Family game · Indian edition available
Blokus
Fit your pieces on the board, corners only, and box others out
- 2–4best with 4
- 20–30 minper game
- About 2 minto set up
- 7+years
- Very easy
- Nonereading
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The game in a nutshell
Blokus is an abstract strategy game for 2 to 4 players. Everyone tries to fit as many of their 21 coloured pieces onto a shared board, under one rule: your own pieces may touch each other only at the corners. It suits families with children aged 7 and up, grandparents and puzzle lovers, because it takes a minute to learn and needs no reading. Mattel makes the classic set in India (product code BJV44); other full-size boxes are imports, so check the code before you buy.
Is Blokus right for you?
Great if
- Mixed ages and mixed languages, since the only thing to understand is one placement rule
- Families with exactly four players, which is the number the board is built for
- Children who like puzzles and tangram-style shapes, at 7 and up
- A calm game after a meal: there is no luck, so the outcome comes down to the choices you make
Skip it if
- You want a social game with talking, bluffing or laughter; Blokus is quiet
- Players who dislike being blocked; getting boxed in is the heart of the game
- You don't want to pay import prices: unless the box is Mattel's India-made BJV44, a full-size Blokus is an import
A place on the honours list
Good company to be in.
Recognition from beyond our table.
Mensa Select, 2003 (Winner)
Australian Games Association Game of the Year, 2003 (Winner)
Major Fun Award, 2004 (Winner)
Teachers' Choice Award, 2004 (Winner)
How Blokus plays
The board is a 20x20 grid. Each player takes the 21 pieces of one colour (blue, yellow, red or green). The pieces are every possible shape made of one to five squares: one single square, one two-square piece, two three-square pieces, five four-square pieces and twelve five-square pieces.
- Time to teach: about 2 minutes.
- Reading and language: Blokus is all coloured shapes on a grid, with no words, numbers or cards. Once one person has read the short rules, anyone can play, whatever language they speak, so it works well when grandparents and grandchildren sit down together.
How to Play Blokus in 1 minute (Blokus Game Rules) · Tabletop Duo
Choose a video · Watch right here
If this creator doesn’t allow embedded playback, watch on YouTube ↗.
Your turn, step by step
- 1Start
Each player takes the 21 pieces of one colour. Your first piece must cover the corner square on your side of the board. Play goes clockwise: blue, yellow, red, green.
- 2Place
On your turn, place one piece so that it touches at least one of your own pieces corner to corner, never along a flat side. It can touch other colours any way you like.
- 3Block
Spread out diagonally into open space while closing the gaps your opponents need. If you can't fit any piece, you pass. Pieces never move once placed.
- 4Win
When nobody can place a piece, count the squares in your unplayed pieces: the fewest wins. In the advanced scoring, placing all 21 earns 15 bonus points, plus 5 more if your last piece was the single square.
The full explanation: how a game of Blokus goes
Your first piece must cover the corner square on your side of the board. After that, every new piece you place must touch at least one of your own pieces at a corner, and it may never touch your own colour along a flat side. Your pieces can touch other players' pieces any way you like.
That single rule makes the game. You spread diagonally across the board looking for open space, while your opponents do the same and try to close the gaps you need. The big five-square pieces get harder to fit as the board fills up, so it usually pays to place them while there is still room.
The game ends when nobody can place another piece. In Mattel's basic scoring, the player with the fewest squares left over wins. In the advanced scoring, each leftover square costs a point, placing all 21 pieces earns 15 bonus points, and you get 5 more if the last piece you placed was the single square.
With two players, each person controls two colours. With three, the fourth colour is shared: players take turns placing its pieces, and it is not scored. Four players, one colour each, is how the board is designed to be played.
What's in the box
- 1Game board
20 x 20 grid of 400 squares. Mattel's current listing calls it a game tray - 21Blue pieces
every shape made of 1 to 5 squares: one 1-square, one 2-square, two 3-square, five 4-square and twelve 5-square pieces - 21Yellow pieces
the same 21 shapes - 21Red pieces
the same 21 shapes - 21Green pieces
the same 21 shapes - 1Rules sheet
English, with basic and advanced scoring and the 2- and 3-player rules
Box: 26.7 × 26.7 × 3.8 cm, 0.58 kg. Handy to know for gifting and travel.
From Mattel's BJV44 instruction sheet (one board and 84 pieces, 21 per colour), which matches Indian listings for the India-made BJV44. Mattel's US page also lists a scorepad, but neither the rules sheet nor the Indian listing mentions one. Mattel's newest pieces carry patterns that help colour-blind players tell the colours apart; we couldn't confirm whether the India-made box has them yet.
Where to buy
Find it on Amazon.in
We haven't confirmed one genuine listing yet, so this opens an Amazon.in search. Check the brand and the seller before you buy.
Opens Amazon.in in a new tab.
Look for the India-made Mattel copy (product code BJV44). Indian listings give its country of origin as India and Mattel Toys (India) Pvt Ltd as the manufacturer. Full-size imported copies cost much more for the same game. Blokus Fast Fun is a genuine Mattel set too, but it is the smaller one. Our Amazon.in link opens a search for Mattel's Blokus rather than a single listing, so check the product code before you buy.
How to make sure you get a genuine copyA little care before you click.
- Look for the Mattel Games logo and the Blokus name on the box. Product code BJV44 is the classic set, and FMW25 is the smaller Fast Fun version.
- Count the pieces: 84 in all, 21 in each of four colours, plus a large square grid board.
- Check the label. The India-made copy shows Mattel Toys (India) details, gives India as the country of origin and carries the ISI mark with a BIS licence number. Imported copies carry an importer's sticker instead.
- Generic 'blocks strategy' games for 2–4 players that turn up in Blokus searches are different products from other brands, even if they look similar.
- Be wary of a full-size Blokus from an unfamiliar brand that costs a fraction of the usual price. A much higher price usually means you are paying for an import.
This button opens an Amazon.in search, because we haven't confirmed one genuine listing yet. We don't show prices: Amazon shows today's price, the seller and delivery. Paid link. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
What reviewers and players say
Blokus is one of the easiest strategy games to teach. There is one rule, a game takes 20 to 30 minutes, and the finished board looks like a bright mosaic. Reviewers like the hidden depth: you have to protect space for your own pieces while cutting others off, and children happily take on adults. The usual complaints are that it is best with exactly two or four players (three needs a shared colour), that a player who gets boxed in early can spend the rest of the game watching, and that games start to feel alike after many plays.
What people love
- New players, including children, can learn it in a minute or two and start straight away
- More strategy than it first seems: you have to leave openings for yourself while closing them for others
- Sturdy, colourful plastic pieces that last for years, and a finished board that looks good
- Children love blocking their parents' moves, and the game is quick with four
Common complaints
- Three players need a shared or dummy colour, and the players on either side of you can gang up
- If you fall behind early you rarely recover, and a boxed-in player may sit out the end of the game
- With no theme, games can feel similar after many plays, which won't suit people who dislike abstract games
Based on 6 reviews and discussions
- Review Blokus Board Game Review and Rules (Eric Mortensen, July 2019) · Geeky Hobbies
- Review Blokus Review (Nathan Coombs, September 2019) · Zatu Games blog
- Review A Rapid Review of Blokus (Andrew Lucas, July 2014) · Casual Game Revolution
- Players Ask HN: What are your favorite board games? - reply recommending Blokus (plusbryan, January 2019) · Hacker News
- Players Comment on 'The utilitarian pleasures of playing board games by yourself' (raxxorrax, June 2020) · Hacker News
- Reference Blokus (Wikipedia, read October 2026) · Wikipedia
Summarised in our own words from the sources above. We don't use Amazon reviews or ratings.
More like Blokus
Our picks if Blokus isn't quite right
| Feature |
Blokus |
Azul |
Sequence |
Kingdomino |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | 2–4 | 2–4 | 2–12 | 2–4 |
| Best with | 4 | 2-4 | 4-6 in two teams | 2 or 4 |
| Play time | 20–30 min | 30–45 min | 20–40 min | 15–25 min |
| Age | 7+ | 8+ | 7+ | 8+ |
| Rules | Easy | Easy | Easy | Easy |
| Indian edition | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Why look at it | This page | Another calm, colourful strategy game about placing pieces well, with no luck in play | A family classic where you block opponents on a shared board, with teams and a little luck | A spatial puzzle game for 2–4 that is just as quick to teach |
More from Mattel
Also made or sold in India by Mattel India
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Better with just two players
Questions people ask about Blokus
Which Blokus should I buy in India?
Look for Mattel's India-made classic Blokus, product code BJV44, with Mattel Toys (India) details on the label. Blokus Fast Fun (FMW25) is a smaller set, and other full-size boxes are imports. Our Buy on Amazon.in button opens a search for Mattel's Blokus; make sure the brand is Mattel and check the product code.
Can 2 people play Blokus?
Yes. In Mattel's two-player rules, each person controls two colours and takes turns placing them, so the full board still fills up. Mattel also made Blokus Duo, a separate two-player version with a smaller board, but in India we found it only on marketplace listings that we could not check.
What is Blokus Fast Fun?
Blokus Fast Fun (Mattel code FMW25) is a smaller, cheaper version of the game in a compact box, with the same corners-only rule. If you want the classic full-size set, look for product code BJV44.
What age is Blokus suitable for?
Mattel says 7 and up. Children need to remember only one rule (same colour touches only at the corners), and the planning gets deeper as they grow, so the same set works for children and adults.
Game facts
- Designed by
- Bernard Tavitian
- Publisher
- Mattel (first published in 2000 by Sekkoïa, France; Mattel took it over in 2008)
- In India
- Mattel Toys (India) Pvt Ltd
- First published
- 2000
- Players
- 2–4
- Barcode
- 746775363840
- Language
- No reading – Blokus is all coloured shapes on a grid, with no words, numbers or cards. Once one person has read the short rules, anyone can play, whatever language they speak, so it works well when grandparents and grandchildren sit down together.
- Box size and weight
- 26.7 × 26.7 × 3.8 cm, 0.58 kg
- Awards
- Mensa Select, 2003 (Winner); Australian Games Association Game of the Year, 2003 (Winner); Major Fun Award, 2004 (Winner); Teachers' Choice Award, 2004 (Winner)
Sources & photo creditsThe references behind this guide.
Facts on this page come from the publisher, the Indian maker or distributor, and the sources below. Photos are credited under each one.