Imagine that you are trying to solve a hedge maze, but as you wander through, a trickster ogre keeps planting new, full-grown hedges in your path. That, in a nutshell, is Quoridor.
The premise is simple: Get to the other side while keeping your opponent from doing the same. Players sit on opposite sides of the board and start with a pawn and 10 walls. On their turn, a player can choose to move his pawn a single space, or to place a wall. Walls are 2 spaces long, and can be used to hinder other’s progress, or to help yourself. Placing a wall in front of your opponent will cause them to have to go around, but since the wall placement rules state that a pawn cannot be completely blocked off from getting to the end, putting a wall directly behind or to the side of yourself can assure that your opponent can’t do quite as much damage by forcing you to go backward. Gameplay continues until one player reaches the opposite side.
Quoridor is a deceptively simple game that leaves room for a good amount of strategizing. It is easy to understand and quick to play, making it fun and accessible for all ages. It technically plays 2-4 people, but the consensus is that its best with just two.
Here is Kevin Baker’s Quoridor unboxing video. Enjoy!