Blokus is a simple, fast-paced, and fun board game that has been popular with families and gamers since its release in 2000. Whether you’re a family, a couple, or a board game fanatic, there’s plenty of reasons to be looking for more board games like Blokus.
This 2-4 player abstract strategy game, designed by Bernard Tavitian, has players laying brightly coloured, translucent pieces. Your own pieces must touch each other on the corner but not on a flat edge and the game ends when all players are ‘blocked’ from laying more pieces. Blokus is easy enough for kids to pick up and enjoy but it is packed with strategy.
If you’re after games similar to Blokus, look no further than our top ten.
10 Games like Blokus
Patchwork
Patchwork is a popular 2-player board game that is perfect if you are looking for games similar to Blokus. Designed by Uwe Rosenberg – who also designed Agricola, Patchwork has you competing against your opponent to create the most high-scoring quilt.
The patchwork pieces are arranged in a circle and players can move the player token clockwise up to three spaces and choose a tile. You fill up your ‘quilt patch’ board, scoring ‘buttons’ as you go, but you’ll lose points at the end for any unfilled spaces on your board.
Like Blokus, Patchwork is a delightfully simple game that anyone can pick up with ease – but there is plenty of strategy for gamers of all levels.
NMBR 9
If you’re searching for board games like Blokus, NMBR 9 could be your new favourite. This fun stacking game is designed by Peter Wichmann, playable by 1-4 players, and suitable for gamers aged 8 and above.
NMBR 9 is made up of tiles numbered 0-9 each with its own unique shape. Each round, a card is drawn that determines what numbered tile you must place. When placing a tile on the same level as others, it must touch sides with one existing tile.
The point-scoring begins, however, when you start to stack tiles. Stacked tiles cannot overhang the tiles beneath and must be touching two different tiles beneath. All tiles on level 1 are worth 0, and after that their score is their number multiplied by the level they are on.
NMBR 9 is very easy and yet also a complete head-scratcher as you try to create the highest-scoring stack.
Cathedral
Cathedral is an old-school game. Released in 1978 and designed by Robert P. Moore, this 2-player city-builder game is a great alternative to Blokus.
Cathedral is quick and simple, but there’s a reason this game has stood the test of time. The game is made up of wooden blocks, shaped like buildings, of two different colours and one neutral ‘cathedral’ piece. The first player places the cathedral and then you will take it in turns to play your pieces to the board.
During the game, you can ‘capture’ one of your opponent’s pieces by completely surrounding it and removing it from the board. Once neither player can place a piece on the board, you count up how many square feet of pieces you have left and the player with the least wins.
Cathedral is a visually stunning abstract strategy game that everyone, from families to regular gamers, will enjoy.
Ticket to Ride: Europe
Ticket to Ride: Europe is an outlier on this list as it is not an abstract strategy game. But if you are looking for board games similar to Blokus, I think you’ll find plenty to love in Ticket to Ride: Europe.
This 2-5 player board game, designed by Alan R. Moon, is hugely popular with gamers and families. And while there are many versions of Ticket to Ride, I recommend the Europe edition – my favourite!
Players compete to build train lines across the map according to goals they draw at the start – such as Paris to Edinburgh or Moscow to Lisbon.
Brightly coloured train cards allow you to play your train pieces to certain routes and even block off other players. Fans of Blokus will find a similar level of elegant simplicity paired with strategy in Ticket to Ride: Europe.
Already a fan of this game? Check out our list of games like Ticket to Ride!
Drop It
Drop It is a super easy family game that parents looking for games like Blokus to play with their kids will love. Designed by Bernhard Lach and Uwe Rapp, Drop It is a 2-4 player game recommended for players aged 8 and above – though fans have suggested kids as young as 5 could play too.
Drop It is made up of a vertical transparent board into which brightly coloured shapes are dropped. Players take it in turns to drop pieces into the board in the hopes that they will land in a point-scoring position.
But watch out – if your piece touches a piece of the same shape or colour you will score nothing! Drop It also comes with variant rules for easier or more difficult games.
Cir*Kis
Cir*Kis is another great game for families looking for board games similar to Blokus. Players take it in turns placing colourful pieces onto the board and points are scored for completing shapes and for controlling most of the pieces in that shape. Whoever reaches 40 points first wins the game.
Colourful, easy, and well-balanced, Cir*Kis is a quick 2-4 player game designed by Phil Orbanes. This is a wonderfully simple game but it will keep the parents as entertained as the kids.
Tsuro
If you’re hankering for more fun board games like Blokus, Tsuro is a fantastic addition to anyone’s game collection. This 2-8 player board game, designed by Tom McMurchie, is a beautiful and lightweight abstract strategy game inspired by Chinese philosophy and spirituality.
Each turn, you place one of your tiles on the board, which each depict a winding path. You will then move your token along this path. Sounds simple, right? Well, as the game goes on the board will fill up with tiles and your options will narrow. The aim of the game is to stay on the board and drive your opponents off it.
Despite its promises of being attuned to the path to enlightenment, Tsuro is, in fact, a highly competitive and strategic game that players of all levels will love.
Rumis
Rumis is a fun and fast 2-4 player game with loads in common with Blokus. Players are given blocks that must be placed on the board in spots touching other pieces of their own colour. The pieces come in a variety of shapes and can be stacked so that each game you will create a wildly different tower.
The game goes on until no player can play a piece and points are scored for the number of your pieces that can be seen in the finished structure. Rumis also has different boards and variant rules for anyone looking for a more challenging game.
Designed by Stefan Kögl, Rumis is essentially a 3D version of Blokus. Players looking for games like Blokus will love the simple but strategic gameplay of Rumis.
Ingenious
Reiner Knizia’s Ingenious is one of the best games for players looking for board games similar to Blokus. Ingenious is a 1-4 player game and one of the longer games on this list with a running time of about 45 minutes.
Ingenious is made up of 120 domino-style pieces made up of two coloured hexes. Players take it in turns to play from their hand of tiles, trying to create lines of the same colour on the board. Ingenious is a simple but rewarding game.
Families will enjoy its lightweight rules whilst even the most seasoned gamer will love its elegant strategy. Ingenious also allows for a solitaire-style solo mode and team play.
For all its simplicity, Ingenious is an addictive and puzzling game.
Pente
Pente is another old-school classic that has stood the test of time. Parents may have even played this as kids in the ’80s!
Tom Braunlich and Gary Gabrel’s 2-4 player game is wonderfully simple and perfect for anyone searching for games like Blokus. In Pente, players must either get five of their own pieces in a row on the 19×19 board or capture five of their opponents’ pieces.
Pieces are captured when they are sandwiched between opposing pieces. There are also plenty of variant rules to add extra replayability.
Like Blokus, Pente has extremely simple rules but is packed with strategy. Kids will find this easy to pick up and fun to play whilst parents and regular gamers will quickly become addicted and demand replays.
Blokus is a simple game. The rules are easy and anyone can pick them up in minutes. And yet, no game of Blokus feels the same. Its simplicity is deceptive as players will agonize over their next move and rage over lost games!
These games are easy enough for family game nights whilst offering all the competition and head-scratching strategy for long-time gamers. If you are searching for fun, lightweight, but highly strategic board games like Blokus, this list offers plenty of new favourites.
Are you searching for more games similar to Blokus? Have any recommendations that didn’t make the list? Let us know in the comments!
