We play a lot of 4 player Nintendo Switch games. Tools Up is one of our favorites. I hate to admit it but the first time playing Tools Up we were lost. By the second game we were lit.

There isn’t much to learn as far as how to paint or lay down flooring. But understanding the blueprint and which tool to use is important information to play Tools Up.

You can jump right in and start painting or installing floor tiles, which is what I do. I just start playing and fumble through. Or you can read the blueprint. It’s a good thing the people I play with like to read instructions.

Playing Tools Up involves a lot of remodeling and cleaning up. Most chores and tools are intuitive. Still, there are some tips and tricks to winning at Tools Up.

If you want to make it challenging then you could play blind and discover what needs done by trial and error. But I don’t recommend it. Knowing is half the battle, except this isn’t G.I. Joe. It isn’t even a battle come to think of it.

This is construction and the blueprint is the most important item in each level. Spend some time learning about all the information it contains and how it works. It saves a lot of time down the road.

The blueprint reveals which walls need painted and in what color. Rooms that don’t need any work are also revealed by the blueprint. It also shows which floors need done and what type of flooring needs installed.

The blueprint also shows important stats, such as which rooms are done, what percent of each room is done, and overall completion percentage. These stats are useful for determining if a room is complete or not. If you missed painting a wall because it’s behind a door the blueprint won’t show the task as complete.

It can also tell you how many piles of rubbish need cleaned or items that need removed. This is useful for the end of the round when everything must be cleaned up.

You don’t want to lose the blueprint either, because another thing it does is allow you to rotate the view. Rotating the view is important to finding lost items or identifying incomplete jobs. Sometimes a level is easier when viewed from a different angle. Don’t assume the default view is best.

Delivery cheat. We found a pile of rubbish can be used to get deliveries. Create a pile of rubbish in the path of the delivery people but near the door. When they slip and fall on the rubbish they also drop their delivery. Never miss a delivery again!

You can throw bags of grass seed to spread it. Instead of loading up a handful of seed then spreading it one patch at a time, simply toss the bag of seed around. When it lands it spreads seed to more than 1 patch.

This also works for the watering can. Tossing a full watering can around areas that need watered is faster than watering one patch at a time.

The shovel cleans up piles of rubbish. This trick saves you the hassle of having to carry the pile of rubbish to the recycle bin.

Instead of looking at the blueprint for trimming hedges, pay attention to the % complete. When you get the right shape the % changes. While the % changes for any complete task, it’s really useful for trimming hedges and statues.

Tools Up tips and tricks brought to you by David M.

I’m David M. I’ve been playing video games a long time, my pong game was fire. Now, my kids run circles around me but we always have a good time. We mostly play party and family games. Strategy and battle games are still among my favorites. I like writing about games almost as much as I do playing them. My favorite games are: Moving Out 2, Out of Space, and Overcooked All You Can Eat.

We play a lot of multiplayer Nintendo Switch games. Tools Up was recently added to our library of 4 player couch co-op games. This game has you working as construction workers remodeling and finishing projects.

If you’ve ever wanted to remodel but it costs too much or is too much work this game is for you. We were able to paint entire walls or rip up old floors with the push of a few buttons. All the tools and supplies we needed were automatically delivered.

All we had to do is follow the blueprint and finish as soon as possible. Earn stars to unlock new levels. There isn’t many obstacles or difficulty to this game. The goal is to just do construction.

If you want a simple multiplayer co-op game then Tools Up is an ideal choice. There’s no violence, fighting, or even jumping in this game.

Why someone would want this game is because they enjoy similar games such as Overcooked. If Overcooked is too challenging then Tools Up is much less challenging alternative.

If you’re looking for a simple game that isn’t going to stress you out, then Tools Up is a good option. I didn’t think it was very intense or extremely challenging. The final level has a ghost to annoy you but overall, it’s an entertaining, low stress game.

We tested Tools Up with 1 player, 2 players, 3 players, and 4 players. We found it to be surprisingly well balanced. During our test, we found it wasn’t too hard solo or too easy with 4 players.

Tools Up is similar to Overcooked, Moving Out 2, Out of Space, Lumberhill, and Very Very Valet to name a few. All of these games are made for 4 players that work as a team.

It has tasks similar to orders in Overcooked, but much simpler. In Tools Up tasks most tasks require 1 step. Some take 2 or 3 steps but it’s far less complicated than completing an order in Overcooked.

It’s like Lumberhill as far as tasks go. They both keep it simple. There’s no falling off the map on Tools Up though. Each individual job isn’t timed.

Tools Up is similar to Moving Out in that the clock is ticking, but you can take as much time as you need to complete a round. No item or order is going to time out. The faster you are the more stars you earn.

I enjoyed Tools Up about as much as Lumberhill. If I didn’t keep falling off the map so much I’d like Lumberhill more. I enjoy Overcooked, Moving Out, and Out of Space the most. Tools up is on par with Lumberhill and Very Very Valet.

Not gonna lie, the first time we played this it was confusing. Halfway through the first game it clicked then we worked like we pounded several energy drinks.

Once we got how it works it’s simple from there. They don’t keep making tasks more and more complex. Everything stays simple. Later they add mowing and watering but those tasks remain uncomplicated.

We liked the graphics and sounds. The music is catchy and the graphics are only average for this game. The only drawbacks with the graphics are the seed bags and some tools are hard to find.

There are a couple seed bags with purple icons and a couple seed bags with orange icons. The similar colored ones are hard to tell apart. Why they didn’t use more colors is beyond me.

The other disadvantage is items such as shovels, rakes, or watering cans blend in with the floor. They’re easy to lose in the bushes, near a statue, or under a tree. You have to rotate the view or walk around until an item gets highlighted by standing close to it.

Picking up and tossing other players adds to the fun. Tripping over piles of trash never gets old. I’m sure many construction workers would love to be able to throw tools or supplies when they’re done with them.

Our Tools Up review gives it 8 out of 10 stars. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. Some may not like the simplicity and find it boring. Still, there’s something about remodeling I found appealing.

It isn’t the most expensive or challenging game. But it offers simple multiplayer fun. It’s not diverse enough to play for hours on end. But we enjoyed playing it for an hour at a time here and there.

Tools Up review brought to you by David M.

I’m David M. I’ve been playing video games a long time, my pong game was fire. Now, my kids run circles around me but we always have a good time. We mostly play party and family games. Strategy and battle games are still among my favorites. I like writing about games almost as much as I do playing them. My favorite games are: Moving Out 2, Out of Space and Overcooked All You Can Eat.

We’ve played a lot of Tools Up on our Nintendo Switch and recently completed every level. So the idea of a walkthrough for this game came up. Because who doesn’t like playing a game where you remodel virtual homes?

Construction doesn’t sound like much fun, but Tools Up does a good job of making mundane tasks entertaining in my experience. There’s something satisfying about remodeling floors or painting walls with the push of a button that appeals to the sloth in all of us.

If you already have Tools Up or are wanting to learn more about it then this guide covers the nitty gritty about how to play. In Tools Up the House has 30 levels. Garden Party is an add on with 45 levels.

You begin by selecting whether you want to play a campaign or party mode. Both modes use the exact same 30 levels.

Campaign mode is where you progressively work from level 1 to 30 unlocking levels and characters as you go. I found the last level is harder due to a ghost undoing all your hard work. But there is no narrative, or story progression.

In campaign mode you simply remodel 30 rooms. There isn’t a time limit, instead you earn points. However, the longer you take the less points you earn.

Party mode gives you two options:

• Standard
• Time Attack

Both use the same 30 levels. but unlike campaign mode all 30 levels are available from the start.

In standard party mode you complete the level as fast as you can. There are good, better, and best times.

In time attack a clock shows up and you fight it off with hammers and shovels. Kidding. Time attack is where a clock is ticking down. If the clock runs out of time before you finish you lose. When they say it’s hard they aren’t kidding.

In time attack every task you do adds time. Paint a section of wall, it adds 5 seconds. Rip up a section of old flooring, it adds 5 seconds. Basically as long as we kept busy we didn’t run out of time.

After selecting the mode you want to play in you pick a character. In my opinion, there aren’t many to choose from initially. We did unlock more as we played. But for starters, I just picked a character and modified the colors.

For the party modes we scrolled through each level of the house to choose a level. In campaign mode we started at the ground floor. Each door is labeled from 1 to 30. There are 2 or 3 doors on each floor.

We had to complete one level to unlock the next level. Plus we needed 6 stars to move to the next floor. It seemed to me moving around in campaign mode is odd due to the front facing camera angle. Depth perception is not easy.

After completing the first three levels, we earned enough stars to use the elevator. We went to the next floor, and did the same. Then rinse and repeat until we completed all 30 levels.

On the 5th floor there’s an arrow to the left. Due to the camera angle we couldn’t see the ramp but we walked towards ourselves to get up the ramp. Which leads to level 13.

On the 10th floor we had to use a ladder to get to level 25. The elevator only goes up so far. After that we used ladders to reach the last 5 levels.

The final level has a ghost. Plus its very dark. The darkness is harder to deal with than the ghost in my experience. But once we completed this level we were finished!

Throughout the game we primarily used the pick-up/put down button and the use item button. Throw is occasionally used. If you throw most items they leave a mess behind where they land. But throw is good for getting rid of tools, plants, trees, and decorations.

There’s a blueprint for every level. We found some levels have two blueprints. The blueprint reveals which rooms need remodeled, what specifically needs remodeled, and the completion percentage.

You start with some buckets of paint or flooring supplies. Supplies are also delivered. We always leave a strategically placed pile of rubbish in the delivery guys path. He slips and falls, causing him to drops his delivery. We never miss a delivery or have to stop what you’re doing to get it with this method.

As you paint or strip walls pay attention to walls you can’t see. Sections of wall behind doors or on walls parallel to the camera view are easy to miss in my experience.

Flooring sometimes has an extra section leading in or out of the room which is also easy to miss. We use the blueprint to determine if we’ve missed anything, such as a hidden paint spill.

One thing I noticed is putting down recycled items. I occasionally had to hit the drop button twice to get rid of trash.

Keep buckets of paint or flooring supplies nearby where you’re working. You can push flooring but not paint.

I found the same basic skills are necessary for playing all the levels in Tools Up. Whether it’s the campaign or party mode. We removed the old stuff on the walls or floor. Then placed the new stuff on the walls or floor.

In my experience the most important factor was learning which tool does what. I found using the blueprint frequently got us quicker times.

It takes some practice but once we got more proficient we had no issues completing everything in the game.

How to play Tools Up brought to you by David M.

I’m David M. I’ve been playing video games a long time, my pong game was fire. Now, my kids run circles around me but we always have a good time. We mostly play party and family games. Strategy and battle games are still among my favorites. I like writing about games almost as much as I do playing them. My favorite games are: Moving Out 2, Out of Space, and Overcooked All You Can Eat.