Game Review: Mix Up and Connect Four

Out of the Box Publishing, $19.99
Milton Bradley, $12.99

Few games from my childhood do I remember as well as I remember Connect Four. And fewer games can I say are as enjoyable and addictive. When my wife Joni and I were living in England, we spent hours playing Connect Four with children as part of our community youth work. It was one of about three or four games that we found were challenging enough to be fun, but simple enough to go along with a good conversation.

Gameplay is simple: One player is trying to make a row of four black checkers while the other player is trying to do the same with the red checkers. This classic is perfect for the holidays and for family game nights.

If you’re looking for something along the same lines but just a little more challenging, let me introduce you to MixUp.

This new game from Out Of The Box Publishing is great. Basically, it’s the same idea as Connect Four, but in MixUp, you have three different shapes (lightning, teardrop, crescent) on sliding tiles, and each shape comes in three colors (red, blue and green). One player is trying to get four of any shape in a row while the other player is trying to get four of any color in a row. Oh, and you can also go with four of either in a square formation. What results is a game that takes just a little more concentration than you might think, because when you think you are setting yourself up for the win, you may actually be helping your opponent.

Another solid plus for MixUp is the high quality of absolutely every aspect of this game.

This is a new classic that families will keep around for a long, long time.