and one hand-off, and the 16 pieces run out after 16 placements. So the hard limits are simple:
- Shortest possible game: 4 placements. Nobody can complete a line of four before four pieces are down. It happens only if both players miss everything, but our random games show it can.
- Longest possible game: 16 placements. The board is full. If no line shares a trait, it's a draw.
- Each player places at most 8 pieces. The player who receives the first piece places pieces 1, 3, 5 and so on. The other places pieces 2, 4, 6.
To see where real games fall in that range, we looked at three kinds of play, all under the Quads rules (lines plus 2×2 squares) unless marked:
How many placements a game lasts
| Who is playing | Games | Average placements | Ended on a full board |
|---|---|---|---|
| Random play, classic rules | 1,000,000 | 11.6* | 5.7% |
| Random play, with 2×2 squares | 1,000,000 | 10.5* | 1.1% |
| Rookie AI vs Rookie AI | 400 | 9.1 | – |
| Skilled AI vs Skilled AI | 4,000 | 12.8 | 28.0% |
| Grandmaster AI vs Grandmaster AI | 4,000 | 12.7 | 30.3% |
* Average over the games that produced a winner. A "full board" game either ended with the 16th piece completing a line or was drawn.
Stronger players play longer games
The pattern is clear: the better the players, the longer the game.
- Random play ends around placement 10 with squares, because nobody avoids handing over a winning piece.
- Rookie against Rookie averaged 9.1 placements. Rookie hands over winning pieces, but notices them some of the time.
- Skilled and Grandmaster games average about 13–13 placements, and nearly 30% go to a full board. A careful player rarely gives anything away early, so the game is decided when the safe pieces run out, usually with three or four pieces left.
Grandmaster's games pile up at 11 and 16 placements. That's the endgame squeeze at work: the last few hand-offs are where one player runs out of safe pieces. Our endgame guide shows how quickly that happens.
Shorter and longer games
- For a quicker game, play with fewer traits, for example ignoring height and top so only colour and shape count. The Math-Ecole review notes that the boxed rules include variants "pour débutants et pour joueurs avertis" (for beginners and for experienced players). Fewer traits means fewer things to check each turn.
- For a longer, more tactical game, play with the 2×2 square rule, as Quads does. It doesn't add moves, since there are still 16 pieces, but it adds 9 winning shapes, so each turn takes more checking.
- Online, games go faster because the screen does the bookkeeping. A game of Quads in the browser against the computer takes a few minutes.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a game of Quarto last?
Gigamic, the publisher, gives 10 to 20 minutes. A game can never last more than 16 placements, because there are only 16 pieces.
What is the fastest possible Quarto game?
Four placements: the fourth piece can complete a line if all four share a trait. It only happens when both players miss every danger.
How many moves are in a game of Quarto?
At most 16 placements, 8 per player. In our test, strong computer players averaged 12.7 placements per game.
Can a Quarto game end in a draw?
Yes. If all 16 pieces are placed and no line of four shares a trait, the game is a draw. With perfect play, classic Quarto always ends in a draw.