Blokus

Taking a break from the more familiar FPS style game, Gameloft have just released a much more relaxing game into the AppStore, Blokus. Based on the hit board game of the same name, Blokus is simple to learn, yet surprisingly hard to master.

If that sounds a little clichéd, then I apologise, but it is the truth. The object of the game is simple, stop your opponents from being able to place any more pieces onto the board. Whilst this may sound simple enough, there are a few things worth remembering. The standard one player game sees you pitted against 3 computer controlled players all taking turns to place their pieces onto the board. The only thing to remember is that your own pieces can only touch diagonally, never side on.

Each ”˜player’ has the same number of pieces, and the same shapes as well, these vary from a single block piece to more complicated 5 block combinations. The winner of the game is the player that manages to cover the largest portion of the playing board.

When I first picked this up, I wasn’t too sure what to expect, and have never been too big a fan of strategic board games like this, but I was pleasantly surprised and the game looks to be a good port of the original board game.

Along with the standard one player ”˜quick play’ game, there is also a tournament mode where you have to complete a number of challenges to win various cups. This is probably a good place to begin with this game as it teaches you the various styles of play and lets you practice your moves before moving on and taking part in multiplayer games.

The game effectively offers 4 games in 1 here. With the standard 4 player game where each player controls 1 colour, a 2 player game mode where your each control 2 colours. A 4 player mode where you play in teams and Blokus Duo, where there are only colours and a smaller playing field.

Blokus offers local multiplayer gaming via Bluetooth and wifi along with online play. I haven’t had much chance to play with the online mode but was disappointed by the fact that you have to play a live match and there is no option to play an asynchronous match like you can with other board games (I’m thinking primarily of Words With Friends here). Additionally, there is also no option to be able to pass and play. So if you fancy a game with your friends, you will all need an iPhone (or iPod Touch) and you’ll all need to pay for a copy of the game. Oh, and don’t think that you can at least expect an autosave feature, this is missing also.

Perhaps worse than all of that are the increasingly frustrating controls. The game operates on a simple drag and drop control mechanic, but when trying to rotate or flip your piece it is neither responsive or intuitive, a real let down that mares an otherwise great game.

It is a real shame; I really liked the idea of the gameplay and enjoyed my time playing against the computer opponents. It’s just a shame that there are so many small flaws that attempt to ruin this otherwise great game. So come on Gameloft, fix the controls, add an autosave and asynchronous gameplay and I would shout about this game from the rooftops, until then, well, it’s good but I just couldn’t actively encourage people to spend money on it.