Templok Game Review

Templok Game Background

Templok is a line-breaking space-management game inspired by Tetris. Place blocks on the field and form full rows to clear them. Earn points based on the number of blocks you’ve placed.

This game was developed by RavalMatic.

How to Play Templok

Select by left clicking with your mouse or tapping on the touchscreen with your fingers. To begin, select anywhere on the welcome screen.

Select and drag pieces from the bottom left of the screen, then drop them in a desired spot on the playing field.

Basic Gameplay Advice

You begin with an otherwise empty field grid with four single-square blocks occupying a space in each corner equidistant from one another. Select pieces from the menu and place them anywhere on the field. You must place all three pieces on the field before you can receive new ones. Unlike Tetris, the game’s pieces don’t only come in combinations of 4 squares; thus, they appear in a variety of shapes, many of which can be rotated.

Pieces that are colored can be placed somewhere, while pieces that are grayed out cannot fit. You can slide that piece in the hold on the bottom right corner, where you can either keep it there for awhile, swap it for another piece, or rotate it. The game allows you to swap or rotate pieces only once.

Form full horizontal or vertical lines to clear them from the field. Keep placing and clearing lines until you cannot place any more blocks. As you reach the point where you are having difficulty placing in blocks, the game will assist you by showing you where to put the blocks and which assistance option you can use. If you run out of space to put in your blocks, the game ends.

Earn points by placing pieces on the playing field. The number of points you get from placing pieces varies considerably.

Advanced Playing Tips & Strategy

The blocks near the corners can be removed just like any other blocks you lay down. Focus your opening moves on forming lines that will remove them.

Try to lay the blocks down in a way that keeps the filled areas rather solid (i.e. devoid of holes). Keep an area in the field open for larger pieces (3 x 3, 4 x 4, 5 x 1).

Of the assistance options, swapping the block is more useful than rotating it. Thus, if you can make rotating work in a particular instance, choose it first and save the swap for later. You can rotate the piece in the hold as many times as needed; it will only count as used when the piece is laid down. Remember, though, that rotating pieces has its limits, especially for larger pieces.

If you’ve placed a piece you can’t lay down in the hold, be sure to use it once you can lay it down. Freeing up the hold lets you use it again, which is vital if you want to generate another fresh set of pieces and have another hard-to-place one you need to store.

Educational Aspects

This game hones a player’s problem solving, spatial thinking, and space management skills.

Player Age Recommendations

This game is suited for players school-aged and above. We recommend it for players who enjoy space-management and line-breaking games.