Tools Up: Tips and Tricks

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.

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