Blokus (Classic)

Product Information

Blokus® Game Play Tutorial". Mattel Games. May 20, 2014. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21 . Retrieved January 12, 2020. They must be adjacent to other pieces of your color, but can only touch the corners of said pieces.

Blokus ( / ˈ b l ɒ k ə s/ BLOK-əs) [1] is an abstract strategy board game for two to four players, where players try to score points by occupying most of the board with pieces of their colour. The board is a square regular grid and the pieces are polyominoes. It was designed by French mathematician Bernard Tavitian [2] and first released in 2000 by Sekkoïa, a French company. It has won several awards, including the Mensa Select award and the 2004 Teacher's Choice Award. In 2009, the game was sold to Mattel.

Saltzman, Marc (2007-12-14). "Blokus World Tour Review". Gamezebo.com. Archived from the original on 2008-01-29 . Retrieved 2007-12-22. Glenn, Joshua; Larsen, Elizabeth Foy (14 October 2014). UNBORED Games: Serious Fun for Everyone. Bloomsbury Publishing. p.28. ISBN 978-1-63286-046-0 . Retrieved 15 April 2015. The game is played on a square board divided into 20 rows and 20 columns, for a total of 400 squares. There are a total of 84 game tiles, organized into 21 shapes in each of four colors: blue, yellow, red, and green. The 21 shapes are based on free polyominoes of one to five squares (one monomino, one domino, two trominoes/triominoes, five tetrominoes, and 12 pentominoes). These shapes are the first in the A000105 sequence. [3] This one is a controversial, love-it-or-hate-it strategy. I’ve seen many players, myself included some time ago, using this strategy over and over, to prevent one’s opponents from moving through your corner, disincentivizing them from reaching your space and leaving you room to deploy your pieces.

Consider these gaps as doors to expand the game to your advantage, but make sure to be the first to exploit these opportunities before the remaining opponents do. Players need to see what shape will fit best in developing patterns and ensure that they can continue to let their colour grow. As the board fills, competition for space becomes more intense. Play ends when no other tiles can be played by any player or when every player has placed all of their pieces. If a player places all of their tiles they will score 15 points and if the final piece placed is the single 1×1 square, the a bonus of five is also added. Players with un-placed tiles, lose points according to the number of squares remaining. Thoughts on Blokus When a player cannot place a piece, they pass, and play continues as normal. The game ends when no one can place any more pieces.There are many different options of play during this phase. There is little need for over-analysis. Options for play often fall into two groups; there may be one clear move for a specific piece, or the player may be faced with a large variety of tile choices. Each player counts the number of unit squares in his/her remaining pieces (1 unit square = -1 point). For example, if you have 2 tiles that have 4 squares and 1 tile that has 5 squares at the end of the game, you have -13 points. The most recent officially licensed Blokus app was developed by Magmic, and was available for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. This version included solo play and multiplayer options, integrating the users' Facebook and Game Center friends and allowing them to compete on a tournament leaderboard. The Magmic Blokus game was delisted from the App Store in December 2018.

Blokus rules also allow for two and three player games. [5] In two-player games, each player takes two colors. In three-player games, either one of the players takes two colors or else "the pieces of the fourth color are placed on the board in a non-strategic way." [5] Variations and spinoffs [ edit ] Blokus Duo (in its original iteration; with purple and orange pieces) Great online store for board games. They always arrive perfectly and undamaged which is important to me. Once the game ends, each player counts every square on the piece(s) that they did NOT place on the board, each counting as a negative (−1) point (e.g. an unplayed tetromino is worth −4 points). A player who played all of their pieces is awarded a 15-point bonus. If the last piece played was a monomino, provided that all pieces of own color have been played, the player is awarded a 20-point bonus instead. The player with the highest score wins. [4] Two- and three-player variations [ edit ] In this guide, we’re sharing 11 Blokus strategies to improve your odds of winning every game. They include:Play tiles so they touch a corner of one of your pieces. Once it’s your turn again, choose any tile you have in front of you and place it on the game board. Set the piece onto the board so one of its corners touches a corner on the first tile you placed. Make sure the tile doesn’t touch sides with any piece that’s the same color, or else it’s an illegal move. [1] X Research source Players need to see what shape will fit best in developing patterns and ensure that they can continue to let their colour grow. As the board fills, competition for space becomes more intense. Play ends when no other tiles can be played by any player or when every player has placed all of their pieces. If a player places all of their tiles they will score 15 points and if the final piece placed is the single 1x1 square, the a bonus of five is also added. Players with un-placed tiles, lose points according to the number of squares remaining. Thoughts on Blokus The red player could not place 1 three-square piece, 4 four-square pieces, and 1 five-square piece. Score: -24 points

Count how many points you earn or lose to declare a winner. If you played all of your pieces, give yourself 15 points total at the end of the game. If you still have tiles in front of you when the game ends, you'll end up with a negative score. To calculate your negative score, count the number of unit squares on each tile you haven't played, and subtract that number from 0. The player with the highest score at the end of the game wins! [2] X Research source

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