Blokus is a game which I am actually a bit surprised hasn’t found its way to the review table here before this.
The game, by designer Bernard Tavitian was first released in 2000.
And right from the outset the game garnered a boatload of attention and awards.
The awards list is impressive, among them:
•2004 Årets Spel (Sweden), Winner, Best Family Game
•2003 Australian Games Association Game and Puzzle of the Year Winner
•2003 Vuoden Perhepeli (Finland) Winner, Game of the Year
•2003 Mensa Select
•2002 Japan Boardgame Prize Winner, The Best Advanced Game
•2002 Spiel des Jahres (Germany) Recommendation, Game of the Year
•2001 Golden Ace (France), Winner, Game of the Year
•2000 Grand Prix du Jouet Winner
In the years since its debut Blokus has been produced and marketed by a dozen-plus companies, which is another indication the game has found a ready market.
Over at www.boardgamegeek.com, a favoured board game site referenced in these columns often, Blokus shows nearly 16,000 owners, which is a big number, with the game having an average rating of 7-out-of-10 based on nearly 14,000 ratings. The rating is 13th among abstract strategy games among hundreds.
While I would not disagree with Blokus being popular, and highly rated, it would not make my personal top-25 among abstract strategy games.
But that said I am an abstract fan, and appreciate deeper choices, such as Arimaa or Terrace more, while Blokus will appeal to a broader audience.
Blokus will remind many of Tetris by the way the game board develops.
The game uses Tetris-shaped, coloured pieces players try to play onto the board. However, there is a placement rule which is at the heart of the game which must be adhered too. A piece may not lie adjacent to your other pieces, but instead must be placed touching at least one corner of your pieces already on the board.
The game is for two-to-four players, although a solitaire variant exists as well.
Each player has 21 play pieces being of one to five squares each. There majority of your pieces, 12, have five squares.
The game ends when all players can no longer place anymore of their pieces. This also includes any players who may have placed all of their pieces on the board.
Each player counts the number of unit squares on their remaining piece, with each unplayed square being minus-one point.
A player earns plus-15 points if all his/her pieces have been placed on the board plus an additional bonus points if the last piece placed on the board was the smallest piece (one square).
The game can play in about half an hour if players don’t bog down in over analysis, so you can play several rounds to determine an eventual winner.
A definite must game for couples getting together for a night of board gaming, even more so if some among the four are not hard core gamers. That said it is a game worthy of any collection. A definite winner.
