Genius Square Review

Simple is often better, it has been said. And The Genius Square, or Genius Square as I’ve always called, is on the face of it a very simple game. But don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s easy or without challenge. I’ve had some games last over 20 minutes and have beaten some in less time than it took me to set up the board. I’ve never had a game beat me yet, although with over 62,000 variations of this puzzle to play maybe the one that will defeat me is lurking in my future. Casual gamer or die hard puzzler, this game has something for anyone looking to try something new.

Setup

As I hinted at above, Genius Square doesn’t take long to set up, no matter if you are playing with someone or on your own. Technically with two players the game suggests you go head to head to see who can solve the puzzle first. You can play against the game itself, something I will go into more detail when we come to gameplay. However you play, the setup is the same. Each player takes one of the Genius Square Boards, the nine multicoloured geometric shapes, the six wooden pegs and the half dozen six sided dice. These dice will determine the layout of the puzzle board.

The board itself is a 6x6 grid; the numbers along the top and letters on the left hand side corresponding to the combinations of letters and numbers on the dice. To start each game you roll all seven dice and using those results, place the seven wooden pegs onto the board. For example, if you rolled A1, A2, B4, C6, E1 and F1, then you would place them on those squares. It’s very important if playing with someone else to make sure your grids match each other, so take a second or two to do so. Once that’s done, you are ready to play.

Gameplay

The objective of Genius Square is to place all of the nine geometric shapes on the board. Sounds simple enough, except that you have to work around the seven wooden pegs. And that is where the challenge lies. The random arrangement of the pegs will create areas that only some of the blocks can fit into. And this will continue as you add more blocks. Don’t be surprised if you get almost all the blocks in and can’t fit the last one in. Most games played will require you to clear all the blocks and start again a few times until you find the right combination.

As I said above, I’ve yet to play a game that has bested me. The blurb on the box says that each of the over 62,000 games has a solution. Sometimes more than one. Of all the games I’ve played, which must be over 100 by now, only once did all the players come up with exactly the same solution. And that was the game that took the longest to win, so we all agreed that was likely the only solution.

On paper, over 62,000 games sounds like a lot. In practice I would say there are actually more than that. Unless you are gifted with a photographic memory, I very much doubt you will remember if you have played a variation of the game before. Let alone remember the solution you came up with. So you could argue this game has unlimited replayability. Certainly each game will present you with a fresh challenge.

As a fan of cooperative games over competitive, I bend the rules a little when I play. Rather than playing against each other, we play against the game with a round not ending until all players have solved the current puzzle. While we are limited to just three players, there is really no limit to how many players can actually take part as long as you have enough copies of the game. Two copies will allow four players to take part and, unless you are hosting a massive Genius Square games night, that should be suitable for most households.

Final Thoughts

If you are a fan of puzzle games, then at least one copy of this should find its way into your games supply. It’s quick set up makes it perfect if you have a little time to kill or are looking to take a break from a day of screen-time. Also for those looking to work the brain muscles a little, Genius Square offers a light bout of mental exercise that I often find works wonders calming my mind after an intense day. It’s very easy to slip into the problem solving zone and switch off from everything else that’s on your mind.

On the whole, it’s a solid game. I love the simplicity of setup, the varied challenge it offers and the compact play space. Really you can play this just about anywhere, from small tables to a lap tray in bed. Heck, I think you could get away with playing it on a train or plane using just the small tray on the back of the seat in front of you. Although it’s not really designed for travel and the pieces would likely go everywhere from the slightest bump, space wise it could be done. Also I love the fact that most games have more than one solution. It’s fascinating to see the different ways others solve the same puzzle. The one gripe I do have, and it’s really hard to find fault with a game so simple, is the quality of the wooden pieces is average. Not terrible but not stand out either. A mahogany chess set this isn’t I’m afraid. Then again it’s not meant to be and it hardly detracts from the overall experience.