Toot and Otto
Toot and Otto Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 24 Letter Tiles (12 "O" tiles and 12 "T" tiles)
- 1 Game Tower
Choking hazard: small parts. Not for children under 3 years. Colors and parts may vary from those pictured.
Simple Strategy Game
Here's how to play the Simple Strategy Game.
Object
One player is TOOT and the other player is OTTO. Players take turns dropping one of their letter tiles into the tower. The first person to spell his or her name horizontally, vertically, or diagonally wins!
Setup
Connect the Game Tower to its base. Each player takes six "O" tiles and six "T" tiles. Decide who will play as TOOT and who will be OTTO.
To Play
Players take turns dropping their T's and O's into any open space in the Game Tower. Players try to spell their character's name (TOOT or OTTO), while blocking their opponent from spelling theirs.
To Win
The first person to spell their dog's name horizontally, vertically, or diagonally—wins!
The guide shows four example winning layouts: a horizontal win for TOOT, a diagonal win for OTTO, a diagonal win for TOOT, and a vertical win for OTTO.
Game Strategy – Arf!
- Think before you drop! Every tile you drop can also be used by your opponent.
- Don't run out of one kind of tile. It's doggone tough to win if you're all out of one letter!
What If?
- It's possible that neither player can spell his dog's name after all the tiles are gone. This obviously means that you and your opponent are very bright players, so you both win!
- It's also possible that both players win simultaneously by the dropping of a tile. For example, you may drop an "O" to spell TOOT horizontally, but it also spells OTTO diagonally. If this ever happens, both players win!
Note!
- Players may not drop a tile into a column that already has four letters in it. Every tile dropped must fall into one of the open Game Tower spaces.
- You may not take back moves. Once you've dropped a tile, your turn is over.
Fill-and-Find Game
Here's how to play the Fill-and-Find Game. (The guide notes that a cooperative "Fill-and-Find" version is fun for younger players, and that either way of playing makes TOOT and OTTO "doggone fun!")
Object
To find as many TOOTs and OTTOs as possible in a tower completely filled with letter tiles.
Setup
Have all the players mix up the letter tiles and drop them quickly and without thought into all six columns. Make sure that no more than four letters are placed in any one column. When finished, the tower should be completely filled.
To Play
All players try to see how many TOOTs and OTTOs they can find in the grid. We recommend this version for young players who are just starting to form words and recognize letter patterns.
The guide's sample grid asks: "Can you find 3 TOOT's and 2 OTTO's?"
Parents' Notes
- The guide tells parents that the Fill-and-Find game is a great way to teach children the importance of letter positioning when forming words. With only two letters in the game, the relationship between the letters is what matters.
- The words TOOT and OTTO are palindromes, words that are spelled the same forward as backward. The guide asks how many other palindromes readers can think of, for example EYE, NOON, or RADAR.