Minimum Age: 5 years Rating: Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
		<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Educational-Insights-2995-Blokus-Strategy/dp/B00011F5DK%3FSubscriptionId%3D1BQY5B8C46HW7T34E882%26tag%3Dtoysshopper-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB00011F5DK"><img border="0" src="http://www.toys-shopper.com/images/view_details.gif" alt="View Blokus Strategy Board Game details at Amazon"></a>

Grades K and up. Europe's 2003 game of the year! Develops logic and spacial perception while kids learn to be tactical. Players take turns placing pieces on their board, each starting from their corner. Each new piece must touch at least one other piece of the same color, but only at the corners! The goal is to get rid of all your pieces. The game ends when all players are blocked from laying down any more of their pieces. Includes one gameboard with 400 squares, 84 game pieces in four bright translucent colors, and an instruction guide.

Not Your Average Board Game
Blokus encourages creative thinking and has received a Mensa award for promoting healthy brain activity. The goal of this game is for players to fit all of their pieces onto the board. When placing a piece it may not lie adjacent to the player's other pieces, but must be placed touching at least one corner of their pieces already on the board. The player who gets rid of all of their tiles first is the winner and strategic thinking helps as you block moves from your opponent. Blokus sometimes comes to an end because there are no more possible moves.

Four players make this abstract game especially fast and exciting; however, it can be just as fun for two or three players. Blokus has come up with a number of different ways to play the game to make it more thrilling when playing with less than four players. Draft Blokus allows a player to use more than one color and Reverse Blokus reverses the entire game so that the person who places the least amount of tiles on the board is the winner. It can even be played in a solitaire version when one player attempts to place all of their pieces in a single sitting. A game of Blokus typically lasts a 30 minutes. As a practical feature, raised edges on the board help keep the tiles in place and allow convenient clean-up. This game includes 84 pieces in four vibrant colors, an instruction guide, and one gameboard with 400 squares.

Blokus is simple to understand, but the game's complexity is revealed shortly after everyone begins to play. It can be addictive, even for those not normally into abstract games. Blokus is a catalyst for spatial thinking, as players form images in their mind before placing the pieces on the board. Children and adults can play together for hours of competitive family fun. As Europe's 2003 Game of the Year, Blokus is adored by many and even played in professional tournaments.

What's in the Box
84 pieces in four colors, gameboard with 400 squares, and an instruction guide.

Once a piece has been placed on the board it can't be moved, so plan your moves carefully.

Adding to the game's challenges, each new piece must touch at least one other piece of the same color, but only at the corners.

Customer Reviews

Challenging Family Game for Everyone Posted 30 July 2008
We've had this game for a few years now. It's still a family favorite. If you like Othello or Tetris, you are sure to love this game. We usually play with three people and take turns on who lays down a tile for the forth color. It works great and adds to everyone's strategy. My husband is not a big fan of board games, but enjoys this one. It doesn't require any reading, so a child who is a pre-reader can join in. I also like the fact that the rules aren't complicated. You can learn as you go.

Fun Game Posted 27 July 2008
Fun game for children or adults. We pulled it out during a rainy evening at the lake and the four of us had an enjoyable fun filled evening

This game is like a puzzle Posted 27 July 2008
I am a Great Grandma and I played out on games a long time ago. I had 6 children. So for years I wouldn't play cards or games,I had my fill. Then my brother (65 years old) brought the larger game to my house. With that game four people can play. Well, my brother's game is still at my house. It is a great game it doesn't take all night to play. It has pieces that go on this board but the pieces can only touch at the corners. You keep on putting pieces on the board until you have no more room or you run out of pieces. It is so much fun and I am finding it hard to put it into words. The pieces are in different shapes and different sizes and different colors, so it's pretty to look at and play. Now I have the travel size, it's for two people to play and it is smaller. But is still so much fun. It is not too little for men or women. It is a good size. That is the game we are looking at. Our four year old great grandson plays it. Children and grown-ups alike can play this game and really enjoy it. My niece lives across the street from me and she borrowed it. They got one now. I have two games and I want to get the giant one next.
My aunt wants me to bring it to her house so we can play it instead of Scrabble (that is her favorite game until she plays Blokus). Anybody at any age can play this game and will love it. And now since they have the travel size it is going everywhere. I just mailed one to my brother in Spain. Well, I had to since I kept his.

Great game for stimulating the brain cells Posted 22 July 2008
This game is great because it is easy to learn and the strategy development you gain from playing helps develop the brain cells. I would recommend this game for anyone, but especially children or seniors who need to keep sharp.

Good Spacial Skill builder Posted 21 July 2008
Played this with my family and we enjoyed it. Very easy to learn\teach, but tricky to build strategy with. Made the young ones think. Very engaging game.

While far from fragile, I thought the pieces could be snapped in the wrong hands. However, I don't know if this is something that can be remedied at manufacture. My advice? Keep it away from the toddlers.