Blockus, Great Mind Game! By kimmtd on Jan 22, 2008 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

Blokus

Great mind game!

For Christmas, I received a great new game> BLOKUS. I learned of the game and tested it out in a game store over a year before in a gaming store, then new saw it again and couldn't remember the name! A few months before Christmas, I was excited to see this game in my local Target store and remembered how fun it seemed. I can say now that I own it, it is great!!! The five minutes playing it in the store just gave me a taste of it, luckily playing a whole game, just as satisfying.

Blokus is a mind/puzzle game. The playing board is a large square covered in little (about ½ inch) squares> similar to a Scrabble board. There are four colors of game pieces> red, blue, green, & yellow. Each color has 21 pieces and the pieces are made up of little squares> ranging from 1 square to 6 squares connecting in some (sometimes odd) shape. The pieces are quite pretty, done in translucent colors. Ideally, the game is for 4 people. There are variations you can play with 2-3 people to keep the play challenging. You can also play alone (haven't tried yet) as a mind-teaser for yourself. The idea of the game is to be able to place all your pieces on the board. What happens is as each player takes a turn placing their pieces, the playing area gets smaller and more difficult. You can only & have to touch your own pieces on their corners. Using strategy, you can block others and set up your own spaces. I enjoy mind puzzles and this game is a good one to keep you thinking!

We played at Christmas with everyone from my mother-in-law to my 7 yr old daughter. My daughter did well (we play similar games with her), but of course had a harder time with developing a strategy and watching other peoples game play. We are a gaming family and are always on the lookout for an exciting new game. This one is definitely a keeper!