Linked Up

 

Linked Up

Connect the dots but don't get crossed. That's Linked Up in a nutshell. Linked Up features expressive emojis that will be familiar to many (see image above).

The game board for Linked Up consists of four puzzle pieces that, when assembled, will make a 15.5" square. There are nine emojis on each square, so an assembled board will have 36 emojis. Each circle is recessed slightly so the plastic pieces won't move around too much if bumped. Below is a picture of the assembled board with the plastic links in play.

 

There are 60 cards in the box, each showing one emoji and one link. The cards are smaller than your typical playing cards, measuring 1.75" x 2.75". 

The plastic links come in 4 lengths, each length a different color. You can see in the image above that the shortest link (green) will stretch between two circles, and the longest link (blue) will stretch between four. There is a small handle on the top of each link that you can hold while you are placing each piece if you want to. If you look close at the image you can see them.

Object: 

Be the first player to collect a set of three or four cards (four cards if two or three people are playing and three cards if four people are playing). A set consists of cards with the same emoji on them. It will not matter if the links on the cards match, just the emoji.

Set Up:

Assemble the board and place it between the players. Shuffle the cards and place them in a face-down draw pile near the board. Draw three cards and place them in a line, face-up, so all can see them. Separate the links by color and place them near the board. Each player takes one link of each color.

Play:

Players take turns. On your turn you may either play a link or take a link.

• Play a link - Use one of your links to connect two emojis on the game board that match two emojis on the cards that are showing. Both feet of the link must sit flat inside the recessed circle. You may slide a link that is already in the circle to make room, but you cannot lift it. Take the cards you matched and place them, face-up, in front of you. Fill in the spaces from the cards you took with new cards from the draw pile (face-up). Your turn is over. 
  
• Take a link - Take a link from the link pile that matches a color on one of the face-up cards in the line of three. Take that card and place it on the bottom of the draw pile. Fill in the empty space with a new card from the draw pile. You can choose to take a link even if you could have played. You may do this to take a card your opponent would have needed or to get a link you will play in the future. Your turn is over.
  

Keep playing until a player has collected enough of the same cards to make a set and wins the game.  

In the box: 4-piece game board, 60 cards, 32 links