Oodles Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• What Are Oodlers?
• Object of the Game
• Power Up!
• Getting Ready to Oodle
  • Choose a Moderator
  • As the Moderator for the First Card, Do the Following
• A Look at the Cards
• It's Time to Oodle!
  • Read the Silly Starter Question
  • Read the First Oodler Question
  • All Play (The Free-For-All!)
  • Winning the Card
  • Tiebreakers
  • New Moderator
  • New Baton-Holder
• Winning the Game
• Nobody's Perfect
• Oodle with a Friend
• How to Stop Oodling

Contents

• 300 Two-sided Oodles Cards
• Electronic Oodles Timer/Card Holder
• Oodles Baton

What Are Oodlers?

Oodlers are cleverly constructed phrases and expressions which you must solve. They are often funny, sometimes baffling and always entertaining. Each time an Oodles card is played, a different player gets first chance at answering the Oodlers. Keep in mind that all of the Oodlers on one side of a card have answers that start with the same letter.

Object of the Game

Be first to correctly answer the last Oodler on a card to win the card. The first player with five cards wins the game!

Power Up!

OODLES TIMER: Open the battery cover on the Oodles Timer by pressing back the clip with your thumb. Insert four "AA" size batteries, matching the (+) and (-) signs as shown in Figure 1. Alkaline batteries are recommended for best performance. Then snap the battery cover back into place.

Test the batteries by sliding the ON/OFF switch to the ON position. Listen for a beep. Then press the 10-second timer button on the front of the unit. You should hear a beep and then a ticking sound. After ten seconds have passed, you should hear a buzz. If the timer doesn't make these sounds, the batteries may be weak or improperly installed.

CAUTION: Batteries may leak if improperly installed. Remove batteries when the Oodles Timer is not used for an extended period of time.

OODLES BATON: This "handy" device doesn't need batteries! It's used to keep track of players' turns. (More about this later.) The Oodles baton is very versatile and can even be used to defend yourself against overly-aggressive opponents!

Getting Ready to Oodle

Oodles is a fast-paced game where players compete for control of an Oodles card. One player starts with control of the card and tries to answer each Oodler question in order on the card. When an incorrect answer is given, all players may quickly shout out answers to try to gain control of the card.

Choose a Moderator

There is usually a different Moderator for each card played. Choose someone calm, cool and in control to be the first Moderator. (Oodles players can get very aggressive!) The Moderator reads the questions on the card and uses the electronic Oodles Timer to monitor players' response times. Here's how:

As the Moderator for the First Card, Do the Following

1. Give the Oodles baton to the player on your left. (The baton stays with this player for the entire card.)
2. Slide the ON/OFF switch on the Oodles Timer to the ON position.
3. Remove a card from the front of the card box and slide it into the Oodles Timer as shown in Figure 2. Do not let any of the other players see the card, even if they offer you money!

A Look at the Cards

Each card side has a Silly Starter question, a Key Letter and ten Oodler questions and answers. See Figure 3. Each card is coded with purple on one side and orange on the other. We suggest that you pick one color and play that side of each card for the entire game.

Figure 3. The key word in all Oodler answers starts with the same Key Letter. (Figure labels: Silly Starter question; Key Letter (A to Z); Oodler questions; Oodler answers.)

It's Time to Oodle!

Read the Silly Starter Question

Ready, Moderator? Press the 10-second timer button and quickly read the Silly Starter question to the player with the baton. Then wait for that player to answer the question. Only one answer is allowed! No other player may answer during this time.

Remember! Press the timer button first, then quickly read the question!

CORRECT ANSWER: If the baton-holder answers correctly before the timer buzzes, you yell "Correct!" You then announce the Key Letter for the ten Oodler questions on the card. The baton-holder now gets to answer the first Oodler question.

INCORRECT ANSWER: If the baton-holder can't answer the Silly Starter question or answers it incorrectly, you yell "Wrong!" (You may now tell everyone the answer to the Silly Starter question.) You then announce the Key Letter for the ten Oodler questions on the card. The person to the left of the baton-holder now gets to answer the first Oodler question on the card.

Read the First Oodler Question

As the Moderator, you press the timer button and quickly read the first Oodler question to the answering player. The answering player should wait until the entire question is read before answering. Only one answer is allowed! No other player may answer during this time, but everyone should quickly try to think of the answer.

CORRECT ANSWER: If the answering player gives the correct answer before the timer buzzes, you yell "Correct!" You then press the timer button again and quickly read the next Oodler question to the same player. Gameplay continues question-by-question, down the card until the answering player answers incorrectly.

INCORRECT ANSWER: If the answering player gives an incorrect answer, you yell "Wrong!" Immediately press the timer button again and announce "All Play!"

NO ANSWER: If the answering player gives no answer at all before the timer buzzes, you immediately press the timer button again and announce "All Play!"

All Play (The Free-For-All!)

Now everybody gets to answer! All players except you (the Moderator), but including the player who answered incorrectly, have ten seconds to quickly yell out the correct answer. During this time, even players who yell out wrong answers may continue trying to answer correctly until the timer buzzes.

CORRECT ANSWER: If a player answers correctly before the timer buzzes, you yell "Correct!" You then press the timer button again and quickly read the next Oodler question to the player who answered correctly. Gameplay continues question-by-question, down the card with this player until he or she answers incorrectly.

IF EVERYONE'S WRONG: If no one answers an Oodler question correctly during All Play, you (the Moderator) announce the answer. Then all players (except you as the Moderator) try to be first to answer the next Oodler on the card.

Winning the Card

The player who correctly answers the last Oodler question on the card wins the card. If no one answers the last Oodler question correctly, then the Moderator wins the card (and continues as the Moderator for the next card).

Tiebreakers

It is up to you, as the Moderator, to decide who was first to answer a question correctly during All Play. If you honestly cannot tell who was first, press the timer button and quickly read the next Oodler question on the card, allowing only the tied players to answer. Again, the tied players can call out as many answers as they wish until the timer buzzes.

CORRECT ANSWER: If one of the tied players answers correctly before the timer buzzes, you yell "Correct!" You then press the timer button again and quickly read the next Oodler question to the player who answered correctly. Gameplay continues as described above, question-by-question, down the card.

IF EVERYONE'S WRONG: If none of the tied players answer the Oodler question correctly, you (the Moderator) announce the answer. Then you announce "All Play!" Immediately press the timer button and read the next Oodler on the card to all players.

TIEBREAKER ON THE LAST OODLER: If a tie takes place with the last Oodler on the card, turn over the card, announce the new Key Letter, press the timer button and quickly read the first Oodler question (not the Silly Starter question) to the tied players.

First player to answer correctly before the timer buzzes wins the card. If no one answers correctly, the Moderator announces the answer and wins the card. If another tie occurs, go on to the next Oodler until someone wins the card.

New Moderator

The player who wins the card becomes the new Moderator. He or she removes (and keeps) the completed card from the Oodles Timer, then draws a new card and places it in the timer.

New Baton-Holder

The baton-holder now passes the baton to the player on his or her left. (If this player happens to be the new Moderator, pass the baton to the player on the left of the Moderator.) The new baton-holder gets first chance at answering the new Silly Starter question. Gameplay continues as described above.

Winning the Game

The first player to collect five cards is the winner!

Nobody's Perfect

READING THE OODLER: If you, as the Moderator, read an Oodler question incorrectly or stumble on a word, one of the following things should happen:

• Players may gently smack you with the baton. (Only kidding!)
• You may press the timer button again and reread the question. For a longer pause in the action, hold down the timer button. When the button is released, the 10-second timer begins again.

ANSWERING THE OODLER: Occasionally a player's answer may be partially correct, "sort of" correct or almost correct. It is up to the Moderator to decide if the answer is acceptable. Bribery is not allowed.

Example: Oodler question: Vampire Cocktail Oodler answer: BLOODY MARY

What if a player answers "BLOOD"? This is also a clever answer, but not the one that's on the card. If you are a kind, generous Moderator, you might announce "Correct!" But if you are a no-nonsense, by-the-book Moderator, you might decide that "BLOOD" isn't really a cocktail and say "Wrong!" Hey! Being the Moderator is a tough job, but somebody's got to do it!

HOLD YOUR TONGUE: During the excitement of gameplay, a player might call out an answer at the wrong time. This might happen during another player's turn or when a player fails to wait for the Moderator's direction. Be careful! Don't risk giving the correct answer to an opponent.

Oodle with a Friend

Oodles is also lots of fun to play with partners. Gameplay is the same as described above except partners may "secretly" confer during their turn before answering a question. If a partner gives a wrong answer, the other partner may also give one answer before the 10-second timer buzzes. If both partners answer incorrectly, the question is opened up to All Play.

How to Stop Oodling

There's no easy way to stop playing Oodles. If your party guests won't go home, even after two or three days, try the following helpful hints:

1. Yawn loudly, yell "Look what time it is!" and flick the lights on and off.
2. Drag out your home movies of Aunt Gertrude. Show them in slow-motion.
3. Request assistance from the local authorities. Do not take the law into your own hands.