Four-in-a-box

You know the game of "four-in-a-box"? You know, the kids' game? Like this? Still almost a good enough challenge for one of your abstractly strategic ilk, eh?

Four-in-a-box is like four-in-a-row, which, of course, is almost exactly like three-in-a-row, which is what we know as Tic Tac Toe. So, it's got a firm foundation in the paper-and-pencil lore of our childhood. If it were five-in-a-row it'd be known as the ancient Japanese game of Go-Moku, and it would perhaps no longer be consideered a kids' game.

But it's not in a row. It's in a box.

Just to keep your reasoning skills in proper perspective, check out Quod, the only other four-in-a-box-game I've so far encountered. A kids' game it definitely isn't. At least, not this kid. Played on an "11-by-11 square grid board with the four corners missing," To add to the strategic depth (should your strategy need deepening) each player has "6 blocking pieces - quasars (white)" in addition to the "20 attacking pieces - quads (color)." Apparently, "Quasars are neutral pieces used to occupy places."

Even with the neutrality of some of the pieces (an interesting concept - one that we could try even with tic tac toe) Quod is often more of a perceptual challenge than strategic. It's really amazing how difficult it can be to perceive potential squareness. Especially when the squares can be in any orientation - not just horizontal or vertical. It's even more amazing to discover how far we have come from tic tac toe, in how few steps.