Our step-by-step guide to how to play Mindblock Board Game. Mindblock is a game that combines game classics Rummy and Dominoes very much like iconic game from the 70s Rummikub but with a few meaningful changes. Using different sized colorful blocks, you need to make different strategic combinations to get rid of all of your titles. Learning how to play Mindblock is a little tricky at first but once you get it things run very smoothly.
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HOW TO PLAY MINDBLOCK – WHAT IS IT?
Its 3-dimensional Rummy using stackable building blocks where sets and runs are created by arranging blocks according to their color and height. Make sets out of stacks of the same height as long as each stack is a different color. Make runs out of a staircase of 3 or more stacks in order, as long as they are the same color.
Think ahead and make the right decisions, without losing track of what’s on the table as you take apart Runs and Sets to recombine them into new ones while trying to get rid of all your blocks first.
HOW TO PLAY MINDBLOCK – STEP BY STEP
Time Needed: Approximately 40 – 60 minutes.
This is a step by step guide for how to play Mindblock the popular Dominoes meets Rummy strategy board game. Additional notions and special rules can be found below the list. These will be referenced for your convenience.
1. SETUP | Each Play Constructs Tray
To kick off how to play Mindblock, each player takes a set of the two pieces of wood that make up a personal block tray. Slide the pieces together to make a secret place to keep your blocks.
2. SETUP | Add Pieces to bag
Take all the blocks and add the, to the included Mindblock sack. Shake it up and put the bag in the middle for everyone to access.
3. SETUP | Take Starting Tiles
Blind drawing from the block sack, each player draws 10 blocks each in a 2-player game and 7 blocks in a 3 or 4 person game.
4. SETUP | Determine Start Player
Randomly decide who should go first. That is all to how to play Mindblock setup step before moving on to gameplay.
5. GAMEPLAY | Turn Overview
During a player’s turn they may do two things (1) play a new set of tiles from their tray or (2) Rearrange an existing set on the table combining it and others from blocks from your tray. If they cannot do one of these two, they will need to draw a new block
6. GAMEPLAY | Runs & Sets
There are two possible moves (Run) which is at least 3 bricks of the same order that are in concentric order, 2-3-4, 4-5-6, etc, and (Set) which is having at least 3 bricks of the same number that are all different colors, 3-3-3 all green, 7-7-7 all red, etc
7. GAMEPLAY | First Turn Rule
The very first move that each player makes in a game needs to have a value of at least 15 points. If they cannot hit this, they draw a tile and skip to the next person until they can. The value is what all the numbers on the blocks you play equal.
8. GAMEPLAY | Action Option 1 | New Set
Regardless of what is in the middle, you can choose to add a brand new set or run that you complete yourself. You need a minimum of 3 but can go as high as the number of tiles you have.
9. GAMEPLAY | Action Option 2 | Rearrange Existing Set
Any tiles already in the center can be completely rearranged as long as the end result is that all tiles in the middle end up in some kind of completed run or set. There can be no 1 or 2 piece stragglers. You can use any combination of tiles from your tray in a mix with any of the tiles in the center to form new arrangements.
10. GAMEPLAY | Specialty Stacking Rule
One interesting thing to note in how you play is that blocks can stack together to form bigger blocks. A “4” and a “3” can be stacked upon each other to form a “7”. Colors have to match but that is it. You, for example, could play a green 3+4, red 7 and yellow 1+6 to make a set of “6”s.
11. GAMEPLAY | Draw Block on Miss
If you cannot do one of the two actions, the player to your right randomly draws a block from the block bag and hands it to you to add to your tray. This is counter to you wanting to get rid of all your bricks so try to avoid this.
12. GAMEPLAY | Pass & Repeat
After this sequence has been completed, the turn moves to the player to the left and they start it all over again, completing one of the two actions and drawing on a miss. This continues until the game ends.
13. WINNING | First Player To Play All Blocks
Once a player successfully plays their final block, so no remain in their tray, they immediately win the game.
HOW TO PLAY MINDBLOCK – KEY INFORMATION
OPTIONAL EXTENDED PLAY
For a longer game, play several rounds. Each round, the first player to play all their blocks scores a number of points equal to the sum of all the remaining blocks in all the other players’ trays. The goal is to be the first to score 50 points.
OPTIONAL 2-MINUTE TIMER
If you find the game is moving too slowly, you can use a sand timer or phone timer to limit the length of each turn. If all players agree, then include the additional rules:
Start the timer at the beginning of each player’s turn. Once the timer runs out, their turn ends immediately.
They must then put all the blocks on the table back as they were before the start of that turn, and return all other blocks back to their tray. The player must then add 2 more blocks to their tray, drawn by the player to their right from the bag as penalty for running out of time.
GAME CONTENTS
- 56x Blocks (7 sizes, 4 colors, 2 of each)
- 4x Block Trays
- 1x Bag
- 2x Rulebooks (English/French)
HOW TO PLAY MINDBLOCK – IN CLOSING
We hope you can now say you know how to play Mindblock. The mechanics of the game can be tricky to get the hang of, but once you play through a time or two, you will be a master. This is a great game that may not be as good as the game that came decades before it, Rummikub, but they added an interesting stacking mechanic and subbed out tiles for different sized colorful blocks that add a different layer of fun and a touch of education for kids. This is a solid game using a tried and true formula.
