Block Five

The Good
Block Five is a version of the Japanese board game “Go”. I first played this game on the Amiga, a version which was distributed on one of the issues of CU Amiga. Of course being the beast, it looks much better than this one. It was created by Scott Miller and an independent developer named Keypunch Software, who volunteered to put the game on one floppy disk called The Puzzle Fun-Pak and submitted it for publication.

The game starts off with some instructions for anyone not familiar with the game. Basically, it is similar to “Connect Four”, which I used to play as a kid. Your opponent - the computer – is very good. I can never win a single game, no matter how hard I try.

The interface in Block Five looks good, with the main playing area on the left side and options on the right. The instructions on how to play is right below the options in case you wanted to go straight into the game. Although monochrome graphics are supported, the playing area stands out if you have a color graphics card. There is a black grid in which there is plenty of space in which you put your pieces on. The pieces themselves are nothing more than noughts and crosses, and I can understand why considering that 2D graphics were scarce back at the time the game was released.

The sound effects are minimal, but for a basic game like this, you don't need it anyway. Sound effects are heard when you move the cursor, when you put down your piece, and when the game has been won.

The Bad
It would have made sense to allow two human players to play against each other. That way the difficulty of your opponent would vary between person to person.

The Bottom Line
Block Five is a game based on “Go”, the popular Japanese board game. There is a bit of strategy involve, and it is much difficult than Connect Four. The graphics are pretty basic, and there are minimal sound effects. However, for a basic game such as this the only thing you need to worry about is the gameplay. It is a challenging board game and it is one that begs to be replayed. I need to take that one up since I still can't win against my opponent.