The Lady Gamer
Frances Moritz
October 2006
USA

Have you ever thought about how to improve Connect Four? Somebody has – 2 somebodies, in fact – and did, releasing both games through Out of the Box Games. At first glance, MixUp and CoverUp seem like slightly complicated versions of Connect Four. And then you play them, and discover they need all new strategies.

They're both devastatingly simple – all you have to do is lay out four tiles or tokens in a row, or, in MixUp, you have the additional option of working towards a two by two square. In MixUp, which I prefer to call "the Blink board game," you're working to connect either colors or shapes; there are three of each: red, green and blue moons, raindrops and lightning bolts. This makes it significantly different from Connect Four in that you can unwittingly help your opponent by playing the wrong piece. "Did you mean to do that?" was a frequent phrase during our games. But, according to the rules, once you release a title you may not remove it.

In CoverUp, you have three sizes of tokens; the larger ones can be used to cover up (hence the name) the smaller ones, and the largest size can be moved around on the board in lieu of placing another token. The option to move tokens and cover up smaller ones becomes key. There were times my opponent said "You've won already," and I had to remind him of both those options.

I cannot say enough about the game storage option. Both games have storage built into the game board; in MixUp, the lid is used to prop the game board.

All in all, another set of excellent games from Out of the Box Games. They're delightfully easy to learn and can appeal to the casual or avid gamer in your family. They'll make an great addition to the holiday shopping list.

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