Blokus is a game of mental gymnastics that is a neat mix of Tetris and Tron. 2-4 players use a square grid and on each player’s turn, they place one of their pieces on the board. The player with the lowest score at the end of the game wins. Blokus has won many of the gaming worlds most prestigious awards and is highly recommended by MENSA!
I discovered Blokus at the Indianapolis Gen Con gaming convention two years ago and I haven’t stopped playing it since! As I walked by the Blokus booth, its colorful pieces and simple geometry appealed to my senses. I sat down to try a demo with the booth dealer, and about 30 seconds later I was playing and absolutely loving the game!
The Box
The brightly colored, strong cardboard box pictures the game itself, awards, and a description. Inside the box you will find the sturdy game-board, four sets of 21 game-pieces (the sets are Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue), and the rules. Each piece is made up of 1-5 smaller squares that are connected by one or more sides.
The Game
Each player begins the game with their 21 colored pieces. On the first turn, each player will choose a piece and place it on the board in one of the four corners. The board is made up of a grid that is 20x20 squares. Every subsequent turn, the player will choose a piece and place it on the board so that the corner of the new piece is touching a corner of one of that player’s pieces on the board (since each player’s pieces are the same color, it is easy to see whose pieces are whose). One caveat: a player’s pieces may never touch on a straight edge. When a player has a turn where they can no longer place a piece on the board following these two rules, they are done. When all the players are done placing pieces, the player with the most points wins, which generally means is that the person with the least number of “squares” in their unused pile is the winner. Bonus points are awarded if you use all of your pieces, and an extra 5 points is given if use all of your pieces and your last piece played is the single-square.
The strategy of the game comes from devising traps to box your opponent in, while keeping escape routes open for your pieces. A few large pieces dropped on a seemingly open area can quickly box you in if you are not paying attention.
This game is highly addictive and a fun challenge that is easy to learn, but contains many layers of strategy. Younger kids (I’ve played with as young as 5 year olds) can pick it up quickly, too, and often can beat the adults! The kids and the adults all have much fun with this game, which is visually appealing, strategically appealing, and most of all, fun!
The game works best with four players, and there is a two player variant with each player using two colors, but I most prefer the full four player game for fun and strategic reasons.
The games last from 10-30 minutes depending on if your group is playing “fast and furious” or acting like “chess masters” and thinking through every move. Either form of play is fun and exciting, as long as everyone in the group enjoys the same play style.
Final Thoughts
This is a fantastic game for family nights, friendly gaming nights, and works great to bring to conventions such as Gen Con. I find the game to be intellectually stimulating, fun, exciting, and occasionally nerve-wracking! I highly recommend Blokus!
Website
http://www.blokus.com
The website has all of the various Blokus products and, most importantly, has a free on-line demo of the game! After you demo the game, you can actually play on-line against people from all over the world! I highly recommend you check this site out!
The website also contains the games history, a full list of awards, a blog, and even a way to order missing pieces!
_______________________________________________________________________
Game: Blokus
Version: Original Release
Company: Educational Insights
Original Release Date: 2000
Number of Players 2-4 (4 recommended)
Time to Play: 15-30 minutes
Ages: 5 and up
Cost: $29.99
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 25 Type of Toy: Board Game
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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