The 28-Point Tactical Battle

I have recently completed a most interesting night of pentris, and although I only managed to score 28 points this time, it was a very intriguing experience. Having scored a huge 312 points last time, it was in a shorter, more tactical game that I was reminded of the very reasons why I found this game so difficult and tempting to play.

This time, it was nothing but a burden of the "Pentomino" system. These five-block monsters are much harsher as compared to the four-block pieces that I used when I was a child in other games. I was in a narrow position at a very early point when I was assigned a row of X and U forms. Due to the sheer bulk of these pieces, I also found that I lost two times the amount of board space in my anticipation.

I was forced to be very cautious when placing. To achieve 28 points, I needed to clear a number of lines when I was under the pressure. I discovered that I could not simply drop pieces everywhere; I must see, literally, how a five block W would go into a jagged hole and not leave a blank square below it. When I cleared a line, my relief was enormous, and it provided me with a breathing space enough to deal with the next shape that was irregular.

What I Learned This Session

The most interesting aspect about the Pentris is that it trains my brain. The points during this 28 point run that I concentrated on were:

The “Next” Window: I knew that I must see the next one before the present one has hit the ground.
Gap Prevention: I made it a point not to use a chimney (deep, narrow hole) since I am aware that none of the 12 pentomino shapes could be easily inserted into a gap that was one block wide.

Although I had not made a record today, I am very pleased with the complexity of the 12 different shapes and how I managed them. This is a game that keeps the mind active on a steady exercise and my spatial comprehension is becoming more developed each round. I am even thinking that I am going to jump back to see whether I can convert these 28 points into 50 in my second attempt!

Thanks for reading my post I'm inviting @ahmneska, @maxub and @solperez to try out this game.