What's Up (Strawberry Studio)

Late last year, I reviewed the quick, fun game 3 Wishes, which was originally published by Strawberry Studio (located in Poland) and picked up for U.S. distribution by Passport Game Studios. Today, I am reviewing the second game from Strawberry Studio's catalog called What's Up! What's Up is a memory and set-collection game for 2-4 players, ages 8+. It takes approximately 10-20 minutes to play.

Setup
The game consists of 30 double-sided bird cards. Every bird card has 1-3 birds on it in one of the four colors of red, green, yellow, and purple. On the opposite of a card is the same number of birds only a different color OR the same color of birds only a different number. For example, a card with one red bird on one side, and on its opposite side will either have one green/yellow/purple bird or two/three red birds. To play the game, shuffle the bird cards and arrange them on a table so that no cards are covered. The recommended initial setup is a 5 x 6 grid. The youngest player is the starting player.

Game Play
The active player flips exactly one card and then may add it to their collection if it flips. Your collection has a maximum of four rows (one for each color). Birds must be added in numeric order (1, 2, and 3). If you can't add a bird to your collection, you return the card (flipped) to its position and play proceeds clockwise. The game ends one of two ways. 1. Complete 2/3/4 rows in a 4/3/2 player game. OR 2. All but three bird cards remain unclaimed or no one is able to claim a bird after eight turns. Then, the person with the most birds in their collection wins.

Review
What's Up is a fast-paced game that is equal parts memory and luck. At about 10-20 minutes of play time, it is a good appetizer to start a serious night of gaming or a good dessert to finish a night of gaming. I especially enjoy playing it with my son as its a game that is simple enough for him to understand it, and it does a good job of teaching color recognition, number sequence, and memorization. What I really like about the game is the artwork. Each bird has their own personality. The green bird looks a little lazy, and the red bird looks a little moody. Yellow is perky, and purple is content. All four games in Strawberry Studio's catalog have art done by Magdalena Markowska, and I look forward to seeing more of her work in other games. At the moment, What's Up is not available for purchase in the U.S., but hopefully Passport Game Studios or another publisher will pick this one up soon.

This game was provided to me by Strawberry Studio in exchange for an honest review.