# The blocking grid — workers fight for spots

- From: Simplified worker placement (like in Stone Age)
- Players: 2 players
- Time: 5–6 min
- Made by: Made for this tool, as a short exercise in worker placement, the mechanism of games such as Stone Age

Made with boardgameBuilder 0.14.4. To design from it, open boardgameBuilder and choose Open game: its blocks go on the canvas, and the feelings are left for you to pick.

Worker placement is the engine of many modern board games. The core feel: take a useful spot, and your opponent can't have it.

## What it shows a designer

Worker placement at its smallest: taking a spot denies it to the other player. It shows how turn order and denial create decisions even with no luck at all.

## What you need

- a sheet of paper
- a pen
- four small objects per player, different for each player (coins, eraser bits, paper clips)

## How to play

1. **Draw the grid.** Draw a 3×3 grid on paper. Label columns: WOOD, STONE, GOLD. Rows: 3 points, 2 points, 1 point.
2. **Take turns placing.** Each player has 4 tokens. Toss a coin to see who starts. Take turns placing ONE token on any empty spot.
3. **Spots block once taken.** Once a spot has a token, no one else can place there this round.
4. **Score.** After all tokens are placed, score the points shown by where your tokens sit.
5. **Three rounds.** Clear the grid and play two more rounds, with the other player starting each time. Whoever has more points after three rounds wins; equal totals are a draw.

## After playing, talk about

- Did blocking feel mean or fun?
- When did you predict opponent's move?
- Was the choice — high spot or save tokens — interesting?

## Its blocks

- Core mechanic: worker placement
- Victory condition: most points
- Player interaction: indirect via board
- Chance or skill: mostly skill
- Theme: abstract
- Information visibility: full information
- Timing: take turns

## Saved state

boardgameBuilder reads this part back when the file is opened.

```json
{"mechanics": {"core-mechanic": ["worker-placement"], "victory-condition": "most-points", "player-interaction": "indirect-via-board", "chance-skill": "mostly-skill", "information": "full-information", "theme": "abstract", "timing": ["take-turns"]}, "chosenFeelings": [], "previousMechanics": {}, "previousFeelings": [], "turnNumber": 0, "locked": false, "turnHistory": [], "answers": {}, "tests": {}}
```