What Blokus Is
Blokus is an abstract strategy game of fitting colored polyomino pieces onto a shared square board. Each player tries to place as many of their pieces as possible while blocking others from doing the same. It is a territory-and-spacing game with no dice and no hidden information, and the rules are short enough to teach in a few minutes.
What’s in the Box
The standard game has a 20 by 20 grid and four colors of pieces. Each color has 21 pieces made from one to five connected squares, which adds up to 89 squares of pieces per color. Pieces can be rotated and flipped freely.
Setup
Place the board between the players and give each player a full set of one color. With four players, each player uses one color. Choose who goes first. Play passes clockwise around the table.
Placement Rules
- First piece: On a color’s first turn, the piece must cover one of the board’s corner squares.
- Later pieces: Every new piece must touch at least one piece of your own color, and it may only touch corner to corner.
- No edge contact with yourself: A piece may never share a side with another piece of your own color.
- Other colors: Your pieces can touch other players’ pieces on their sides without restriction. Corner contact with your own color is the only thing that links your pieces.
Because of rule 2, the way your pieces spread depends on diagonal connections, which is why Blokus rewards planning ahead.
Ending the Game
A player who cannot place any piece is out for the rest of the game, and the others continue. The game ends when nobody can place another piece, or when a player has placed all of theirs.
Scoring
The common scoring method is based on the squares left in your hand:
- Each unplaced square counts as one point against you, so the lowest total of leftover squares is best.
- Many rule sheets add a bonus for placing every piece, and a further bonus if the last piece placed was the single-square piece.
Because versions differ, check the rulebook that came with your set for exact bonus values. A simple house alternative is to count only the remaining squares and have the lowest total win.
Playing With Two or Three Players
Common ways to adjust:
- Two players: Each player controls two colors and alternates between them. Scores for the two colors are usually added together.
- Three players: One approach is to share the fourth color, with the players taking turns playing it, or to leave it out. Rule sets differ, so agree on the option before starting.
- Blokus Duo: A separate smaller two-player edition uses a smaller board and set starting points.
Strategy Tips
- Spread toward the center and open areas early so you keep room to grow.
- Play large, awkward pieces first and save small ones for filling gaps.
- Watch for blocked corners. If your diagonal connections are all cut off, you cannot place more pieces.
- Try to block opponents’ corners without wasting your own space.
FAQ
What kind of game is Blokus? An abstract strategy and spatial puzzle game for two to four players.
Do pieces have to touch the starting corner? Only the first piece of each color, which covers a corner square. After that, pieces connect to your own color diagonally.
If you like territory and board-control games like this, Othello is another short-rules abstract game worth trying.