Game: Blokus

Thread: Re: From the finest copying machines in China

LurkingMeeple — 2008-11-28T06:43:10+00:00

This edition had been accepted as gameid 39310, but it's since been rolled into the entry for Blokus. (I don't know why.) "Tetris", "The Strategy Game", and "The Family Chess Game" are now listed as alternate names.

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janus — 2008-11-24T20:38:14+00:00

Blokus at GiocaTorino 2008

Thread: Re: Blokus as a Math Fair Topic, Need Advice

Shatner — 2008-11-20T07:51:44+00:00

catinhat95 wrote:
Does anyone think I am getting into a very complicated area?

You are getting into a wicked complicated topic. That said, its great topic for your math fair. Just keep it simple.

The easiest thing that I can think of is to devise several different 'strategies' for placing the pieces. One being random legal moves, another perhaps to always place the largest pieces first, and a third to place the smallest pieces. Play a bunch of games using the varying strategies, keep track of which beats what and see if you can come up with a way to describe why one strategy beats another.

Thread: Re: From the finest copying machines in China

LurkingMeeple — 2008-11-02T00:19:07+00:00

Phlegm wrote:
i hope this topic is deleted.

I think it helps to remind people not to buy this stuff. (Also, I've seen the real Blokus on sale for less than the price of this reportedly inferior copy.)

At first I was surprised to find pirated editions in the BGG database, but there are several, at least. Cardboard Pirates: Unauthorized Editions

I've submitted this Blokus rip-off for the BGG database. Jeff, I'll split the GG with you if the entry is accepted.

Thread: Re: From the finest copying machines in China

markus_kt — 2008-11-01T14:28:47+00:00

galeninjapan wrote:
markus_kt wrote:
Phlegm wrote:
i hope this topic is deleted.

theft comes to mind.

damn commies
Seems pretty capitalist to me. Not in a good way, of course.

Capitalist counties have copyright and trademark laws...
Law-abiding ones do, yes, for the very reason that it's easy to make money by copying something like this, something we still find on occasion in capitalist countries. Hence my statement.

Thread: Re: From the finest copying machines in China

galeninjapan — 2008-11-01T14:15:53+00:00

markus_kt wrote:
Phlegm wrote:
i hope this topic is deleted.

theft comes to mind.

damn commies
Seems pretty capitalist to me. Not in a good way, of course.

Capitalist counties have copyright and trademark laws...

Thread: Re: From the finest copying machines in China

markus_kt — 2008-11-01T13:45:15+00:00

Phlegm wrote:
i hope this topic is deleted.

theft comes to mind.

damn commies
Seems pretty capitalist to me. Not in a good way, of course.

Thread: Re: From the finest copying machines in China

Big Bad Lex — 2008-11-01T11:05:49+00:00

Phlegm wrote:
i hope this topic is deleted.

theft comes to mind.

damn commies

Two out of three aint bad.

Easy Tiger, racial stereo-typing cuts both ways.

Thread: Re: From the finest copying machines in China

Rokkr — 2008-11-01T02:51:41+00:00

It's been discussed many times here. The only things you can protect are the rule book, artwork and the name of the game. The concept is usable by anyone if they change the name and write their own rules.

Thread: Re: From the finest copying machines in China

Jeff Chunko — 2008-11-01T02:34:04+00:00

Also duo for ~6$

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8691

Thread: Re: From the finest copying machines in China

Phlegm — 2008-11-01T02:24:50+00:00

i hope this topic is deleted.

theft comes to mind.

damn commies

Thread: Re: From the finest copying machines in China

Marqos — 2008-11-01T02:01:14+00:00

Huoh. Now *that* is shameless. Wow.

Thread: From the finest copying machines in China

Jeff Chunko — 2008-11-01T00:55:50+00:00

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8905

$18.81 including world wide shipping.

Thread: Re: My #1 Game for My First Review

iklinck — 2008-10-31T17:44:43+00:00

Actually, there's a 2-player variant someone posted, similar to that. I think you cut it down to a 14x14 board, and start on the square 5x5 in from the corner.

My wife & I tried it once, and it worked pretty well.

Ian

Thread: Re: My #1 Game for My First Review

KlydeFrog — 2008-10-31T05:09:44+00:00

In Blokus Trigon you cannot use the outermost row when playing 3 players. We also play two players (using just two colors) by not using the 2 outermost rows. Something like this might also work for Blokus for 2/3 players but I haven't tried it yet.

Thread: Re: My #1 Game for My First Review

galeninjapan — 2008-10-30T21:33:45+00:00

I found that playing 3 player blokus actually works quite well. Just dont use the 4th color, everything else plays the same. I dont feel any player has an advantage at all.

Thread: Re: My #1 Game for My First Review

Blott — 2008-10-30T18:05:58+00:00

The biggest problem with 3 player is that the one real player that gets sandwiched between the other players will get cut off much more quickly.

We tried playing once that the three players started on the sides an equal distance apart without a fourth. But then there was just too much space on the board and we all easily played all of our tiles.

Still, this is a great 4 player game.

Thread: Re: My #1 Game for My First Review

aramis — 2008-10-30T18:02:19+00:00

Just as a side note: Blokus Trigon reimpliments Blokus, and does 3 player just fine... it handles 2p the same way as core blockus: two colors per player.

Thread: Re: My #1 Game for My First Review

iklinck — 2008-10-30T18:00:07+00:00

tada wrote:
I love Blokus also, but I've never played with just three players. How about just randomly placing all of the pieces of the dummy 4th player on the board ahead of time (with corners touching, of course)?

Interesting thought... might be worth a try, if I end up playing this with 3 players at any point...

Thread: Re: My #1 Game for My First Review

tada — 2008-10-30T17:55:42+00:00

I love Blokus also, but I've never played with just three players. How about just randomly placing all of the pieces of the dummy 4th player on the board ahead of time (with corners touching, of course)?

Thread: Re: My #1 Game for My First Review

Blott — 2008-10-30T17:22:13+00:00

An excellent game, and I can see why you have it as your number one. Thanks for the well-thought-out review, and the honest assessment of the major flaw (the 3-player game.)

Thread: My #1 Game for My First Review

iklinck — 2008-10-30T16:26:16+00:00

Blokus is my current #1-rated and most-played game, so I thought it would be a good candidate for my first review.

I'm a math geek, I love geometric shapes and bold colours, so when my sister-in-law introduced me to Blokus, I loved the game from the start. Many plays later, I still love it.

In Blokus, each player starts with the same selection of pieces, each an arrangement of 1-5 squares. The objective is to get as many of these pieces placed on the board as possible. Your first piece must start in the corner square, and each subsequent piece must touch one of your placed pieces corner-to-corner, but can never touch one of your placed pieces edge-to-edge.

The winner is the player with the fewest squares left at the end of the game (a 5-square piece counts for 5, a 3-square piece counts for 3, etc.). There are bonus points for placing all of your pieces, and an extra bonus if you place your 1-square piece last.

The corner-to-corner placement allows players to play "through" each other's placed pieces, but it is still possible to "block" other players with careful placement.

A game takes about 30 minutes to play.

What I Like:
I love the geometric nature of the game. It really appeals to the way my mind works.

The game is easy to learn, and it usually doesn't take a new player too long to catch on to some of the strategy. Most people I've taught have been much more challenging opponents in game #2 than they were in game #1!

The games are quick. In fact, it's rare to play only one game in a sitting!

I'm not usually one to be swayed by the looks of a game's components - gameplay is more important to me. However, Blokus does look great. The bold colours and transparent plastic pieces look great, and the finished game is always nice to look at - before removing all the pieces from the board to start another game!

The game works well for either 2 or 4 players. It is designed with 4 players in mind, but it is a simple adaptation to have each player play 2 colours. My wife and I enjoy playing this variant. (And being able to play a game with my wife is a big plus for me!)

What I Don't Like:
There isn't much I don't like. (As I said, it's my #1 rated game.) However, the game does not really work with 3 players. The 3-player version in the rules has each player, in turn, playing the 4th player's turns. This is necessary, otherwise there would be too much space on the board, and all 3 players would be able to play all of their pieces. However, it's a bit of an awkward mechanic, so, with 3 players, I'm likely to suggest something else.

Players who don't like abstract games, or aren't as good with spatial thinking might not enjoy the game, but almost everyone I've played with likes it!

Thread: Re: The Best Two-Player Blokus Variant: classic Blokus board, Travel Blokus setup and rules

EndersGame — 2008-10-27T22:39:32+00:00

Mr Mjeh wrote:
quick question on playing the big blokus with 2 players...
14X14, and starting in the 5x5 area
but what exactly is meant with the latter?
is it like the big game, where you simply need to have a piece "cover" that 5x5 spot (like covering the corner position)
or does the first piece you play have to be within that 5x5 area?
the first few times we've played using the former, meaning that we were in the middle in no time...
You have played correctly. The only requirement is that the starting piece "cover" the square 5x5 from the corner. This does indeed mean that play quickly moves towards the middle of the board, unlike the regular full sized game with four players.

Thread: Re: The Best Two-Player Blokus Variant: classic Blokus board, Travel Blokus setup and rules

clearclaw — 2008-10-27T15:45:47+00:00

feldmafx wrote:
When my wife and I play 2p2c, we lose track of which color's turn it is. Drives me nuts.

Put each pile of coloured bits by their corner of the board. Either simply play the colours in rotation, working around the corners, or use a marker (eg coffee mug) to track which corner/colour is currently active.

Thread: Re: The Best Two-Player Blokus Variant: classic Blokus board, Travel Blokus setup and rules

Mr Mjeh — 2008-10-27T07:07:55+00:00

quick question on playing the big blokus with 2 players...

14X14, and starting in the 5x5 area

but what exactly is meant with the latter?

is it like the big game, where you simply need to have a piece "cover" that 5x5 spot (like covering the corner position)

or does the first piece you play have to be within that 5x5 area?

the first few times we've played using the former, meaning that we were in the middle in no time...

Thread: Re: Offical way to pronounce Blokus in english

parkrrrr — 2008-10-11T14:52:18+00:00

seppo21 wrote:

Your challenge (should you choose to accept it) is to find a word with a medial "k" that is preceeded by a long o vowel (without falling back on other phonetic rules, like the trailing silent e in your previous list). I can't think of any.

Okay, even though I assume you're joking.

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tuttleboy — 2008-09-27T17:05:45+00:00

End game 4 player. Make sure the couple you play with doesn't get their feeling hurt easily.

Thread: Re: Blokus as a Math Fair Topic, Need Advice

aramis — 2008-09-26T08:35:27+00:00

don't bother with 4-color theory. It's irrelevant to play.

Thread: Re: Wanna see what I got for my birthday?

Jrtolf — 2008-09-25T20:11:00+00:00

KrisVerbeeck wrote:
Best tie ever

so you play against your kids to win. I like that.

A shame that the nine year old went so quick out of the game. Sometimes this can happen with the fake fourth player.

If you want to play 2 player this image is most helpfull.

]]>

Thanks, but I don't need it. Earlier this year I got a copy of Travel Blokus at a local thrift store. Since we have this version and my wife knows how much I love it, (she loves it too,) She already knew I wanted a copy of regular Blokus so the four of us could play together.

But I appreciate the thought!

Thread: Re: Wanna see what I got for my birthday?

mwdalrymple — 2008-09-25T16:05:41+00:00

There was a really good 'blockus' rip off on Facebook but it didn't last very long

Thread: Re: Wanna see what I got for my birthday?

unixrevolution — 2008-09-25T14:01:28+00:00

KrisVerbeeck wrote:
Best tie ever

so you play against your kids to win. I like that.

A shame that the nine year old went so quick out of the game. Sometimes this can happen with the fake fourth player.

If you want to play 2 player this image is most helpfull.

]]>

I think 3-player mode with Blokus is a little weird. That's why I say "It's a 2 OR 4 player game." I just got a copy of GemBlo and the 3-player on that is great. Nice session report!

Thread: Re: Wanna see what I got for my birthday?

KrisVerbeeck — 2008-09-25T12:42:28+00:00

Best tie ever

so you play against your kids to win. I like that.

A shame that the nine year old went so quick out of the game. Sometimes this can happen with the fake fourth player.

If you want to play 2 player this image is most helpfull.

]]>

Thread: Wanna see what I got for my birthday?

Jrtolf — 2008-09-25T00:25:08+00:00

My birthday was this past week and my loving wife bought me a copy of Blokus. I opened it and played my first game with my two daughters (ages 9 & 8). The 9 year old went first, playing red (her usual color), the 8 year old played second with the yellow pieces, and I played the blue, leaving green as the color we alternated playing.

Around the 4th turn we all met in the middle and began to collide with each other. The 9 year old started playing pieces closer to her starting corner, which turned out to be a mistake, as the 8 year old and I were both trying to claim as much of the board as we could. After several more turns, the 9 year old ran out of room to place any of her remaining pieces.

In an effort to console her, I asked the 8 year old if the 9 year old could take over playing the green pieces, The 8 year old was agreeable to this, and we continued to play.

Towards the end of the game, the 9 year old ran out of options for the green pieces, the 8 year old was able to play a few more pieces around the corner where red started, and I was able to play a few pieces in the corner where the yellow started.

The final score:

Red = 31 squares left on her pieces
Yellow = 4 squares left on her pieces
Blue = 4 squares left on my pieces

So what did I get for my birthday present?

A "tie".

Thread: Re: Blokus as a Math Fair Topic, Need Advice

DaviddesJ — 2008-09-24T17:45:20+00:00

catinhat95 wrote:
Also, someone suggested discussing the 4 color theorem which is mentioned in the blokus information. Does anyone think I am getting into a very complicated area?

I don't think the 4 color theorem has much to do with Blokus. It is certainly an interesting and complicated area, but it has to do with general planar graphs which can be a lot more complicated than the Blokus board.

Thread: Re: Blokus as a Math Fair Topic, Need Advice

russ — 2008-09-24T06:24:54+00:00

Another idea is: take some pieces (perhaps in several colors) and see how small a square region you can pack them into, following the Blokus placement rules.

Thread: Re: Blokus as a Math Fair Topic, Need Advice

catinhat95 — 2008-09-24T01:55:44+00:00

thank you everyone! it's such a hard topic and people I know have been discouraging me but I love blokus!

Also, someone suggested discussing the 4 color theorem which is mentioned in the blokus information. Does anyone think I am getting into a very complicated area?

Thread: Re: Blokus as a Math Fair Topic, Need Advice

russ — 2008-09-22T21:12:30+00:00

Perhaps analyze specific board situations and use logical and geometrical reasoning to prove whether an opponent can break through a wall into an area? E.g. "The only way through is to use the single square piece, then the bent 3-square piece, but that piece is already used over there."

Or analyze board situations to maximize the points earned by the various ways to fit remaining pieces into a friendly area.

Thread: Re: Blokus as a Math Fair Topic, Need Advice

DaviddesJ — 2008-09-22T21:08:36+00:00

catinhat95 wrote:
Can anyone thing of an angle to take on Blokus as a math fair topic? Have to do a research paper and thought Blokus would be a great topic, just can't come up with a theme. (9th grade) thanks!

Try to estimate how many different ways the Blokus pieces can be arranged on the board? (Might be too hard, depends how good an estimate you try to get.)

Thread: Re: Blokus as a Math Fair Topic, Need Advice

duchamp — 2008-09-22T20:15:28+00:00

Polyomino Games:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/30702
Blokus is a bit special for a "polyomino game", since the others all work with "matching edges" and the totally "covered plane", but Blokus works with this "corner-to-corner"-approach.

How to look for other, again different rules, with other sets of polyominos, just for training?

BTW, the first puzles, by Pro. Solomon Golomb, had a "tangram-like appearance:
]]>

Thread: Re: Blokus as a Math Fair Topic, Need Advice

Biarien — 2008-09-22T20:03:44+00:00

Here's a good place to start for some general information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentomino

Thread: Re: Blokus as a Math Fair Topic, Need Advice

Maus — 2008-09-22T20:00:45+00:00

Spacial Awareness

The ability to see two or more objects in relationship to each other and yourself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spatial_awareness

Just off the top of my head, maybe a start in a general direction.

Maus
(Dad who homeschools Math and Science)

Thread: Blokus as a Math Fair Topic, Need Advice

catinhat95 — 2008-09-22T19:49:28+00:00

Can anyone thing of an angle to take on Blokus as a math fair topic? Have to do a research paper and thought Blokus would be a great topic, just can't come up with a theme. (9th grade) thanks!

Thread: Re: Blokus 3-D !!

russ — 2008-09-22T10:18:39+00:00

Yes, it is simply Rumis rebranded as Blokus. The games certainly have something in common, but are also really rather different in significant ways.

The Rumis forums have various mentions of the new Blokus 3D branding, e.g.:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/332330
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/328581
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/298063

Thread: Re: Blokus 3-D !!

dougadamsau — 2008-09-18T23:06:44+00:00

This has been on the shelves in Australia for a while. It looked like a republished Rumis to me (which is a great little game).

Thread: Re: Blokus 3-D !!

IanthePez — 2008-09-18T16:47:15+00:00

Given the overall popularity of Blokus, this makes a ton of sense from a marketing perspective. Even better than that is the colors! I'm not that fond of the Rumis colors I have.

Thread: Blokus 3-D !!

ryanmaesen — 2008-09-18T16:13:08+00:00

Have you seen this yet? Looks like they re-did Rumis...

http://educationalinsights.com/brainboosting-strategy-blokus...

Taken from the blokus.com site:

Blokus 3D

A new experience in 3 Dimensions! Blokus 3D is a re-designed version of the award-winning hit Rumis created by Stefan Kögl. Each player receives 11 blocks of one colour, made of 3-dimensional squares. Each piece is a different shape. The aim of the game is to place the highest number of coloured blocks visible from above. The rotating game board makes it possible to quickly visualize all the options of placement. Blokus 3D sharpens critical-thinking skills as players strategically construct three-dimensional structures block by block.

Has anyone tried this yet?

Thread: Re: Video comparison of Blockus and GIANT Blokus

snicholson — 2008-09-14T03:45:09+00:00

Avron wrote:
Just one issue. You say the person that plays the most of their pieces is the winner. It's actually the person with the fewest number of little squares left unplayed.
So someone with the 1 and 2 square pieces will beat a person with a 4 or 5 square piece.

While I know that, when I do a review of a boardgame in 2-3 minutes, I make simplifications of the rules. For new players to the game, I don't bother teaching that rule the first play. After one game, then I explain that rule. The goal of Scott's Stuff is not to explain the game, but rather to give a broad overview of what's going on, and the way to do that is to not get caught up in details.

But, thanks for the feedback!

Thread: Re: Video comparison of Blockus and GIANT Blokus

Avron — 2008-09-14T02:36:01+00:00

Just one issue. You say the person that plays the most of their pieces is the winner. It's actually the person with the fewest number of little squares left unplayed.
So someone with the 1 and 2 square pieces will beat a person with a 4 or 5 square piece.

Thread: Re: Video comparison of Blockus and GIANT Blokus

snicholson — 2008-09-12T17:35:51+00:00

lengthtoavoid wrote:

Question: Scott's Stuff? Is that a new line of quicky reviews?....because I sadly look at my RSS feeds over here in Rochester hoping to see something new pop up above Agricola on "BGs with Scott". Thanks to your last review, Agricola was stripped of all its intimidating qualities and is well played now at my table.

thanks!

Scott's Stuff is a video blog where I talk about different things in my life - teaching, libraries, research, and board games.

The feed for Scott's Stuff is
feed://feeds.feedburner.com/scottsstuff

Thread: Re: Video comparison of Blockus and GIANT Blokus

docreason — 2008-09-12T14:55:52+00:00

Giant Blokus, isn't that the game that is 16 feet by 16 feet?
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/269696

Thread: Re: Video comparison of Blockus and GIANT Blokus

lengthtoavoid — 2008-09-12T14:46:11+00:00

I never even knew Giant Blokus existed. Very fun. I do agree that this game is truly a great gateway game to get anyone up and playing. Its simple, has a good deal of strategy, has vibrantly colored playing pieces of good durable quality...and even my mom even enjoyed it! (who does not play games EVER...and doesn't appreciate complicated things in general)

Question: Scott's Stuff? Is that a new line of quicky reviews?....because I sadly look at my RSS feeds over here in Rochester hoping to see something new pop up above Agricola on "BGs with Scott". Thanks to your last review, Agricola was stripped of all its intimidating qualities and is well played now at my table.

thanks!

Thread: Re: Video comparison of Blockus and GIANT Blokus

smitty1966 — 2008-09-12T13:47:09+00:00

The start of this video is my favorite part "...for Friday, September...crap"

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snicholson — 2008-09-12T12:38:10+00:00

Comparison of regular and Giant Blokus pieces

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snicholson — 2008-09-12T12:36:19+00:00

Comparison of small and large Blokus boards

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chaosbreaker — 2008-09-09T18:13:53+00:00

Blokus 3D -- free downloadable AI for Windows and Linux http://www.saschahlusiak.de/blokus/

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EndersGame — 2008-09-03T18:55:00+00:00

How to start a two player game (Blokus Duo setup) on a regular board

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joebelanger — 2008-08-20T19:48:43+00:00

Brutality about to ensue.

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FranklinTV — 2008-08-09T13:30:29+00:00

When mechanisms in more important than scoring ...

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GeneSteeler — 2008-06-27T23:45:38+00:00

2008 Australian Blokus Champion, Michael Coulston - awarded at Australian Games Expo in Albury, April 20, 2008

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Toynan — 2008-06-21T15:36:41+00:00

Close up on some pieces