I love games that don’t require reading a huge rule book or a lot of set up time. I also like games that can be played in less than twenty minutes. Continuo is one of those games. It’s incredible simple. You get 42 square cards. Each of those cards is divided into 16 small brightly colored squares. The idea is to place cards so that a color line is continued. You get points for the number of squares in each chain of color. If continue chain of both yellow and blue, you get points for both chains.
The game is great counting and addition practice for young children. But it’s also about strategy, pattern recognition, and logical choices. Even though it’s simple, it’s got enough strategy to occupy older players. The game is advertised as being for ages 5 through 105+. It’s a good game for mixed ages, too. You don’t even have to read to be able to play it.
The game can be played by a single player, or up to five players at once. Personally I think two or three players is ideal. With five players there is just too much waiting for your turn. You can of course play cooperatively instead of competitively, in which case it doesn’t matter so much whose turn it is since everyone will be looking for a good place to put the card. It’s also fun to try to build a huge chain of one color.
It’s a small game, the box is about five inches by five inches and the thickness of a deck of cards. The small size makes it a great game to bring along on family trips or to occupy children during meetings. You do however need a fairly large space to play the game. A large table is ideal, but a kitchen counter or floor works too. Space limits actually make the game a little more challenging since you can’t play the cards into air.
The game comes with instructions for a few variations. It sells for five to eight dollars. The game cards are sturdy and hold up well to years of playing. And if you lose a couple of the cards along the way it doesn’t matter too much.
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UpWords – A Fun Game for Families