Pent-Up (2014)

About this game

Pent-Up is the brother game of SEVEN, Counterplays and Stack-22 by the same designer. It uses the same rules but different pieces. Pent-Up uses 12 pentominoes per player (black and 'ice'). A pentomino is a piece composed of five congruent squares, connected along their edges. There are 12 different pentominoes. Pentominoes are well known in the board game community and lots of games use them. Players alternate turns placing one of their pentominoes according to some simple rules, trying to get the most of their pieces on the topmost layers when the game ends. The rules also include a variant and some puzzles.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Strictly 2 players — no more, no fewer.
• Rules load. At 2.0/5 this is a mid-weight game — expect a proper rules explanation before you start.
• Age. The publisher suggests 7 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.