Flotter Otter Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Materials
• Set-up of the Game
• The Game
  • 1. Inspect the waybill
  • 2. Stack up boxes
  • 3. Snatch a grab card
  • 4. Award waybills (otter points)
  • 5. Obtain double otter points for the magnifier feature
  • 6. Deduct a point for wrong snatching
  • 7. Prepare the next round
• End of the Game

Game Materials

• 60 waybills
• 3 grab cards
• 20 stackable boxes in 5 colors

Set-up of the Game

Mix the waybills and form a face-down pile. Each player gets one waybill and puts it face down in front of him.

• Every waybill that you have placed face down in front of you is worth two otter points. So everybody starts the game with two otter points.
• Waybills that you place face up in front of you during the game are worth one otter point.

Put one less grab card in the middle of the table than there are players. Use the lowest card values.

Example: In the three-player game, grab cards #1 and #2 are lying in the middle of the table.

Give each player one box of each color.

The Game

All players play simultaneously. In every game round, one waybill is revealed. As soon as you recognize the distinguishing features on the card, stack up your boxes accordingly. Then snatch one grab card. If you do this right and quickly, you are a FLOTTER OTTER (brisk otter) and are rewarded with waybills (which show otter points). The best and fastest player will receive many waybills and the most otter points – and will win!

1. Inspect the waybill

Reveal the waybill on the top of the pile!

The five items on it differ in colors and in two features.

Example: The bicycles shown on the waybill differ in these two features: the height of their seats and the width of their tires.

! The color of each item corresponds to the color of one box !

Example: The order of the colored bicycles from the lowest to the highest seat is: green – orange – pink – yellow – blue. The order from the thinnest to the widest tire is: pink – blue – green – yellow – orange.

The differences of each feature have a visible logical order, e.g., from the thinnest to the widest bicycle tire.

2. Stack up boxes

Now stack up your own boxes as quickly as possible in the right order of the one or the other feature.

It doesn't matter whether you stack in ascending or descending order.

3. Snatch a grab card

As soon as you have stacked up your boxes, you snatch the lowest grab card that is (still) available in the middle of the table. Place it in front of you.

After that, you may no longer:

• make any changes to your stack of boxes.
• snatch any other grab card.

4. Award waybills (otter points)

Once all cards have been taken, the FLOTTER OTTER (or FLOTTE OTTERS) of this round is awarded:

The FLOTTER OTTER is the player who has stacked up his boxes in the correct order, provided he has snatched a lower grab card than any other player who has stacked up his boxes in the same order (i.e., referring to the same feature).

! So there can be two FLOTTE OTTERS each round – one for each feature !

The FLOTTER OTTER wins the waybill that has just been played. If there is a second FLOTTER OTTER, this player receives a waybill from the face-down pile.

It is irrelevant which of the two FLOTTE OTTERS receives which of the two waybills.

Important: Place the waybills you got in front of you in the manner described in section 5.

Example: Ottmar and Ottilie have stacked up their boxes in the correct order of colors according to the seat height. Ottilie has snatched the lower grab card (#1); consequently, she is a FLOTTER OTTER. Ottmar goes away empty-handed. Ottokar (#3) becomes another FLOTTER OTTER since he has the lowest grab card of those players who have stacked up their boxes according to the tire width. Otto didn't get any grab card and thus goes away empty-handed, the same as Ottmar.

5. Obtain double otter points for the magnifier feature

The frame color of the magnifying glass shows you which of the two features is the magnifier feature. The magnifier feature gives you double otter points!

If you stack up the boxes according to the magnifier feature, the magnifier color will be at the very end of the box stack.

Example: The tire width is the magnifier feature of this card:

A) If the boxes are correctly stacked up according to the tire width, the box in the magnifier color (orange) is at the end (because the orange bicycle has the widest tires).

B) But if the boxes are stacked up according to the seat height, the orange box is not at an end but inside the box stack.

If you become the FLOTTER OTTER of the magnifier feature, you place the waybill you get for that in front of you with the back facing up. The two little otter heads depicted there indicate that this waybill will give you not only one, but 2 otter points at the end of the game.

If you become the FLOTTER OTTER of the other feature, place the waybill you get for that in front of you with the front facing up. The little otter head depicted there indicates that this waybill will give you 1 otter point at the end of the game.

6. Deduct a point for wrong snatching

If you have stacked up your boxes in an incomplete or false order but nevertheless snatch a grab card, you lose 1 otter point by:

• giving up one of the waybills (i.e., put back in the box) that you had placed face up in front of you, OR
• turning over one of the waybills placed face down in front of you, so that it is now facing up.

If you don't have any waybill (any more), you won't lose an otter point.

Example: Ottmar is the only player who has correctly stacked up his boxes according to the seat height. He has snatched grab card #2 and thus is the FLOTTER OTTER of this feature. The seat height is not the magnifier feature (see the example in section 5). Therefore, Ottmar places the waybill he has gotten face up in front of him; this is worth 1 otter point.

Ottilie and Otto have made stacking mistakes. The order of their boxes does not match either the seat height or the tire width. Since Ottilie has nevertheless snatched a grab card (#1), she loses 1 otter point.

Ottokar becomes the FLOTTER OTTER for the magnifier feature (tire width) since he is the only player who has correctly stacked up his boxes according to the tire width (and snatched grab card #3). He places the waybill he gets for that face down in front of him; this is worth 2 otter points.

7. Prepare the next round

Take your box stacks apart and reveal the next waybill.

End of the Game

Once (at least) one player has 5 waybills in front of him, the game ends.

Add up your otter points:

• Every waybill in front of you with the back facing up is worth 2 otter points.
• Every waybill in front of you with the front facing up is worth 1 otter point.

If you have the most otter points, you'll be the most brisk of all brisk otters and win the game! In case of a tie, the player who has earned his otter points with the fewest waybills wins. If there is still a tie, there are several winners who are all equally brisk.

Tip: Write down your results and play 3 games in order to determine who will eventually earn the most otter points overall.