Blokus

Blokus is an abstract strategy game invented by Bernard Tavitian and marketed by Sekkoia. It is one of those classic games where extremely simple rules produce a challenging and interesting game. It has won a number of awards including one from Mensa. Today you can buy Blokus in a variety of styles including a travel edition.

How To Play Blokus

Blokus can be played with two, three or four players. The three player version is least satisfying as one player is necessarily "squeezed" between the other two. To offset this slightly, with three players the fourth colour is also used with each player in turn laying its piece. No points are scored for this fourth colour.

Each player receives 21 pieces of one colour. The pieces are all polyominoes - made from up to five squares - and no two are alike. The players take turns to lay pieces on the board with the objective of scoring most points by covering most squares with their colour.

Gameplay is extremely simple. Each player on their turn places any one piece of their colour on the board. The first piece layed by each player must cover their "home" corner square. Thereafter each piece they play must touch one or more pieces of their colour at a corner but must not touch a piece of their colour along a side. A player must place a piece if they are able to.

When a player is unable to play another piece their colour is "abandoned" and they sit out the rest of the game. When all colours are abandoned each player scores points as follows:

  • 1 point for each square covered. (Each piece can cover from one to five squares)
  • 15 points bonus for successfully playing all 21 pieces
  • 5 points bonus if the last piece played is the 1x1 square
(Some people find it easier to subtract the number of squares left unplayed rather than add up the number played).

The player with the highest score wins.


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