Looking forward to this one! I do so love seeing old game mechanics given new life in new contexts. (Have you played Hexcells Infinite?) The combination of the two types makes this especially appealing.
Since people mentioned colors: If you haven't yet accounted for colorblind players, I hope you consider adding at least a couple of color scheme options so players can figure out one that works well for them. I'm not colorblind (though one of my nephews is, and he comes over a lot), but I often like the colorblind sets more than the normal sets -- for example, in Mini Metro. And greater color choice is always a plus.
(Someday I'm gonna run across a game that repurposes Backgammon as some war between Girl Scouts selling cookies and chasing off the rival gang. I've long felt that Backgammon mechanics would suit a game for younger players if it had cutesy graphics and some more interesting context.)