Game Night: Connect 4x4 and Pictureka Flipper
As the weather starts to cool down, and the daylight hours begin to shorten most of us begin to think about hearty fall foods and warm clothes. We spend more time indoors and turn to fun activities to help keep us occupied until warmer weather returns. Through the fall and winter months we’ll be looking at lots of yummy fall foods and drinks, as well as TV shows, movies and games to help pass the time when it’s a bit too cold to want to spend much time outdoors. Today we’re going to look at a new twist on an old favorite game Connect Four, and what is sure to be a new favorite in households with younger kids, Pictureka Flipper.
Almost everyone has played Connect Four at some point in their lives. Red and black checker pieces, yellow board, two players. There were a few surefire ways to win, it was often just a matter of beating your opponent to the punch. Hasbro took the old game and created a new version that requires more thought and involves more people. Connect 4×4 can be played by up to four people at once, and the ways to win are nearly endless. When following the set rules for the game we found that a four-player game took around 20 minutes to complete. The concept is still very straight forward, get four tiles in a row to win. Now your set can come from multiple layers, and can snake around other tiles. It’s really very entertaining to play. We found that we could make up our own rules as we went along for even more variety. This game is well suited for players 8 years old and up. Connect 4×4 sells for around $20 and can be purchased online or anywhere games are sold.
Pictureka Flipper is a wacky twist on a cute concept. Hasbro describes the original as visual hide and seek, and we’re inclined to agree. In this version, an adorable penguin spins around, flipping tiles out of the iceberg and quacking. It sounds goofy and it is, and kids generally liked it. You’ll need batteries, and they aren’t included, so make sure that you have 3 AAs on hand.
Game play is based on large tiles with many slightly zany illustrations, and much like the original game, they are more suited to a kid’s mentality than an adult one. There are mission cards that give everyone a goal, like “something you can eat” or “a wheel” and everyone races to spot said object on the growing pile of cards spread about. There are only 32 missions in total though. It was a very easy game to learn, didn’t lag during play, and was fun- but tended to get old quickly for those older than 12. There is really no limit to the number of players that can play. We found that a game with three adults took about 20 minutes to complete, but the rules are flexible and it can be picked up or put down without much hassle or cleanup. It’s easy enough that most children 6 years old and up should be able to enjoy playing. And who can hate a quirky penguin? Pictureka Flipper sells for $25 both online and in retail stores where games are sold.
