Blox - a building-block construction strategy gam

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Blox - a building-block construction strategy game

Copyright (C) 1994, Daniel LaLiberte

Everyone is granted permission to copy, modify and redistribute these instructions provided this copyright notice is not modified, and any other modifications are identified with the author's name(s).

Edition 1.0, December 26, 1994

Blox is a strategy game played with building blocks such as those manufactured by Lego(TM) and Tyco(TM). Players compete to construct a 3D chain of blocks on a base plate. Very simple rules lead to a surprisingly complex game.

Goal of the Game

The goal of the game is to be the first player to build a chain of their own blocks that connects all four edges of the board. All players could complete their own chains, so the first one to do so wins. Figure 1 illustrates a winning chain.

Players

The game is played by two or more opponents. Recommended ages: about 10 and up. Good spatial and strategic abilities will help.

Materials

Blox is played on a "base plate" of moderate size - this is called the "board". A 10"x10" board (32 studs square) is perhaps too big. A smaller board (e.g. 16 studs square) is reasonable, and the game is more complex because of the tight quarters. The board need not be square.

You will need several dozen 2x4 building blocks for each player. You should have as many colors as there are players, all colors different from the board color. The number of blocks you need depends partly on the skill levels of the players (skilled players will need more) and partly on how large the board is. For an in-depth game, each player will need about four dozen blocks.

(For a good deal on 2x4 blocks, get a couple of the Lego #335 Tote Packs for ages 3-5. For about $13 a pack you get 26 2x4 blocks in each of four colors, red, yellow, blue, white, plus many more. These sets are perhaps no longer available - let me know of other good deals.)

To support the precarious structures that will often result, you will need a couple dozen additional blocks of various small sizes (1x1, 1x2, and 2x2) in a neutral color. Transparent, white, black, or the same color as the base are good for this purpose.

Definitions

The "bumps" or "dots" on the top of the board and blocks are called "studs".

The "edges of the board" are the studs along the four outside edges. Each of the four corner studs of the board is on the two adjoining edges.

The game is played by connecting blocks. Two blocks are "connected" when the top of one block is joined to the bottom of another by at least one stud. Simply putting the blocks next to each other is not sufficient; they must be physically joined. Connections must be at straight or right angles only.

A block on the board itself is said to be at the "board level" or at "level zero". A block on top of a level zero block is at "level one", etc.

A "chain" is a set of blocks in which you can trace a path through connected blocks from every block to any other block in the set. There can be any number of "branches" in the chain.

Play of the game

Players take turns connecting blocks either to the board or to previously played blocks. Only one block is played each turn. You are allowed to put blocks anywhere on the board, or on the top or bottom of other blocks, either your own or opponents' blocks.

A special rule (to avoid stalemate and infinite towers) is that no single block may completely cover the top or bottom of an opponent's block, although two or more blocks may do so.

Blocks may extend beyond the edge of the board either at the board level or above, but you may not add blocks below the board level.

You cannot move any other blocks in order to place your block (see exception below). This means you cannot connect a block to the bottom of a block at level one, because there is not enough room to insert it. Beyond the edge of the board, you must pretend that the board extends indefinitely so that you still cannot connect to the bottom of a level one block. In general, there must be at least two spaces above or below the part of the block with which you wish to connect.

You must be able to get the block into place without moving other blocks. An otherwise available space might be completely surrounded by blocks making it impossible to access the space.

In a single turn, you may not connect your block to both the top of one block and the bottom of another block. (This is implied by the prohibition against moving blocks. When blocks are spaced widely enough, they apparently need not be moved, but there are some ambiguous cases as well, so a general prohibition is simpler. But see variations below.)

Once two blocks are connected, they remain connected even if they are later covered by other blocks and can no longer be seen. At any time during the game, if there is a question whether some blocks are connected, the obscuring blocks may be temporarily removed.

You will probably need to reorient the board or even pick it up to see blocks hidden around corners. As a courtesy, replace the board as it was before your turn.

Rebuilding

Although you are prohibited from moving blocks already played in order to play your own, there are times when this happens accidentally, or you may anticipate that it is likely to happen. In this event, you must simply rebuild the same structure before playing, or in general, if you can get the block in position ready to connect it, then you are allowed to rebuild the structure with the block in place.

While building or rebuilding, the support blocks come in handy to build a sturdier structure. Place support blocks in places that no player can move anyway - where there is a space of only one block.

You may also place support blocks in places that a player may legally move, such as to support a long, high bridge. But you should use a different neutral color (such as clear) to remind players that these may be removed to allow connections at any later time.

End of Game

The game ends when one player completes a chain of their blocks connecting all four edges of the board. There may be extra blocks that do not contribute to the winning chain, but the winning chain must contain at least one block connected to each edge of the board by at least one stud at level zero.

A player who cannot complete a winning chain may still play in the game normally. But if all players agree that no one can complete a winning chain, the game is declared a draw.

Basic Strategy

You can start in the center and work your way toward the edges, or start from the edges and connect toward the center. It is better to allow more options for places to connect to since it is easier to block than to connect.

Be careful not to lose the ability to connect to the last remaining studs on each edge of the board or it will be impossible for you to win.

You can block an opponent's connection by connecting your block in the same place your opponent would (but recall that you are not allowed to completely cover an opponent's block with one of your own). However, you can also block by playing in such a way that there is not enough space for an opponent's block to be inserted.

Blocking tends to detract from your own chain building, so you will want to determine whether you really need to block.

After you acquire the basic skills of the game, the winning move will most likely have to be a "double combination" that permits you to connect even if your opponent blocks one of the possible connections. To set up a double combination, place two blocks at the same level on level two or above one so that you can connect across either the top or bottom of both blocks. A wise opponent will anticipate and block a double combination before it is set up, so you must plan further in advance.

When you establish a double connection, you don't need to complete the connection until near the end of the game, but be careful not to wait too long.

If you are trying to extend a chain in a general direction, your opponent can block every move, but you can make more progress at level two and above where you can connect to either the top or bottom. Figure 2 shows a blocking senario in which yellow is trying to block red from connecting between the two blocks at level zero. Rather than cascading up to ever higher levels, a viable alternative is a more dispersed strategy in which you build many possibilities for connections without actually connecting them until later.

A little book from Lego called "Facts & Figures", January 1993 edition, has the following interesting entry:

102,981,500 is how many different ways there are to combine six 8-stud bricks of the same colour. If you haven't that much time, you can take three 8-stud bricks - same colour - and fit them together in 1,060 ways. Two 8-stud bricks - still the same colour - can be put together in 24 ways.

Comparison with Twixt

Twixt(TM) is a strategy game in which two players each try to construct a bridge from one side of a gridded board to the other, one player between N and S sides, and the other between E and W sides. Pegs fit in the grid holes and bridges of fixed lengths connect between two pegs and block construction of another bridge. Therefore only one player can accomplish the goal. The Blox medium imposes different constraints since all players may complete their chains, but it is still easy to block connections.

Variations

Most variations make the game too easy to make connections or too easy to block connections, so carefully balancing these contrary forces is the key to an interesting game. The current version of the game, described in the above rules, may in fact make it too easy to block. Also, since all players may complete their chains, there may be a tendency for each player to ignore their opponents unless the building activity is confined.

A variation that gets to the heart of the game can be played with the same rules except for the initial conditions and the goal of the game. For two players, try starting with four blocks placed as shown below: two for each player, in the middle of the board with a gap of 6 studs between them:

                      __       
                     |oo|      
                     |oo|      
                     |oo|      
                     |oo|      
                      --       
                    ......     
               ____ ...... ____
              |oooo|......|oooo|
              |oooo|......|oooo|
               ---- ...... ----
                    ......     
                      __       
                     |oo|      
                     |oo|      
                     |oo|      
                     |oo|      
                      --

The goal here is to connect your two initial blocks. Other starting configurations could be tried but the closer the starting blocks are to each other, the easier it is for the first player to win.

Similar to the previous variation, but start with no blocks on the board. The goal is to connect a chain of at least 5 blocks between any two of your blocks on the board level.
Similar to the previous variation, the goal is to connect a closed loop of at least 5 blocks anywhere in the structure. A "loop" is a chain of at least 4 blocks that connects back to itself, and each block in the loop can only be used one time in the loop.
Allow a different size or several different sizes of blocks. Each player should have the same number of each kind of block.
Allow players to connect to both the top of one block and the bottom of another. This variation creates more opportunities for double combinations.
You might allow any connections even if they require rebuilding - as long as all currently played blocks end up in the same place. Rebuilding could make for a longer game, and it is error prone as well.
Maybe allow a player to move one of their blocks as a turn instead of playing a new block. This should be restricted to only those blocks that can be removed without moving other blocks.
Maybe adjacency could be allowed in a chain too, but it appears to make it too easy to connect and too difficult to block.
Perhaps blocks should be connected by at least two studs. This would avoid ambiguous angles when only one stud is connected, and the resulting structure is more stable. This makes it more difficult to connect, and not much more difficult to block.
Perhaps each player could get an extra turn sometime during the game.
You might impose a curtesy rule that requires players to notify opponents when they are about to win, like saying "check" in Chess. More experienced players could require the announcement two or three plays in advance of winning.