Otto Game Over Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Box Contents
• Aim of the Game: Have Fun and Win
• How to Score Points
• How to Score 8 (8-nil)
• How to Give Points Away
• Tile Value
• Game Set Up
• How to Play
  • End of a Match
• The Two Special Tiles
  • The Dark Tile
  • The Zero Tile
• Playing a Secret Card
• The Secret Cards
  • Time Travel
  • Magnetic Inversion
  • Revolution (clockwise and anti-clockwise)
  • Quantum Leap
  • Meteorite
  • Alien Kidnapping
  • 8 or Infinity
  • 8 Joker (Cosmic Void, the Wildcard)
• Blind Match
• Silly Match
• Head in the Clouds
• OTTO Solo Mode

Box Contents

• This rulebook, and a short rulebook for those who only want to play
• A game board
• 36 game tiles
• One secret card deck
• 44 point markers, i.e. 11 per player
• One tile-holder tower
• 4 player boards
• One scoreboard
• 4 score markers

Aim of the Game: Have Fun and Win

The aim of the game is to score 24 points, or more, in a set of matches and win! To defeat your opponents, your best bet is to make an 8 (see "How to score 8"), but initially you won't be able to pull it off, except naturally for a stroke of sheer luck.

At the end of each match the points scored by each player or team will be counted and marked on the scoreboard so that everyone can see who is ahead. After each consecutive match the acquired points will be added to the previous ones. You will play as many matches as needed for one of the players or teams to reach 24 points or more and win the game.

If two or more players' score goes over the 24 mark, the player with the most points wins. In the case of a tie, you need to play an additional blind match in which all players must take part (see "Blind Match").

How to Score Points

By placing a tile on the board, you can mainly score 1, 2 or 4 points.

• To score 1 point you just need to close one small circle.
• To score 2 points you have to close a big circle.
• To score 4 points you need to close a square.

In order to mark the ownership of a point you need to place on it the corresponding point marker of your color.

Sometimes you can't even score a single point, and other times, by just playing one tile, you can score several points at once. For example, if you close a square and a circle in one go, you can score 6 points in total.

How to Score 8 (8-nil)

In order to score 8 points you need to create an 8, an infinity sign. An 8 doesn't need a point marker; for this match it's game over!

If a player can score 8, then he is obliged to do it and the match will be over at that precise moment! That's the rule of OTTO (8 in Italian) Game Over. The match will end with a score of 8-nil for the player or team that has created infinity. The points already marked on the board won't be counted, all points, even those of the player who made "OTTO Game Over". If no one has reached 24 points yet, then the game carries on, and you can play another match.

How to Give Points Away

When a player scores points with his tile, but runs out of the point marker of the corresponding value, the points are lost and will go to the first player that, on his turn, will place the point marker of the appropriate value on the board. If no player has the point marker of such value, then the point is lost for everyone.

Tile Value

Each tile has a corresponding symbolic value: add all the potential points that can be made with that design.

For example, a tile may be worth 8 points, i.e. 2 potential points times 4. A tile worth 12 points is 2 points twice + 4 points twice. Another example has a total value of 7, i.e. 4 + 2 + 1. The dark tile is worth 0.

The values of all the tiles are: 0, 4, 7, 8, 10, 12, 12, 16.

These values are needed at the beginning of the game in order to decide who goes first. They are needed at the end of all games that end in a tie: the ones that are played till the very last point. They are also needed to score some points when the match has gone so badly that you didn't even put one point down on the board (see "Silly Match").

Game Set Up

Place the board in the middle of all players and in any direction (it is symmetrical), making sure that the game side is not face down.

Shuffle the secret cards well, let another player cut the deck and place it on the table next to the board. The deck of cards should not be shuffled anymore for the matches of the ongoing game. Each match of the game starts with the following 3 phases:

1. Give each player, or team, all the point markers of the chosen color.
2. Place all playing tiles, including the 4 dark tiles, face down on the table and all together mix them up. Then place them one on top of the other on the tile-holder tower. They should all be face down so that no player can guess their value. Place the tile-holder tower next to the board.
3. Each player, going clockwise starting from the oldest one, picks a tile from the top of the tower and one secret card from the top of the deck. The tile needs to be placed on the player board face up so that everyone can see it, while the secret card is kept face down.

If it's your first time, play a trial run without using the secret cards, so that you can grasp the main mechanism of the game.

For 2 pairs of players there will only be 2 allocations of point markers; whoever doesn't hold the point markers can use the empty player board, on the dark side, just as tile holder. Team mates play opposite each other. Everyone always gets a secret card in each match.

How to Play

Play clockwise. In the first match of the game the player who has the tile with the highest value on the table starts. In case of a tie, the oldest player begins. For all the following matches, the player or team that is ahead makes the first move. In case of a tie, the player that holds the tile with the highest value goes first.

When it's your turn, pick up a tile from the top of the tower and place it in plain sight next to your tile that is already on the table. You can decide which of the two tiles to play on the board according to these two rules:

Rule 1) The playing tiles need to be placed on the board so that one side of the tile is adjacent to another tile that is already on the board. At the beginning of the match there are only 4 possible positions around the central tile, and the frame of the board is not considered as a tile. The dark tiles, those without lines, cannot be placed on the board.

Rule 2) There aren't any constraints in terms of direction when placing a tile on the board, however if you can score a point then you must do so. If you can score 1, 2 or 4 points you can choose your score, however if you can score 8 you can't choose any other score. If you can't score any points, then you can place your tile anywhere as long as it's adjacent to another tile as per Rule 1.

End of a Match

As soon as a player creates an 8, the match is over and the final score is 8-nil for the player that scored 8. If no one creates an 8, the match ends when the board is complete, with no free spots. The match is also over when there are no more tiles to play (which can occur only in the case of a severe meteorite shower; see the Meteorite card).

The Two Special Tiles

The Dark Tile

When you pick the dark tile, you can't place it on the board, so you have no choice but to play your other tile, the one on the table. The dark tile will become your tile on the table, and from that moment onwards, upon your turn, you have to play the tile you pick from the top of the tower. If you pick another dark tile, the two dark tiles cancel each other out. You can then discard them from the ongoing match and pick up another tile from the tower and a new secret card straight away, but you will be forced to skip your turn without placing any tiles on the game board.

The Zero Tile

When you pick the zero tile, the one that can't score any points, you must play it no matter what points you could score with the other tile in your hands. This rule overrides even the requirement to create an 8 if you had the chance.

Playing a Secret Card

At the beginning of your turn, strictly before picking the tile from the tower, you can decide whether to use your secret card or not. In order to play it, you just need to announce out loud "I'm using the Force" and then you must show your opponents the secret card and follow the relative power that could, momentarily, shatter the general rules. Straight after that, it will be your turn to play. Once the secret card is played, it's void and must be eliminated from the game.

The Secret Cards

Recap:

1. At the beginning of each match all players pick a secret card.
2. Never show the secret cards to your opponents, unless you are playing in pairs, in which case your partner can see it.
3. The secret cards can be used only once at the start of your turn, before picking the tile from the tower and never more than one at a time.
4. The above rule does not count for the '8' card, which follows its own rules.
5. The secret card, once played, has to be eliminated from the game and put aside.
6. Playing a secret card is not compulsory. If you get to the end of the match without using it, keep it. So on the next match, once you pick another one, you will have two secret cards to count on. Likewise, if you don't use either of the secret cards throughout the new match and the race to score 24 points is not over yet, for the following match you will have an allocation of 3 cards.

There are 8 kinds of secret cards: Time Travel, Magnetic Inversion, Time Revolution (clockwise), Anti-Clockwise Revolution, Meteorite, Quantum Leap, Alien Kidnapping, and '8' or Infinity. There is also one Wildcard (8 Joker, "Cosmic Void").

Time Travel

This card allows you to have your turn twice! That is: pick a tile from the tower and play one of the two tiles you have. You will then play another turn straight away, prior to which you won't be able to use your secret cards anymore.

Magnetic Inversion

This allows you to exchange your tile on the table with any of the other players, even with your team mates, and then you can play your turn.

Revolution (clockwise and anti-clockwise)

Whoever plays this card forces all players to pass their tile on the table to the adjacent player, on the left or the right as per the direction of the arrow on the card. Then it's your turn to play.

Quantum Leap

By playing this card you will be able to move a tile that is already on the board, to any free spot, even by itself or to the edge of the board. If you wish you can also rotate a tile. Always on one condition: the tiles over which there's a point, whether it's your own or your opponents', cannot be moved; they are unmovable. If you score a point by moving a tile, then the point is yours. After this, you can play your turn as usual.

Meteorite

This card has an immediate effect on all players: they all lose their tiles on the table; these tiles will then be eliminated from the ongoing game. Therefore, starting from the player that has launched the meteorite, everyone is going to pick a replacement tile from the tower. After this, you can play your turn as usual.

Alien Kidnapping

This card allows you to deprive one of your opponents of their secret card. The card taken from your opponent must be played immediately and it will have immediate effect. If its effect does not apply immediately, the kidnapping failed, and the card taken away is now void and needs to be eliminated from the game. After this, you can play your turn as usual.

8 or Infinity

This card is different from all the other ones; it doesn't warrant any action, it's a point saving protection. Unlike all the other secret cards, it can only be played at the end of your turn in case you create an 8, and it will allow you to add your 8 points to all the points previously scored during the match. Otherwise it can be played out of your turn when another player creates an 8, and in this case, by playing this card, you won't lose your points nor those of your team mates. So much for the rule 8-nil.

8 Joker (Cosmic Void, the Wildcard)

There's only one in the deck, and if it's used as an 8 it follows the corresponding rules. If you use it as any of the other seven secret cards, it can only be played at the beginning of your turn and its identity must be disclosed. Once played the card is lost, like all the other secret cards.

Blind Match

A tie between two or more players could occur at the end of the game, when the 24 points that secure a victory are scored. In order to establish a winner, you have to play another match, an additional blind match for all players, including those that did not score 24 points. It follows the exact same general rules except for two details:

1. There will be no secret cards, they are eliminated completely. Anyone that still has some left from the previous match won't be able to use it.
2. You can't choose between two tiles anymore. You play blind without the tile that is face up on the table. You have to pick a tile and place it directly on the board. If you score a point, great, if you don't, then that's it. If you pick a dark tile you must skip your turn and the tile is eliminated straight away.

In case anyone creates an 8 under these conditions, they win the game. Otherwise you will carry on till there are no more spaces on the board and then you will add up all your points. If you still end up on a tie, then these players keep on picking tiles from the tower till the end. The winner is the first one to pick a tile with a higher value than the opponents (see "Tile Value"). If you end up on a draw after having picked all the tiles, then it is a draw.

Silly Match

If one or more players can't even get one point down on the board throughout the whole match, they will be allocated as many points as the tile value that they have not played and is still on the table. The silly rule does not apply if the board is not complete, meaning if the match ends in advance with a score of 8-nil.

Head in the Clouds

If a player doesn't realize he can score a point and therefore plays differently, and no other player reminds him that he has to score the point, then that point is lost. The next player will take advantage of it.

OTTO Solo Mode

You play with exactly the same two general rules (see "How to Play"). The solitary match will unfold just like the blind match: you can pick a tile from the tower and play, you can remove the 4 dark tiles straight away. In order to win you have to put in place all 11 point markers of your player board (24 points) and create at least one infinity sign (creating an 8 during a solitary does not stop the match). Otherwise, you lose.

In case of a victory the score will be: 24 + 8 and 2 points for each slot without a tile, minus 1 point for each circle or square that is closed but lacks a point marker. Below 32 points you have just about won. With 32 to 36 points you have played well, above 36 points you have been great, if you score more than 40 points you are the best.