Blockade (board game)
Blockade is a "beat the barrier" strategy board game for two players, played on a board with an 11x14 grid of spaces, barriers and 2 mobile playing pieces per player. The object of the game is to maneuver ones pieces around barriers and into the opponents starting spaces. The game is long out of production.
| Players | 2 |
|---|---|
| Setup time | < 1 minute |
| Playing time | 20 minutes |
| Random chance | None |
| Age range | 8 and up |
| Skill(s) required | Deduction |
History
The game was invented by Philip Slater and published by Lakeside in 1975. The company went bankrupt in 1983 and ceased production. In fact, Philip Slater invented Cul-de-sac and Blockade around 1975. Here are some sources: Sources Video Blockade game : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZVwIz_uOeg Sources web game : http://www.pergioco.net/blockade.html ; https://www.spiele-check.de/10471-Blockade_Arxon.html ; http://jeuxsoc.fr/?principal=/jeu/bloc2 ; http://ludovox.fr/jeu-de-societe/blockade-1447/ ; https://www.jedisjeux.net/jeu-de-societe/blockade
Gameplay and rules
Two players are each given two pawns, nine green walls (which are placed vertically), and nine blue walls (placed horizontally). Pawns are placed on their starting locations on each of the four corners of the 11×14 board. One team's starting location is at [4,4] and [8,4] and the other at [4,11] and [8,11].
The object of the game is for each player to get both their pawns to the starting locations of their opponent. The first to do so wins.
On each turn, a player moves one pawn one or two spaces (horizontally, vertically, or any combination of the two) and places one wall anywhere on the board (useful for blocking off their opponent's move). Walls always cover two squares and must be placed according to their color (vertically or horizontally). Pawns may jump over other pawns that are blocking their path. Once players are out of walls, they keep moving pawns until one wins.
See also
- Quoridor, a similar more modern game