Quoridor

Quoridor is an absolutely brilliant wooden board game. And no, you haven't just accidentally clicked on to Dullanorak.com. You're still looking at Firebox, everyone's favourite purveyor of all things inspirational, quirky and downright fun. So what on Earth are we playing at selling a game like Quoridor? After all, some board games have a nasty habit of making players, er, bored. And Quoridor does sound a bit like a character from Middle Earth, doesn't it.

Well we have to admit, we weren't exactly performing cartwheels of excitement when we first heard about this game. But then we discovered it had been winning awards left, right and centre. Across the pond, Quoridor has already shot into Mensa's top five and it has also won Game of the Year. Some accolade.

So why all the fuss? Well, having played Quoridor solidly for the past few weeks, we can honestly say it's a classic-in-the-making, and it is so addictive you'll be dreaming about pawns, squares and fences every time you blink.

The basic premise of Quoridor is to get your pawn to the opposite side of an 81 square board before your opponent. The pawns are moved one square at a time, vertically or horizontally, forwards or backwards. The twist is, players can also choose to put up fences (10 per player) in order to block their opponent's progress. This leads to all kinds of maze-based shenanigans, as players attempt to box each other in, jump over each other and negotiate their way out of trouble. It's a bit like British Bulldog in slo-mo with a few barriers thrown in for good measure. As Bruce Forsythe used to say: 'That's all there is to it.'

Quoridor is simple to play but difficult to master. And because each game only lasts around 10-15 minutes, it's great for a quick fix of tactical-based fun. Best of all, if you order yours pronto you can impress onlookers as you stroke your chin and furrow your brow, playing a brilliantly entertaining game that no one else understands. Hurry though, because before long the whole world will go Quoridor crazy. (2-4 players).