July 31, 2007
Quartile
I want this game! I’m a game-playing fool. If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you know that I grew up playing games, and you’ve even seen a tiny peek into my current games cabinet. My son scours the universe to give me a new game every Christmas, because not just any old game will do. My criteria are that they must be group games that can be played with family and friends, that they be relatively uncomplicated, and (the criteria that’s harder to meet) that they be artfully designed. I’ve just found a brand new game that meets my exacting requirements, but I don’t want him to give it to me for Christmas. I can’t wait that long and am ordering it for myself. I also want to win one of the limited-edition, hand-crafted prototypes of Quartile that its creator is giving away.
The first thing you’ll notice about Quartile is that it’s absolutely gorgeous to look at. I love touchable art and Quartile is certainly that. Don’t you just want to carress those lovely wood tiles? There’s something very satisfying about holding and touching wooden art. (That’s something else you’ll find a bit of if you ever visit my home.) The Quartile game pieces are fine art, crying out to be touched and played with. I can enjoy a well-crafted game made of paper, cardboard and plastic, but the experience is taken to a whole new level when the game also provides a visual and tactile pleasure. Quartile qualifies!
I grew up playing dominos, so there is something of the familiar about the pieces and gameplay of Quartile. In dominos, like pieces are matched. Quartile ups the challenge by requiring the players to add adjacent pips to match the total shown in the middle of the piece being played. The rules are simple enough that the whole family can play. There’s a brief Quartile game play video that will teach you the ins and outs, but here’s a synopsis:
Mix up all 49 tiles into a facedown area called the quarry.
Every player takes four tiles.
Lay a random tile face down in the middle of the play area. This tile is “wild” on all
sides and no one should know which tile it is.
Each player “bids” their lowest number tile. Winner picks who goes first. It is not
always best to go first.
On your turn place a tile so that if it touches any existing tiles the outside numbers
add up to the central number of the tile you are placing.
For everyside that matches (adds) up you score X points where X = (central
number x matching sides).
At no time can you play a tile if all sides do not add up when touching other
tiles. Thus if any sides touch other tiles they HAVE to add up correctly.
After you play a tile draw a tile from the quarry. If no tiles are in the quarry just play
until all tiles are played.
Many years ago there was a game advertisement on TV that stated something along the lines of “a moment to learn, a lifetime to master.” Sorry, I don’t remember what game that was, but the phrase comes to mind now. A good strategist will position each Quartile piece to their own best advantage while minimizing their opponents’ opportunity to play off of the piece they’ve placed. Developing the skills to do that will keep the game new and fresh over years of play. I can see it becoming a family favorite, up there with Scrabble, Risk, and a handful of other games that present a similar challenge. An added bonus is that you can downplay the strategy and play the game with children, who will enjoy honing their math skills in such a fun setting.
I tried to order a copy of Quartile for myself and there is an error on the site right now. I’m in touch with the game’s creator, so I’ll let him know that he needs to do a little maintenance. If you’re ready to buy and encounter the same problem, let me know and I’ll see to it that you have a way to complete your order. EDIT: Per comment from Steve, the game’s creator, sales will go live tomorrow, August 1st. I’m already in line to buy the first! Greedy soul that I am, I want the commercial version and the prototype I mentioned above. (Have I mentioned that I love games? Yeah, I thought so!) I want that prototype so badly that I’m tempted to withold the information that you can win it in a contest. Why increase my odds? I can’t do that to my peeps, though, so here’s how you take a shot at it. Go to Ramblings From The Marginalized, read his post about creating the game, and write a post (much like this one) to help him publicize his creation. He’ll enter you in his contest to win one of the limited edition, hand-made prototypes with marble tiles! He only created a few of these to use in his initial marketing, so when they’re gone there will be no more. If there’s anything I’d love more than a new game that meets all of my personal criteria, it’s one that will instantly be a collector’s item! I’d like you to blog about Quartile. Bloggers are the first wave of publicity that will help this game take off in the marketplace. I want it to do well so that the creator will be well-compensated for bringing us such a beautiful game. So write your piece and we’ll all give the guy a helping hand. But let me win, please? I really want this one!
[tags]board games, family games, games, Quartile[/tags]
Posted by skeet @ 11:00 am • Games
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July 31st, 2007 at 12:28 pm, HMTKSteve Says:
The game will be purchasable on August first.
You, are an excellent writer. I am certainly putting you on my PPP Direct short list!
July 31st, 2007 at 12:43 pm, skeet Says:
Mahalo, Steve! I really want the game and will be ordering tomorrow. I also want you to fix the contest so I can win.
I’ve edited my post to reflect that Quartile will be available for purchase tomorrow. Have you considered submitting it to Games Magazine for review? You’ll sell millions!
July 31st, 2007 at 10:06 pm, Fez Travel Says:
I think I’d enjoy this game too!
July 31st, 2007 at 10:42 pm, skeet Says:
Isn’t it a thing of beauty, Fez? It’s after midnight on the East Coast now, so I’m ready to hop over there and see if I can order it. Now all I have to do is gather up some friends so we can have a party and try it out!
August 1st, 2007 at 2:58 am, HMTKSteve Says:
You say it is a thing of beauty and others have called it a work of art. Statements like that make me proud.
SimplyFun did an excellent job taking my game to market and preserving the art aspect of it. There are not many games that you would want to leave on your coffee table as a piece of art but this is one of them. The fact that it is an excellent game that is quick to learn but takes a lifetime to master is also good.
As a design note, I had to add in a rule of what you do when you can not legaly place a tile but it has never actually happened in all of the games I have played. Because the tiles are designed with math and rules you would have to try very very very hard to end up with a situtation where you can not legaly play a tile.
August 1st, 2007 at 7:02 am, john Says:
Many years ago there was a game advertisement on TV that stated something along the lines of “a moment to learn, a lifetime to master.”
That game is called mastermind
August 1st, 2007 at 9:06 am, skeet Says:
You have every right to be proud, Steve. You brought creativity and intuition (and a lot of hard work, I’m sure) into play and created somethig unique, lovely and marketable. I can picture Quartile showing up in the Games 100 next time around, it’s just that perfect.
Ha! Now you’ve thrown down the gauntlet and I’ll be spending endless hours trying to create an unplayable situation, lol. Another challence!
August 1st, 2007 at 9:09 am, skeet Says:
Ah, thanks John. That little memory was nagging at me. I can “hear” that commercial in my mind, but just could not recall what the product was.
August 6th, 2007 at 2:12 am, HMTKSteve Says:
Did you get yours yet?
August 6th, 2007 at 6:14 am, skeet Says:
It hasn’t arrived yet, Steve. The shipping fee was so high I thought they’d be using the two-day thing, but I guess not. Hopefully today!
September 1st, 2007 at 9:54 am, Relentless Media » Blog Archive » Scrabble + Dominos = Monopoly Loads of Fun! Says:
[…] cherry finish. For some reason I can’t find the words to describe this thing so I will steal Skeet’s: “I love touchable art and Quartile is certainly that. Don’t you just want to […]
September 16th, 2007 at 5:55 am, Ramblings from the Marginalized » The Quartile contest is now over Says:
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