RPGnet.com
Shannon Appelcline
February, 2007
USA

CoverUp comes with 1 game board, 24 disks, and a rulebook.

Game Board: The game board is molded in speckled gray plastic. It forms a 5x5 grid, each space of which has tiers for three different types of disks: a small, a medium, and a large. Additionally, the board has a slide-out tray in the bottom which may be used to hold the disks when you're not playing.

Disks: There are 12 disks each--3 large, 4 medium, and 5 small--in two different colors, gray and purple. They're all molded in hard plastic and have a solid, hefty feel to them.

Rulebook: A very short rulesheet that quickly explains the game. The ordering of some elements in the rulebook is slightly obtuse, but the game is easy enough to pickup that this isn't really a problem.

Overall the quality of the components is excellent, and it's nice that the game board also acts as storage because it means you can carry it around without the box if you want. The pieces are pretty attractive, but the coloration is a bit dull. As a result I've given the game a solid "4" out of "5" for Style: very good.

The Gameplay

The object of CoverUp is to get four visible disks of your color in a row.

Setup: The board is set in the middle of the table. Each player chooses a color and takes the 12 disks in that color.

Playing a Disk: On his turn a player gets to play a disk to one of the 25 spaces on the board. This usually involves playing a disk from off-board to a blank space on the board, but there are two special cases:

Overlaying a Disk. A medium disk may be placed on top of a small disk, and a large disk may be placed on top of a small or medium disk. The underlying disk can then not be moved while that other disk is atop it. (You can also play these larger disks as the first disk in a space if you want; there's no requirement that you have to overlay something.)

Moving a Disk. A large disk can be moved from one place on the board to another instead of playing a disk from off-board.

Winning the Game: A player wins the instant he has four disks (of any size) in a row. This usually happens when he plays a disk, but can also occur if a player moves a large disk, and reveals four in a row by doing so.

Relationships to Other Games

CoverUp is a variant of the classic Connect 4 gameplay, which is of course itself a variant of Tic Tac Toe. This is one of two Connect 4 style games that Out of the Box released last year, the other one being MixUp which involved mathing either four of the same color or the same symbol.

The Game Design

This is a pretty simple casual game. It's not a bad step-up from Connect 4. The playing of different sized disks is quite meaningful, and is ultimately how you win the game. You have to strategize when to move your bigs, and when a medium is almost as good. Additionally, the idea of covered disks--especially when you may or may not remember where they are--adds some depth to the game and makes it more complex than it appears on the surface.

Overall CoverUp is not a very deep game, but it should be enjoyable for play with family and kids. I've given it a "3" out of "5" for Substance.

Conclusion

CoverUp is Connect 4 with a twist. It's a slightly more complex (and very nicely produced) version of the classic family game that should be enjoyable for family or casual play.

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