Blokus is probably familiar to many of you as a board game. According to Wikipedia, it was first published in 2000, and has won several awards, including the Mensa select award. Now, there's a multiplayer version available to play online!
For those unfamiliar with the game, Blokus offers quality, turn-based abstract strategy through the "less is more" approach. You are in charge of 21 Tetris-like pieces ranging from one to five squares. Your goal is to place as many of them on the board as possible, following only two placement rules:
- Your first piece must start in your corner.
- All subsequent pieces must be placed diagonally (and only diagonally) adjacent to one of your already-played pieces.
That's all there is to it. You get one point for every grid square covered by your color, with a 15-point bonus if you place all of your pieces and a 20-point bonus if you place all of your pieces with the 1-square played last.
Your first instinct might be to expand as quickly as possible to stake out territory, and although this does help, it's much less important than you might think at first. Because you cannot make a solid barrier, it is easy (and probably inevitable) for your opponents to penetrate any defense you might set up. Rather, you're better off going on the offensive, beating your opponents to prime locations and building chains that maximize your future placement options. Often you will have to choose between 2 or 3 plays that all seem critical to victory, and it's often difficult to know which play is the best, especially since you aren't always sure what your opponents are up to.
In addition to the traditional Blokus, there is also the option to play Blokus Trigon, a variation with a hexagonal arrangement rather than square. Also, there are variations for 2 or 3 players as well as a team mode.
The site has a built-in ranking system which awards points for victories. However, you'll have to register if you want to enter the ranking system. You can also just play as a guest; this is what I had to do, as my registration did not seem to make it into the system. Once you're signed in as a registered member or guest, it's very easy to join a game or create your own. You might want to practice a game against computer players before you go head-to-head, but only to get the hang of playing. The AI is not very smart, and on occasion the computer player will simply refuse to play, forcing you to abort the game. You'll want to move up to real humans as quickly as possible.
Even though it is recommended by Mensa, Blokus is easy enough to play that you don't need to be a superbrain to learn it. You don't even need to be a half-wit! So go on, Play Blokus.
Cheers to Amanda for sending this one in! =)
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Comments (may contain spoilers)
Wow an on-line version of Blokus Great !!!!!
I was bought the 2 player version of the board game for my birthday last year, and have played with it quite often,It is amazingly simple to learn but increasingly difficult to master, especially against people who have played it before and know how it works :)
Thanks jay and Amanda for finding this. Brilliant!!
Posted by: Graham
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August 9, 2007 7:14 PM
This game looks good, I'm going to play it now. Because of its graphics, it feels like a classic, still it is a quite creative game, in my opinion. Since it is online, not everybody can play it (until last week, I had dialed internet), and that's the only point against the game.
Amanda, keep finding those games for us, ok? Hehe
Posted by: Crocker | August 9, 2007 7:57 PM
So I tried the Practice, and that was good at first, then red refused to play its one-piece or something, so the game...well, stopped. Then I move into the people section and there's no one here to play. One person is free and they haven't replied to my invite. This blows a little bit. haha
Posted by: *Jacob*
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August 9, 2007 8:44 PM
Always good to link to info on the original boardgame: http://boardgamegeek.com/game/2453
And BGG has better info than wikipedia.
Posted by: RaydenUni | August 9, 2007 10:10 PM
I haven't played it much (yet!), but this seems to have deep strategic potential: which pieces to play first, and which to save; how to place pieces to allow future moves; what piece your opponents will play; and how to respond to those moves. And I always enjoy good strategy games that aren't subject to luck.
Thanks Amanda (and Jay)!
Posted by: Lee | August 9, 2007 10:14 PM
Great game. I went in a room to play, and there was one other person. It's funny because there are ten rooms with one person and no rooms with four. It seemed that once I got another person in my room we just use the computer for the other two players. How impatient we are. But I guess that's always an issue with multiplayer games. Maybe all the people from JIG should play at once (tournament anyone?)
And when I was lucky enough to play against another player, neither of us knew what we were doing at all. We just copied the computer. One seemingly experienced player counseled me to "get rid of my biggest pieces first". So now I just combine the two, mimic the comp and play the big pieces.
Someday I hope to be a master... (Pokemon master)
Posted by: Jonah | August 9, 2007 10:30 PM
If you click Quick Play, you get a game against 3 computers. I think that's why almost everyone is playing alone.
It's hard to find a multiplayer game; I wish there was a separate lobby for MP.
Posted by: Lee | August 9, 2007 10:48 PM
wow, excellent game really fun if u can gete four people in it ive come in last in all and im even mensa certified!
:D
Posted by: gibbs | August 10, 2007 12:10 AM
Hi all - Jacon, I ran into into the same glitch on my second game. The computer stalled out placing a tile. Ended up having to restart. Not sure if this has happened to others, but it is frustating. I agree with Lee that a second MP lobby would be a nice option.
Posted by: catgrin | August 10, 2007 1:47 AM
I had the same experience as Jacob. Tried the practice game and the Red computer player got stuck. At first I thought I had stumped the AI, but soon realized it was just being buggy. And not many others online playing, so couldn't get an MP game going.
Posted by: eggson | August 10, 2007 2:18 AM
Am also encountering the stalling problem - haven't managed to finish a game yet, amongst 3 computer players. Presumably this'll get fixed soon?
Posted by: Ben | August 10, 2007 6:37 AM
This seems like a great game (from the little I have played it on-line) and have actually planned to purchase the board game, but the on-line interface seems a bit hit or miss. Just like Zxo, My on-line registration never made it to the system... maybe it's just my machine.
JTH
Posted by: Jimbo the Hotdog | August 10, 2007 10:37 AM
Hey, why is this game not labeled "Kidsafe"?
Posted by: Crocker | August 10, 2007 12:12 PM
Crocker - our standard policy is to label any game with chat enabled, or integral to the game, as "pg13".
Posted by: jay
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August 10, 2007 12:16 PM
Wow. I've played about 10 complete times but only won once when I decided to play red instead of blue. Awesome game.
Posted by: LSN
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August 10, 2007 12:59 PM
Wow, this is a pretty nice game.
Somehow, the interface - with the flags, rooms, "taking places", numbered guests - remind me VERY MUCH of one of my favorite online games, globulos.com .
I thought this was from the same guys, but it seems it's not... Weird.
Posted by: Marcelo | August 11, 2007 9:29 PM
@Marcelo: Globulos! great game! I'm surprised there isn't a review about it!!!
Posted by: g | September 2, 2007 3:56 PM