How it plays
Blokus starts each color in a corner of the board. After its first piece, every new piece must touch that color at a corner without sharing an edge. Contact with other colors follows no such restriction. Pieces come in different shapes, so legal access matters as much as the size of an empty area.
Players keep adding pieces until they cannot place any more. Unplayed squares count against your score, which makes a large leftover shape more costly than a small one. A placement can occupy useful space while leaving a narrow gap that another shape can use later.
Decisions you’ll make
Look for exits from your growing cluster before filling comfortable spaces near its starting corner. A large empty region is worthless to your color if no legal corner reaches it.
Compare using a large shape now with saving a smaller piece that can fit an awkward remaining gap. Count squares, not just the number of pieces left.
Learning the game
Light: demonstrate corner-only contact within a color, first placements and scoring unplayed squares.