Sometimes, it’s OK to cut corners — Like when you’re playing Corner Crush, a new family game from Big G Creative!
Designed for players ages 7 and up, this game offers a new, more challenging take on the classic get-four-in-a-row game. The basic goal of Corner Crush is a familiar one: Try to get four of your colored tokens in a row — either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally — before your opponent. However, this version puts a bit of a twist on the execution. Instead of placing tokens on one flat plane, players drop tokens into four sides of a rotating rectangle.
This provides an extra level of complexity to the task of getting four tokens in a row because the line of four can go around corners! Also, as you play, you can only see some of the sides, which means you have to use your memory skills to keep track of where you have tokens placed.
Corner Crush can be enjoyed as a two-player or four-player game (in teams). In either version, players sit and turn the tower so that each person has a corner facing them — in other words, so that they can see two of the four sides at a time. Then, both (or all four) players simultaneously drop one of their colored tokens into one of the sides that they can see. This is another way that Corner Crush deviates from other four-in-a-row games, as both players or teams are making choices at the same time, giving the game some fast-paced energy and requiring split-second decisions. Once everyone has dropped their tokens, you rotate the tower 90 degrees clockwise and repeat the process.
Because the tower is almost constantly moving, players have to pay close attention to see if they get four in a row. In some cases, you might miss a winning run until the tower comes back around again! However, the player or team to be the first to notice four in a row and shout “Corner Crush!” wins the game.
I personally tried Corner Crush as a two-player game. After a few rounds and getting the hang of the game, we found ourselves changing up the rules to add even more creative fun. For example, we played a round in which we could only drop tokens into the sides we couldn’t see. I will note that the tower itself is a bit heavier than the base, so you’ll want to be sure to have one player hold on to the base while the other rotates it between token drops. Also, be sure to play on a semi-large surface — When a round ends, you pull a tab to release all of the tokens from the bottom of the tower. It’s very satisfying to watch (and to hear), but the tokens will scatter at least a foot or two in each direction.
Overall, Corner Crush is easy to learn and a fun challenge that players of multiple ages can enjoy together! Then, when game night is over, you can crush clean up fast, because all of the tokens store inside of the tower.
