Josh M
United States
Minneapolis
Minnesota
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We travel a lot, almost too much. So we wanted some good travel games, especially for an upcoming trip on a cruise ship. The criteria were: solid in the wind, good for two players, and fun. Blokus-to-go was a suggestion and from all of the great reviews of the game, we thought we'd give it a go.
Neither of us had played standard Blokus prior, so this is our only reference point to its kith and kin. I'm going to review this based on those three criteria up above.
Criterion the first: Solid in the wind.
Yes, yes it is. This edition with the holes in the 42 see-through plastic pieces would hold up well to not just the wind, but also a bump, a car ride, or relocation. The game board has the main playing area as well as two fly-away boards to hold the opponent's pieces. The fly-aways are hinged on by a small spring and are good now, but might not hold after repeated or abusive use. This could be problematic as this is where the pieces are held, lose one piece and the game's value diminishes to unusable. Also, while most pieces will pop on and off of the pegs with little issue, the 1 piece (with one hole) was a terror for both colors. Finally, the side boards have nice patterns that show where the pieces are stored when not in play. The problem with those patterns is that it's difficult to discern piece shapes while playing because the pieces are almost right next to each other. A black outline may help and I'm going to take a Sharpie to our edition to make it easier.
Criterion el Segundo: Good for two players
It's a two-player game. So, that's almost a non-point. But yes, it's good for two-players.
The ultimate criterion: Fun
Well, before getting to try this game out with my partner, I read through the simple to understand instructions and the learning curve was quite short. We were both up and playing with no problems. This game is not good for those with spatial recognization issues. My partner, while a wonderful person, has no concept of spatial reasoning and spent a lot of time seeing if pieces would fit in places that they would never come close. So, if you or your opponent has this inability, this is a looooong game. Ever watch someone play Solitaire and want to point out something that they are missing. That was this game over and over. So it quickly became banal and uninteresting. After 3 matches, we stopped.
So while I liked it with about a 6.0 enthusiasm, my partner's rating was about a 3.
Epilogue
The regular game was a bust. For us anyways. So for playing together, we'll look towards other pastures. I, however, thought that there might be one more trick up its sleeve, and for that I needed a bag. So I got one. I put all of the pieces inside and played against myself pulling out each piece one by one and playing them in that order. The same rules about only corners touch was still in play, but the order between colors was ignored. I played this house version 6 times and had a great time going solo and seeing if I could better my previous score. That bumped the game up to a 7 for me. If you haven't tried it, it's worth it.
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Testy Testerson
Canada
Edmonton
Alberta
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I agree on the spatial reasoning problem. I'm really good at spatial thinking, and whenever I play this with people who aren't it can set my teeth on edge. Especially if they filter through multiple pieces seeing where they can fit.
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Kathy Sheets
United States
Port Saint Lucie
Florida
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We just don't like this game either though I don't think we have too much problem with the spatial aspect.
We do, however, love Blokus Trigon both 2 and 3p. I don't know what's so different about it--maybe it's easier? Whatever it is, it makes a huge difference to us.
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Matt Boehland
United States
Apple Valley
Minnesota
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Bummer. Better buy better boardgames, buying bad boardgames bites.
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RHP in the ATL
United States
Stone Mountain
Georgia
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stpauler wrote: I, however, thought that there might be one more trick up its sleeve, and for that I needed a bag. So I got one. I put all of the pieces inside and played against myself pulling out each piece one by one and playing them in that order. The same rules about only corners touch was still in play, but the order between colors was ignored. I played this house version 6 times and had a great time going solo and seeing if I could better my previous score. That bumped the game up to a 7 for me. If you haven't tried it, it's worth it.
Interesting twist for solo play, thanks for the suggestion!
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Some other Drew
United States
Rockford
Illinois
A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
I'm not saying that you're not entitled to your opinion. I'm just saying that you're wrong.
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Matt Boehland wrote: Bummer. Better buy better boardgames, buying bad boardgames bites. Don't practice your alliteration on me!
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