Blokus
The original game, for 2 to 4 players, which has become a classic board game throughout the world.
It is comprised of a square board containing 400 squares, and 84 pieces made up of small squares. Play it with your family or among friends: with Blokus Classic you are guaranteed to have fun moments that challenge you and make you think. When it is played by four people, the game is very animated and the outcome is never certain! Played by two people (where each player has two colours), the game provides the opportunity for more strategic and careful thinking.
The game is very simple to understand and to master and is the best product for beginners and for young players. It is also an ideal Christmas present.
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Blokus is a game that seems to show up at every board game party I go to. We tend to go for the longer more “intense” games, but it’s always there as a good stand-by, or way to pass 15 minutes while waiting for something.
The thing that makes Blokus interesting to me is that every time I play, I come up with new levels of strategy. I started out, and I learned the placement rules and, being a strategy gamer, I started coming up with ideas for overall plans for the board.
Those plans quickly fell apart due to miscellaneous unforeseen moves on my opponent’s part. So I started revising, and it quickly hit a cycle. I don’t think my opponents were trying to be sneaky, or to beat out my strategies, but I continually see things and go “oh man I had never thought of that” and try to add it to my arsenal for future Blokus games.
Maybe other people wrap their brains around the game more quickly than I do, but I only know one person who actually tends to beat me, even though I learn new ideas from just about everyone I play.
A fine casual, little, quick game that is fun for two games a night if you’re a serious gamer, and probably significantly more if you’re on the really casual side of gaming.
Blokus is a a pretty fun game. The point of the game is to get all your pieces onto the board, while preventing your opponents from doing the same. You do this by connecting a piece to another of your pieces by only having them touch on the corners, never side by side. You can touch other players pieces on the side, but not your own. The more pieces you have left over at the end, the worse your score. There is a good amount of strategy involved considering your pieces are all odd shaped and you are limited on your placement.
The pieces and board are well constructed. The pieces are plastic and transparent colors. The board is notched so the pieces fit onto the board without sliding around. A lesser game would have overlooked this and made the game far more of a chore. This tiny aspect makes the game easy to play without a fuss.
Even though the game is enjoyable, I feel it does lack in depth. Yes, it has strategy, but it’s pretty straight forward. This is a good thing for learning the rules and getting new players involved, but the game probably won’t be play as much as some other more complex adventures that are available.
Pros:
-Simple game mechanics with fun strategy.
-Well made game pieces and board.
-Easy to learn, easy to play, but still has the “hard to master” aspect” to keep it interesting.
Cons:
-Not enough depth to keep it from being an occasional game.
Conclusion:
If you want a fun, simple game that has some strategy, Blokus is a nice fit. It’s easy and inviting for kids or new players without making it a game you just play for that reason. If you find the game on sale, it’s a no brainer.
Blokus is a fun game that I would best describe as a puzzle styled game. At first look you would think Tetris the Board Game, but that it is not. The game is plays out very simply with two to four players.
One of the first things that you will notice about this board game is that the production is very high. The pieces and board are made of high quality plastic that work great with one another. When you place a piece on the board it fits nicely into its slotted place on the board. Big plus!
Game play is pretty simple. Starting from a corner of the board you place a piece and continue in turn laying pieces corner to corner. No flat side of your color piece can touch the flat side of another piece of yours. Through this you will spread your colored pieces across the board, usually into the middle and onward into your opponents hopeful territory.
Eventually you will work you pieces to a point where there are no moves left. Once all players have done this the game will end with a fight to the death with your only weapon being your final piece! I have been most victorious with the cross that I like to use as a ninja star. If you don’t like that ending and want something more family friendly then the end goal and winner is the player with the least pieces left.
Pros
The game looks great with quality pieces and is pretty inviting to many types of players, even those who do not play games. It can be learned in a flash a provides with a unique style of strategy.
Cons
The game does not get very deep and may be repetitive. Also, for some reason it stresses me out.
Overall, it works nicely in the niche I play it the most, with the extended family over. For what it is as a puzzle game I would give it a 7.5 out of 10, in the broad scope of all games I would like to play I would list it as a 5 out of 10.
One nice note, the mobile game is a quick pace version I think for .99 that can entertain for a good amount of time. The graphics are not that great, but the game is still fun. I actually like it better as a mobile game, most likely because I can play a few games in the time it would take to play one board game and get my fill faster.
My parent’s don’t really play many games. They’re both serious Yankees, Mom works in education, Dad is an Innkeeper. Whenever we go to visit them, this game gets brought out and they turn into giggling fiends. This was one of the first game’s we brought for them to try, and they play it regularly, to the point where it now lives at their house.
This is a great game, easy to play and set up. Pick a color, pick a corner, and build for all you’re worth. There is a definite strategy component to the game, which can make it pretty competitive. Winner is the person with the fewest (and smallest) pieces left. There are some shapes that you’ll want to get rid of early, but keep your single square–it’s worth extra points if you clear your pieces with it going last.
Fun, fast, easy setup and breakdown, the pieces have a nice bit of weight to them, despite being plastic. I’ve played it with 57 year old Curmudgeon, and a 5 year old distracted by cake. And they both have asked to play it again.
I can’t think of any better praise for a game than this:
This game makes my Dad giggle.
Over and out.
Simple Rules, Complex Strategy, it’s a concept that has led to many fantastic games and Blokus is no exception. It is very easy to learn and plays pretty quick (20 minutes or so) so it’s a great game for non-gamers but has enough strategy to keep avid gamers interested.
There are several things to consider before every move in Blokus. Do I want to get get another five square tile down before I run out of room later? Is it more important to block off the corners of my opponents nearby pieces so they can’t build off of them? Should I protect territory that I could freely build in later form my opponents or try and break into their territory?
One thing worth noting is that although there are three player rules where each player takes turns placing a piece of the fourth color each round, it really isn’t that great because whoever is opposite the dummy player has a clear advantage. Blokus is still an excellent game that is best enjoyed with four players.
My wife’s family which loves to play games but is not a power gamer like myself really enjoy Blokus. I suspect that this is the result of:
*Easy to learn and teach rules
*Direct conflict through blocking other players
*Immense replay ability
*Quick gameplay with little downtime waiting for other players.
There is just a few rules to this game. Place your piece only touching your previous piece on a corner, and nowhere else. Place your first piece on the starting location. From there, the deceptively simple game goes deep as you vie for control of the board area trying to block your opponents while maximizing the number of your pieces on the board.
The game is best played with 4 people, and starts to fall flat with less.
With simple rules, a wide range of ages can easily pick up this game. It is well suited for families.
This game is an all-around excellent family game. Even my 4 year old enjoys laying tiles, and has won on occasion! This is one of the best abstracts out there. It’s definitely one of the best mainstream games in existence.
I purchased this game a couple years ago to teach to my younger siblings/cousins over the holidays. I thought, from all the things I had heard, that it would be a hit with the kids. However, that was only half true. The older kids (ages 10-13) really enjoyed playing and kept coming back to it over the holidays, however the younger kids (8-10) found it to be boring or too difficult for them to grasp and play effectively. I still think it was worth the money I spent, seeing as it did get played a good bit, but it didn’t quite live up to the expectations I had for it.
This is a game I invariably pull out for people who are new to “eurogaming”. It plays quickly and gives you a feel for the interest level of the new folks. It is straightforward enough that it is also a good gauge of their ability to learn/retain rules, to see if they have any analysis paralysis, and their competition level.
It looks kind of like Tetris, so it isn’t intimidating. A game or two will play quickly and should be fun for everyone. If your new gamers are hungry for more, you as the game “pusher” should have learned a few things about them to help you pick the next game.