DoomTurtle
United States
Redford
Michigan
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Another review in my A Year With..series. Since I didn't really get into buying more boardgames until last August, this month has been a slow one for reviews. I will actually be reviewing only two games of which I had gotten before getting into the board game craze. Blokus 3D is the first of those games.
I got Blokus 3D back in 2009 for Christmas, another game from my mother-in-law, when party and simpler games were all the rage at our gatherings (and before I got into this hobby, or even knew about this world). I played this game quite a bit when I got it, and have 23 plays recorded since I first started keeping track once I joined the site.
The Premise:
As an abstract, there is no theme to speak of. You want to place your various shaped blocks on the board in a way that you can use up as many of your pieces as possible, and so that when you look at the final structure from the top, you want more sections of your pieces to be visible than any other player.
The Components:
The game comes with 4 different color sets of 15 pieces. Each piece is a different configuration of 2-4 square sections. The game board is a 10x10 grid of squares that is on a turntable which allows a player to rotate the structure on their turn to be able to easily see what options are available for playing their next piece. The game also includes 4 different "masks", or structures that can be built. Each mask is placed on the grid and shows the confines of its structure for the various player ranges (2-4 players).
Pieces fit securely on the grid, with each square section of a piece stabilizing within the grid's raised lines. Care must be taken as pieces are stacked on top of each other, because there is nothing to secure the pieces to each other. A steady hand is all is needed to be sure not to knock pieces over when placing, just be sure you don't spin the turntable to quickly as you search for your next placement.
The Gameplay:
This game is played in turns, with each player placing 1 piece at a time to build the chosen structure. There are two main rules that must be followed. First, when placing a piece, there cannot be any open gaps underneath any section of that piece. All sections of a piece must be resting on something, either the grid, or a section of another piece. Second, you cannot place a piece so that a section of your piece goes beyond the confines of the chosen structure. Each structure has a height, width, and length limit that must be followed.
To start, the first player can place his first piece anywhere on the grid. Every other player's first piece must have at least one face of a section touch the grid, and at least one face of a section touch a piece already in play. From then on, a player has only one restriction to where his pieces can be played (other than the 2 main rules above). A players piece must have at least one face of a section touch one of his own previously played pieces.
If a player is unable to place anymore pieces, he is out of the game, even if a placement opens up on a later turn. When no more pieces can be played by anyone, or remaining players are out of pieces, than it is time to calculate the score. Each player gets a point for each section of a piece that can be seen when looking straight down at the structure. Sections facing the sides are not counted. Each player subtracts a point for every piece they were unable to play. Highest score wins.
When playing, you have to be careful of a couple things. You have to make sure you don't get blocked early by the other players, which kicks you out of the game. So you want to be sure you spread out enough to give you playing options if your pieces start getting blocked. You also want to try and get the upper hand on the other players. If you can force them to play pieces at the bottom of the structure by blocking or covering each piece they play, then your pieces can remain near the top of the structure and helps prevent your points from being covered up.
Final Thoughts:
This was my first abstract (other than checkers or chess) that didn't have any random elements included, other than who went first. It was a game that only matched pure skill, which I came to appreciate. It is fun, and can be played fairly quickly, usually several times within an hour. You do have to beware of (or look for) team-ups to try to eliminate someone early, but the game is quick enough that it isn't a big deal. In my experience, if someone is winning a lot, that player is going to be teamed against. 1 on 1 is the way to go for a truly equal match.
I have since come to like regular Blokus better (which is a review for anther day), but I still enjoy playing this one.
Based on BGG's rating guidelines, I will give this a 7.5.
Thanks for reading, more meaty games will up for review beginning next month.
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Andreas Miliopoulos
Greece
Koropi
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Blokus is also my game of choice between the two. Although I can't say I do not like Blokus 3D, it seems it always loses to Blokus when it comes to be played.
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James 3
United States
Atlanta
Georgia
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I miss the temple theme from Rumis (before they de-themed it and rebranded it with the Blokus name), which made this more compelling to play for some reason for me...
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DoomTurtle
United States
Redford
Michigan
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flamejuggler wrote: I miss the temple theme from Rumis (before they de-themed it and rebranded it with the Blokus name), which made this more compelling to play for some reason for me...
I'm guessing all the structures missing from Rumis/Rumis+ are in the download section, which I should look into printing and giving a try. Would add some new life into this one.
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Sight Reader
United States
Colorado
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DoomTurtle wrote: flamejuggler wrote: I miss the temple theme from Rumis (before they de-themed it and rebranded it with the Blokus name), which made this more compelling to play for some reason for me... I'm guessing all the structures missing from Rumis/Rumis+ are in the download section, which I should look into printing and giving a try. Would add some new life into this one.
It sure would be nice to have a mask to play with when downloading levels. You do get quickly tired of the same 3 or 4 maps.
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Posted Tue Jul 12, 2011 6:41 pm
