Scarne on Teeko by John Scarne

Teeko was the most successful game Scarne invented. There were many Teeko clubs and tournaments in the US and abroad. Even Orson Welles was an avid Teeko player. Despite its initial success and clever game design, Teeko has fallen out of favor and only a small fan community remains and plays Teeko today.

Teeko reminds me on the game 4-in-a-row since winning patterns are four in a row horizontally, vertically or diagonally, as well as four pieces in a square. But since pieces can be moved after the initial placement phase, it borrows from checkers and chess. It is also quite similar to the German game "Mühle" which has an initial placement phase as well as a move phase, but is played on a different board and if a 3-in-a-row combination is achieved an opponents piece can be removed.

From the inside flap:

Teeko is the first skill game in almost 6000 years that equals if not surpasses checkers and chess in strategy.

Said to combine the principles of tic-tac-toe, checkers and chess, plus several entirely new game principles, Teeko surpasses these and other games for sheer fun and enjoyment, and is the new best-selling sensation that is certain to go down in history as one of the greatest games of all time.

Teeko can be learned in a minute by any youngster (it is fine training for observation, concentration and judgment) but Teeko cannot be memorized or "mastered". This is because the four red pieces and the four black pieces have well over one million possible playing positions on the Teeko game board!

There is infinite entertainment in the basic game of Teeko. And now for the first time, this book shows many ingenious systems of scoring a Teeko game or match - as well as sixteen fascinating "variations" of the game that will appeal to all game enthusiasts young and old.

Teeko is the creation of John Scarne, world's foremost authority on games, rules of play, laws of chance, etc.

Only Scarne on Teeko, by John Scarne, contains the principles and techniques of winning play: Guidance for the beginner, tips for the expert.