Description of "Link Five" the Game (Details)

The game is so simple that it can be learned in less than 30 seconds, but never mastered - not even in a lifetime.

The game board is made up of Numbered blocks from 1 through 4, and unnumbered Yellow Wild blocks. All blocks with the same numbers have the same color (One is Ivory, Two is Green, Three is Blue and Four is Gray).

Two players, having selected the color they will use, and using the supplied playing chips, alternate selecting blocks in the board; a block per turn. The winner is the first to select five blocks in a row, in any direction (horizontally, vertically or diagonally). The selection of blocks can be anywhere on the board and doesn't have to be sequential (1,2,3...) nor next to each other.

The only rule the game has, and is what makes it so special, is that every block selected must always be an equal or higher number than the previous selection made by that player. This means that if you select a number #2 block, your next selection cannot be a number #1 block; it must be a block with a number #2, #3, #4 or a wild block (unnumbered block). The only way to select a block with a lower number is to go first to a wild block and then your next selection can be anywhere on the board.

Most matches take about 8 to 10 minutes to play, and even though it’s so easy to learn, the number of possible sequences of selections made by the two players, after the first six or seven selections made, is virtually unlimited. The object of the game is to be the first player to create a chain of five blocks in a row. This requires decision-making in where to create the grid of connections. Most blocks on the board have as many as 8 different blocks surrounding them, and there are 81 blocks in total. The number of sequences of selections that can be made during a game can be calculated to equal 282,429,536,481 possible sequences making it very tough for one player to dominate, because it's basically impossible for a player to play the same game twice.

The game does not discriminate against any culture or any age group because all the knowledge that a potential player needs is to be able to count to four. It’s so easy to learn that it can be played by anyone that went to the first grade. It’s exercise for the brain teaching Logical and Abstract thinking as well as Concentration. It also defies the intellectually gifted and exploits traits common to all human beings.

The magic is that it's more than just a game...

• It's exercise for the brain. Educators agree that it improves logical thinking in children, concentration and that it builds on the ability for abstract thought. It's the only educational tool that kids fight to use.
• The board game version brings back that person-to-person contact that's disappearing from today's way of living.
• It teaches teamwork to all those that do not play in team sports, because in league format its played in two person teams.
• It plays fast for this generation that needs instant gratification.
• Practically 100% of all that play it once, love the game, no matter the demographics
• 10% of people that play it for the first time, buy it immediately, another 10% return to buy it soon after.

"Link Five, the Game" plays fast; it challenges the players; it gives pride to the winner and challenges the loser, and because it's so easy to learn and yet very difficult to master, its appeal is universal.