Blokus Board Game: Review
Number of Players: 2-4 (You can also play brainteasers as 1-player)
Ages: 5+
Game Time: ~20-30 minutes
Type: Strategy
Creator: Bernard Tavitan
Publisher:Mattel Games
Difficulty: Depends on who you're playing against!
Learning Curve: Very simple to learn but definitely involves skill to beat an opponent
Game Pieces:
20 x 20 game board
21 pieces for each of 4 players (see photo)
Gameplay:
The goal is to fit as many of your 21 pieces on the board as possible. Each player must play their first piece in a corner. Each piece placed thereafter must touch at least one other piece of theirs, BUT only at the corners. Pieces of different colors (different players' pieces) may touch sides.
The game ends when all players are blocked from laying down any more pieces (some players may have all their pieces on the board). Each player then counts the total number of unit squares left in his or her pieces. Each square is -1 points. +15 points for putting every piece on the board and +5 bonus points if the last piece placed was the 1-unit square.
Types of Play:
4 players - each get 1 color
3 players - each player picks 1 color and the 4th color is played alternatively by each player
2 players - each get 2 colors
1 player - Brainteasers such as placing all 84 pieces on the board respecting all the rules of the game.
Overall: 4.5/5 Stars!
Blokus is a fantastic family game. It's simplicity is what makes it so enjoyable - it makes the strategy the focus of the game. It is limited by the number of players so it's better for smaller settings or large game nights in which people are playing a number of games.