By: Peaceable Kingdoms Players: 2-4 Ages: 4+ Time: 15 mins
Young Owlets have ventured out to explore the deep dark forest at night. They’ve had fun and games but now it’s time for all the owls get back to the nest before the sun comes up. Can you help all the owls fly home safely before the sun rises?
Hoot Owl Hoot is a cooperative board game for up to four players where everyone works together to help a group of young owls make their way home. Hoot Owl Hoot Board Game is specifically designed as a cooperative game, emphasizing teamwork and a simple strategy suitable for children. Owls are moved closer to their nest by playing various colored cards that correspond with spaces on the board. Everyone will need to work together and plan ahead carefully to secure the best chance of winning. Players will need to be careful though, if they draw a sun card it will bring them one step closer to sunrise which causes the game to end. Players win the game if all the Owls make it back to the nest before the sun rises and it’s too late.
Why We Like Peaceable Kingdoms Games For Younger Kids
Hoot Owl Hoot was developed by Peaceable Kingdoms back in 2010. Peaceable Kingdoms philosophy when making games is to focus on non-competitive gameplay that encourages children to work together as a team. There are plenty of games out there to choose from and they appeal to a variety of different age groups.
Peaceable Kingdoms games require collaboration between players to win and ensure fun social interactions make up part of the gameplay. They incorporate this in all their games, and the approach helps to promote inclusion, increase self-confidence and teach players valuable life skills. Hoot Owl Hoot is certainly no different and is another excellent game produced by this award-winning company.
How to Play Hoot Owl Hoot Board Game
The general gameplay mechanics behind this cooperative board game are simple to grasp and the basic game is light on rules to make it as accessible as possible for little people. The game is played on a colorful board where spaces are laid out in a circular pattern with the Owls nest being in the centre. Each space represents a different color and players start by placing their owls on the starting spaces on the outside of the ring.
Depending on the age of the players and how much of a challenge they want, anywhere from three to six Owls can be used in the game. Making the game more challenging simply involves adding more owl tokens, which can easily increase the difficulty level, making it suitable for older kids or adults to play with younger kids. At the top of the board is a tracker that shows how close it is to sunrise. A sun token is placed on the far left of the tracker and will gradually move to the right as sun cards are discovered. Every player is then dealt three cards, which they place face up for all to see, and the rest are placed face down as a draw pile.
Starting with the youngest, players will perform several actions on their turn. The first thing they need to do is play one of the cards from their hand. If there is a sun card in the players hand, they must play it and move the sun along the tracker one space. They then draw a card which ends their turn. When there are no sun cards in a player’s hand, they can play any color card they wish and move an owl of their choice to the next free space matching that cards color. If an owl is already on the next available space, the player can fly their owl over its head and travel even further to the space after that. After this action they likewise draw a card and play moves on to the next person. This continues until either all the Owls have returned to their nest, or the sun token has reached the far right of the tracker signaling daybreak.
Educational Benefits of Hoot Owl Hoot Board Game
Although gameplay may seem simple on the surface, playing Hoot Owl Hoot offers a lot of benefits to younger players and teaches them many skills. The most obvious of is working together towards a goal, which is why cooperative games are so great to play with younger kids. As mentioned above, players keep their cards on display for all to see. This allows everyone to offer suggestions to each-other as to which card should be played next. This mechanic also helps add a degree of light strategy to the game. When looking over everyone’s cards, if players think ahead and work together, they’ll be able to position owls in a way where players can make great leaps ahead. This will help with reaching the finish line in less turns and reduce the chances of coming across more sun cards.
Adults or older children can assist younger players with making choices, not just by guiding them but by encouraging conversation before deciding what move to make. Actively engaging children in this way and allowing them to talk through their decision-making process will not only help in their emotional development by boosting their confidence and making them feel valued, but also offer an opportunity to suggest alternatives and explain the reasoning behind them.
As there is no one winner, the game doesn’t benefit players that act selfishly or try and bend the rules in their favor. As everyone wins or loses together it creates a sense of unity between game players; everyone cheers each other on when a good move is made and consoles them when something doesn’t go to plan.
These are just a few of the important concepts the game teaches younger players and are all beneficial towards their development. The first eight years of a child’s life are very important. It’s during these formative years they absorb a lot of information that will mould them into the person they’ll become. Learning these kinds of important skills at a young age will not only benefit them in the long run but prepare them for fostering positive inter-personal relationships when they start going to school. Additionally, Hoot Owl Hoot is great for older kids as well, offering more challenging gameplay options that can be adapted to suit their growing skills, making it a versatile and educational choice for children across a wide age range.
Final Verdict: It’s a Hoot
Hoot Owl Hoot is a great game that’s not just a fun game for the little ones but teaches them lots of important skills. It’s short play time will ensure their attention won’t linger and its rules are so simple they will literally take a couple of minutes to teach. Whilst this is a game clearly aimed at younger children, with its emphasis being on cooperative gameplay, it still lets older kids play and adults will find supporting the younger players rewarding. Not only that, but with the difficulty scaling where more or less Owls can be added to the game, it offers a lot in the way of replay value for younger players. Additionally, Hoot Owl Hoot stands out as a cute game, with its appealing storyline and adorable aesthetics that captivate both kids and adults alike, making it an ideal choice for family game nights.
I personally played this game with my eldest daughter when she was a lot younger and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. The social interaction and engagement made her feel important, and she thoroughly enjoyed the aesthetics of the game. She was definitely a fan as if we ever lost and the sun rose before we got the Owls home, she wanted to play again straight away to try again.
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Summary
v Simple rules
v Short play time
v Co-operative gameplay
v Teaches important developmental skills
v Perfect for young children
If you liked this…
If you like the sound of Hoot Owl Hoot and want to invest in more cooperative games for you and your little ones, below are some similar titles that you all might enjoy:
Outfoxed!: Work together and take on the role as junior detectives to figure out which fox stole the pie. Time is of the essence though, if players don’t use the clues to find the right culprit they might get away scot-free!
Race To The Treasure: A Cooperative game where players must try and beat an ogre to the treasure. Working together to create a path to the three keys to unlock the treasure, players need to strategise and cooperate to succeed.
Junior Color Brain: A great game that tests players memory and colour recognition. Easy to learn and fun to play, players work together in teams and use eleven different coloured cards to correctly guess the colours of things like Mr. Men, Pokemon, Coco Pops and more.
Gnomes At Night: A 3-D maze exploration game. Choose a map, start in one of four spaces, and help each other navigate gnomes to as much treasure as possible before time runs out.
Zingo: A bingo-style game for kids with plenty of educational benefits. Players need to use image and vocabulary recognition and matching skills in order to complete their Zingo card with the picture tiles that are drawn at random.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What is the recommended age range for Hoot Owl Hoot?
A: Hoot Owl Hoot is recommended for children aged 4 and up. The simple rules and cooperative nature of the game make it ideal for younger kids like preschoolers and early elementary-aged children.
Q: How long does a game of Hoot Owl Hoot take to play?
A: A typical game of Hoot Owl Hoot lasts about 15 to 20 minutes. This short playtime is perfect for maintaining the attention span of younger players.
Q: Can Hoot Owl Hoot be played solo?
A: While designed as a cooperative board game for two or more players, a single player can still enjoy the game by managing multiple players’ hands on their own, simulating a multi-player environment.
Q: How does the game scale in difficulty?
A: The difficulty of Hoot Owl Hoot can be adjusted by changing the number of owl tokens used in the game. More owls increase the challenge, while fewer owls make the game easier. This allows the game to be tailored to the skill level of the players.
Q: Is there an educational aspect to Hoot Owl Hoot?
A: Yes, Hoot Owl Hoot is not only fun but also educational. It teaches important developmental skills such as teamwork, strategic thinking, problem-solving, and the concept of collective success.
Q: What do I need to do if I lose a game piece?
A: If you lose a game piece, you can contact the game’s publisher for replacement parts. Many publishers offer replacement parts for game pieces for a small fee or sometimes even for free.
Q: Where can I buy Hoot Owl Hoot?
A: Hoot Owl Hoot is available at most toy stores, both brick and mortar and online. It can also be found on various e-commerce platforms like Amazon.