| Recommended Age: | 4+ |
| Players: | 2-4 |
| Cost: | $15.99 |
| Our Recommended Age: | 3+ (With some help of course) |
| Company Site: | www.peaceablekingdom.com |
| Skills: | Color matching Simple strategy Following directions Social development Cooperation |
| Awards: | About.com's Best Children's Game of 2011 | Dr. Toy 100 Best Products 2011 | 2011 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum | Disney FamilyFun Toy of the Year 2011 | 2011 Parents' Choice Silver Award | Major Fun Award | Dr. Toy Best Green Product 2011 | 2011 Goddard School Top 10 Preschool Approved |
Hoot Owl Hoot is another fantastic cooperative game by Peaceable Kingdom. This adorable game has everyone working together to help the little owls back to their nest from their night time adventure, but you have to hurry up before the sunrises!
My kids love Peaceable Kingdom’s cooperative games and Hoot Owl Hoot is probably the most adorable of the games we have played so far…but I love owls so it might be just me. The kids love the owls too but I think they love that it is based on colors…they love all the colors they tell me.
The game is recommended for ages 4+ but you could adjust for 2 year olds if you wanted. Just watch out as the cards can be destroyed by little hands and teeth…otherwise you simply have them play the game but remove the sun rising part. Maybe only have one or two owls too.
The box is a lift top with the instructions on the inside of the lid which is common in Peaceable Kingdom games…makes it very convenient and you never have to worry about losing them. The rest of the parts are in an envelope and fit under an insert with a little note about cooperative games from the President of the Company.
It also mentions that they are 100% committed to creating products that are safe for families and the environment. All the paper, which in this case is the cards and all the boards which I normally would say are chipboards, in this case the Owl Tokens and the Game Board, are all made from FSC papers.
FSC stands for Forest Stewardship Council and they are ecologically responsible management of our world’s forests. Everything is also printed using soy-based inks and the plastic parts (none in this game) are made from corn-based plastics. A phthalate and BPA-free kind that will biodegrade over time. Yes…this company is awesome at creating games AND helping the environment!
The artwork is absolutely adorable and I love the owls! I mentioned that right? Technically it is one owl…or 6 twins…Sextuplets! That’s the word! Identical ones…which is ok as they are super cute! The sun is cute too for being the “bad guy” although it is just doing it’s job as my kids tell me…so still cute. Ok time for the fun stuff!
Objective:
Get all the Owls back to their nest before the Sun rises. You all win or lose together in this one! This also means that you can and should help each other. Don’t do what my Gentleman and to try tell your sister what to do but instead politely suggest a couple options maybe…The Diva doesn’t really listen to him anyways but they are getting better at suggesting and listening.
Setup:
Put the Sun Token (the little Sun) on the starting point on the board and then Shuffle the cards. Each player gets 3 cards and they go face up in front of them…you are all on a team remember? Put the rest of the cards in a Pile and leave space for the discard pile next to it. The youngest player goes first and the game moves clockwise…that’s it! Easy set up and the kids can do it themselves.
Play:
On your turn you will play a card from your hand by putting in the discard pile and then move any Owl you want to the next Color space available towards the Nest. Since you are working together you can and should talk about this card to play and Owls to move, especially later in the game.
When you move an Owl it goes to the next available matching color space OR the Nest if there are none between it and the Nest. If the Gentleman plays a Blue Card he selects the Owl furthest from the Nest and moves it into the Nest because there are NO Blue spaces open between that Owl and the Nest. Owls can move long distances this way so keep an eye out and work together!
If you have a Sun card in your hand you HAVE to play it on your turn. Once you play one you have to move the Sun Token one space towards rising. No matter which card you play after you move either an Owl or the Sun you then Draw another card from the pile.
Winning:
The game ends when all the Owls are in the Nest and you win! Yay team! However it can also end if the Sun rises BEFORE all the Owls are in the Nest…this just means you should try again! Well we did every time we lost…can’t end a Game Night with a loss now can we?
There are a few tips from Peaceable Kingdom which I will gladly share. They recommend, and we agree, not to let any Owls fall too far behind the others. It is harder to catch up any Owls that get left behind…we know…this is one of the ways we lost..that and bad luck on shuffling I think!
Play lots of the same color cards in a row as this will help the Owls fly over each other and get to the Nest faster. Also, of course, work together. Listen to your teammates, talk about what colors would work best and which Owls are best to move. We agree with this one too and are still working on it…they do help each other…they just forget to talk about it sometimes hehe.
Hoot Owl Hoot is a fantastic game for the whole family or for a kids game night. Easy to setup, put away and learn and is super fun…and since its cooperative no one being sad or upset about winning or losing! We do like games that allow for a winner/loser and my kids are pretty good sports but cooperative games are perfect for them to play without our help…and intervention hehe.
Show us those Owls safe in their Nest! @MyGeeklings #HootOwlHoot @Peaceable_K
Here is your chance to win a copy of Hoot Owl Hoot by Peaceable Kingdom!
Must be 18+ and a resident of the U.S.A.
