Blokus – a game for the whole family

Blokus is the new favourite board game in our house.

My 5 year old loves it because it was easy to learn but is challenging to play and mum and dad like to play with him.

My 2 year old likes it because if mum or dad help he can join in and play too.

Mum and Dad love it because everyone can join in and it doesn’t take too long to get through a complete game.  And importantly, Blokus is interesting and challenging for adults to play (even when you are playing with your 5 year old).

The aim of Blokus is to get as many of your playing pieces on the board as possible.  You must consider how to block opponents moves as well as keeping moves open for yourself. 

The board contains 400 squares and each player has 22 different shaped and sized pieces to try and fit on the board.  Pieces must only touch others of the same colour at the corners, not along any edges.

The game can be played by 2 to 4 people, is suitable for players aged 5 years and up and takes around 30 minutes to play.  We found that the game works best when played by 2 or 4 people.  The strategy needed to play with 3 people is a bit complicated for younger children to understand.

Blokus was invented by a mathematician. Starting from the four colour theorem – which states that no more than four colours are required to colour the regions of a map so that no two adjacent regions have the same colour - and with the idea of using polyminoes as pieces, he reached the principle of Blokus.

Playing Blokus will build your child’s (and your) problem solving and decision making skills and develops patience and concentration. 

It is a great addition to our family games cupboard.

I received a copy of Blokus for the purpose of this review.