Quoridor
Race to the far side, or wall the computer into a detour.
How to play Quoridor
Each turn, either move your pawn one square toward the far side, or place one of your walls to slow the computer down. There is no mode to switch: tap a highlighted square to move, or press on the gap between two cells and a ghost wall appears. Drag to slide it along the gap (a vertical gap gives a standing wall, a horizontal gap a flat one), then let go to place it. A wall can never seal off a player’s only route to their goal. First pawn to reach the opposite row wins, so balance racing forward with building a maze for your opponent.
How to win at Quoridor
Quoridor is a race with obstacles. Your pawn starts on one side of the 9x9 board and must reach the opposite row, while the computer tries to do the mirror image. On each turn you make a single choice: step your pawn one square toward your goal, or place one of your walls on an edge to lengthen the computer's journey. Walls are a limited resource, and the golden rule is that a wall may never completely seal off a player; there must always be at least one path left to the goal. So the whole game is a tug-of-war between sprinting forward and building a maze.
The key skill is counting paths. At any moment each pawn has a shortest route of some number of steps; keep yours shorter than the computer's and you are winning the race. A good wall lengthens the opponent's shortest path by more than the single turn it costs you. A wasted wall, one the opponent simply steps around with no real detour, is often worse than just advancing.
Walls and racing tips
- Count the steps in each pawn's shortest path every turn; race when you are ahead, wall when a wall costs the computer more than it costs you.
- Do not dump a wall right in front of the opponent, since they usually just sidestep it. Place walls to force a long detour instead.
- Hold some walls in reserve, because a player who has spent them all cannot stop your final sprint.
- Advance your pawn along the side of the board away from where you are building your walls.
- Remember you can never legally trap the opponent entirely, so plan to slow them down, not seal them off.
Jumps, tempo, and the last wall
When the two pawns stand face to face, the player to move hops straight over, covering two squares in one turn. That free square is a whole tempo, and in a game this tight one tempo is often the whole margin, so try to time your march so the meeting lands on your move; time it wrong and you carry the computer over your head instead. If a wall sits behind a pawn being jumped, the jump becomes a diagonal sidestep, which can be even better when it carries you around an obstruction you would otherwise have to walk along.
Late in the game, think of unused walls as votes you have not cast yet. A player holding walls can still redraw the map; a player with none is just a pedestrian whose route is public knowledge. So resist spending your last wall to add a single step to the computer's path: you gain one move and surrender your entire ability to answer whatever comes next. There is also a quieter use for walls that beginners miss, defence by occupation. Walls may not cross or overlap each other, so laying a wall alongside your own corridor physically removes the slots an attack on that corridor would need. When you are ahead in the race, one wall spent sealing the side entrances to your own lane is often worth more than another jab at the computer's route. And recount both shortest paths after every single placement, because a wall that looks devastating sometimes adds nothing once the detour is traced, while a modest one that funnels the pawn back through a jammed gap can add four moves for the price of one.
From Blockade to Gigamic
Quoridor has a tidy design lineage. A 1975 game called Blockade introduced pawns racing through a growing maze of walls; the Italian designer Mirko Marchesi reworked the idea in Pinko Pallino, a 1995 game on a bigger board with more walls, then distilled it into the clean form the French publisher Gigamic released in 1997. The trim was the genius. With 81 squares, ten walls a side, and 128 possible wall slots, every placement is a real spend, and the game earned a Mensa Select seal and a permanent spot among the modern abstract classics. The four-player version deals five walls each and turns the middle of the board into a shifting four-way brawl, worth trying with friends if you ever meet it on a table. Between the jump rule, the wall-blocks-wall geometry, and the never-seal-anyone-off constraint, what looks like a children's footrace turns out to be a knife fight over tempo, which is exactly why it has survived.
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Quoridor: frequently asked questions
Can I trap the computer completely?
No. Every wall you place must leave at least one path to the goal for both players.
How do I place a wall?
Press on the gap between two cells and a ghost wall appears under your finger or cursor. Drag it exactly where you want, then release to place it. You have a limited supply, so spend walls where they cost the computer the most.
Can I wall the computer off completely?
No. A wall placement is illegal if it would leave any player with no path at all to their goal row. You can force long detours, but a total block is never allowed.
How many walls do I get, and what happens when they run out?
In the two-player game each side has ten walls. Once you place a wall it stays for the rest of the game, and when you are out of walls you can only move your pawn.
What happens when my pawn meets the computer's pawn?
You may jump straight over an adjacent opposing pawn to the square beyond. If a wall or the board edge sits directly behind it, you can instead step diagonally to one side.
Is it better to move or to place a wall?
Compare the shortest paths. If you are ahead in the race, keep moving. Place a wall only when it lengthens the opponent's path by more than the one turn you spend on it.
When should I place my first wall?
Later than you think. Strong play usually opens with several pawn steps, because early walls spend a limited resource before you know where it hurts most. Save them for the midgame, when the computer's route has committed and one wall forces a real detour.
What is the most common beginner mistake?
Spending walls too early, or dropping them directly in front of the opponent, who simply walks around. Walls are precious, so save them to force real detours, especially near the opponent's goal row.
Is Quoridor free to play?
Yes. Quoridor is completely free on Inkplay, with no download, no sign-up, and no in-game purchases. Open the page and play instantly on desktop or mobile.
Can I play Quoridor unblocked?
Yes. Quoridor runs entirely in your browser with no download, install, or plugins, so it loads instantly and keeps working even on school or work networks where bigger game sites get blocked.
More games to play
In the mood for more? Try Chess, Tic Tac Toe, Connect Four, Reversi, or browse all board games and the full games list on Inkplay. Quoridor also appears in Strategy Games.