Hoot Owl Hoot from Peaceable Kingdom was one of my 5 year old's birthday gifts and I am totally in love. It's a cooperative board game so there is no fighting! It was the obvious choice for the game of the month.
I can't believe it took our family this long to discover the joys of cooperative games for family game night! I have been struggling lately with game time because New Kid always wants to play, but he gets super frustrated when he loses.   (Note: This post contains affiliate links)
You may recall that my boys do play Rivers, Roads and Rails cooperatively, but that is more free style play rather than a game, per se.  Hoot Owl Hoot!, however, really functions as a game.
Peaceable Kingdom is known for their cooperative games, but as I said above, Hoot Owl Hoot! is the first one we've played. Players work together to gather the baby owls together in a nest before the sun rises. At the bottom of this post is a video from the company showing game play.
Considerations for Playing Hoot Owl Hoot with Kids:
The official age recommendation for Hoot Owl Hoot! 
is 4 and up. I haven't played with anyone younger than 5, but I feel strongly that kids younger than 4 will be able to play this game with a grownup at the table.
Reading and math skills are not required. Kids match colors to move the owls forward.
Play-date friendly! No one wins, no one loses, friends working together. Peace and harmony for everyone! Am I getting a little carried away?
I am rubbing my hands together with glee! What cooperative board game will we acquire next? Do you have any recommendations?
In our game of the month series, these selections are great for preschoolers:
Animal Bingo
Pengoloo
Chickyboom
Johanna says
I love the idea of "No one wins, no one loses, friends working together." I was wondering if it's suitable for older kids (e.g.: 8 years and up) too? I would love to hear your (or others) thoughts on it. Thanks in advance!
Erica MomandKiddo says
My 9 year old does like to play with his brother, but I'm not sure it would be a big hit at playdates with older kids.
Johanna says
Thanks, Erica.
writersideup says
Oh, Erica, do I love this! I didn't even know they MAKE games that aren't competitive and all about WINNING! This is fantastic! 😀
maryl1 says
When I taught kindergarten and first grade I used to love Snail Pace Race. There are, I think, seven snails of different colors on the board, each with its own trail. A player rolls one cube to see which color snail he/she will move and another to decide how many spaces to move it. The first snail across the finish line wins, but since no player has their own snail (they move depending on the color rolled)no player actually wins.
Erica MomandKiddo says
That sounds like a great game, too.
Susan says
We love this game along with stone soup.
Johanna says
There is a Stone Soup GAME? I've got to check Peaceable Kingdom products....
Erica MomandKiddo says
I watched the Peaceable Kingdom video about Stone Soup and it looks fun, too.
Rachel says
We love Richard Scarry's Busytown game. It is also cooperative where the kids have to seach for items and move their pieces along the board to get to their picnic before the pigs eat all of the picnic food. My 3.5 year old and almost-6 year old love playing it together and we (almost) never hear fighting.
Erica MomandKiddo says
Oh, I totally forgot about that one! We've played that, too - but at friends' houses.
writersideup says
Girls, I can't tell you how happy I am over learning about Peaceable Kingdom! 😀 Thank you!
Erica MomandKiddo says
Me too!
Sarah Lehman says
We've been playing Hoot Hoot Owl for about a year with our daughter who is now 4-1/2, and we've really enjoyed it. We also like the cooperative games from Family Pasttimes, which is a Canadian company. The games aren't as well made or graphically appealing as Peaceable Kingdom (small flimsy cards) but they provoke a lot of discussion about strategy. Right now we've been enjoying "Max" which involves moving three small animals, a bird, a mouse and squirrel around the board before Max the cat eats them. There are four treats you can use to lure Max home with so their is discussion about which animal to move first and when to give treats. We got it for Christmas and have been playing it regularily. Next on our wish list is "The Secret Door" from Family Pasttimes.
Erica MomandKiddo says
Thanks for the recommendations, Sarah!
writersideup says
And yet ANOTHER great resource with Family Pasttimes! Thanks, Sarah 😀
Veens says
We got Buzz! By Peaceable Kingdom recently and have played it almost daily! In this game all the players need to work together to collect the nectar dots (different colors) and get to the bee hive before the Bear! It is a wonderful game, and our 3.8 year old really loves it! I hope you check this one out as well. AND I am adding this owl game to our wishlist 🙂
Sarah says
We got this game for my daughter's fourth birthday a few months ago too and LOVE it! My 2 1/2 year old can easily play with adult guidance. I have also found it an easy game to simplify (mainly by making it more of a candyland style game where you draw a card, and by decreasing the number of owls who need to make to the next) in order to let them play at the table independently while I am working in the kitchen. But when we play as family we always play by the original rules. I love cooperative games too!
Erica MomandKiddo says
It's good to hear that it is good for littler kids, Sarah. Thanks for chiming in. I think it's a great substitute for Candy Land, especially since the most recent Candy Land version is simply awful. Have you seen it? The characters look like Bratz dolls. Ugh!
Even in Australia says
I need a game recommendation for a girl who's turning 9 who is good at and likes games requiring spatial skills, like Blokus, Rush Hour, and Colorku (which she already owns). Any other ideas along those lines? Thanks!
Erica MomandKiddo says
What about Qwirkle? Although that's maybe not so spatial. We also have miQube, which can be pretty challenging.
Even in Australia says
Love Qwirkle, but have that too! I'll look into miQube, thanks!
Even in Australia says
Oh, and a confession - I am super-competitive about games. I can't stand cooperative games and when my kids want to vary the rules or not finish a game it drives me nuts. (The only exception I make is for Sorry, which I hate, and which we vary by allowing a player to "go out" on every turn, rather than waiting to draw a 1 or a 2, which makes an already interminable game even longer.)
Natalie says
Haha, I am with Even. I find coop games very boring but can see why they are appealing to kids who hate to lose. We have one coop game called The Sleepy Grump, and I am kind of relieved that daughter doesn't ask to play it any longer.