Matching games, in various forms, have been around forever—and with good reason: they’re easy to play, fun, don’t usually take a lot of time, and they help build memory and pattern skills. This week we take a look at four new games that add new—and colorful—twists to the old classic.

Color Clash (Blue Orange)
In Color Clash, each of the 36 playing tiles has three attributes: the color of the chameleon in the middle, the color word (red, blue, green, etc.) written in a ring around the chameleon and the color of the letters that make up the word (for example, the word “green” might be written in blue). Color Match comes with instructions for eight separate games (including two that are excellent for solo players), but there’s nothing to stop you from making up your own. One of our favorites was to start with all the tiles face down. Players take turns flipping over one tile while the others say out loud the color of the word (not the color it names). It’s not easy.  For 1-8 players, ages 7 and up. http://www.blueorangegames.com/

Cup-a-Cup (R&R Games)
Another deceptively easy game. Cup-a-cup comes with nine plastic cups. On the bottom of each is one of three shapes (square, circle, or triangle) in one of three colors (blue, red, yellow). There’s also a pair of dice that have the same shapes and colors. Players take turns rolling the dice, then all lunge for the cups (which are arranged bottom up so you can see the colors/shapes) in a frenzied attempt to complete the set. Some are pretty easy: For example, if you roll two blue triangles, you have to grab the cup with the blue triangle. And if you roll two shapes with the same color, you need to grab the one cup with the one that’s missing. It starts getting harder when neither the shapes nor the colors on the dice match. Say a blue circle and a yellow square. We’ll leave it to you which one you need. First player to collect three cups wins. For 3-5 players, ages 6 and up (don’t sneer—kids are better at this than adults). http://www.rnrgames.com/

Pluckin’ Pairs (R&R Games)
It all starts off pretty easy: lay out 11 cards, each one with a photograph, on the table. Then, working individually, start writing down matching pairs using any criteria you want. A red bell pepper might match with a red phone booth because the colors match, but that same red pepper might match a pocket watch. What, wait? They both have stems. Similarly, an ant might go with a bird (both animals) or a roll of tape (they tend to stick together). When the 90-second timer runs out, players take turns explaining their pairs. If two or more have the same pair, both score a point. If no one else has the same pair, it scores zero. We also reversed the scoring so that only pairs that no one else has score. For 3-8 players, ages 12 and up.

Slideways (R&R Games)
Slideways is essentially a 4×4 version of tic tac toe, but with the added complexity of being able to slide the rows around. The game consists of four moveable rows, each with four triangle-shaped tiles that can show blue, red, or gold. Players alternate flipping tiles, trying to get four in a row (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally). And just when you’re getting close, someone slides a row and messes everything up. Requires strategy, logic, and a sense of humor. For 2-3 players, ages 8 and up.