Released by Milton Bradley in 1975, the Blockhead! stacking game incorporated spatial reasoning, hand-eye coordination, and steady nerves to construct a tower of colourful blocks.
GAMEPLAY
The rectangular piece marked “Blockhead” served as the stack’s base. With the differently shaped and sized blocks laid out on a playing surface, the first player chose a block from the assortment and placed it on the base. The second player then positioned a block on the first block. From there, players could add blocks to any preceding block.
The rules offered a bit of grace as the game got started. If the stack fell during the first three plays, no penalty was incurred and the game could simply begin again. Things got a little more challenging as the stack ascended. The rules prevented additional blocks from being added to the base, touching the tower while placing a block, or using two hands to make a play. There was some accommodation for shaky plays. A player could make another attempt if a block fell while being placed.
When a player caused the stack to become unbalanced and collapse, they were penalized in a three-strikes-and-you’re-out approach. A player was labelled a Square the first time they caused the tower to topple. They earned Character status on the second tumble. The third time, they were a Blockhead! and ousted from the competition. The remaining players then started a new game.
Gameplay continued until all but one player was out of the game, with the final remaining player declared the winner.
IN THE BOX
A complete game included 20 blocks of different sizes, shapes, and colours (red, blue, purple, orange, and yellow) and one “Blockhead” base. Instructions were printed inside the box cover.
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