Cahootie
It's Cootie Catcher 2.0!
About Cahootie
Cahootie is a durable, thick, colorful, animated version of
that hand-made classic called a Cootie Catcher. It comes with 40 restickable
stickers. Each sticker has a different "would your rather?" question
on it. When I used to play Cootie Catcher, we'd write colors on the outside,
numbers on the inside, and a fortune under the flap. Cahootie has different
situations on the outside and inside, like "One Eyed" and "Green
Skin."
The stickers with the "would you rather?" questions go under
the flap. Game play is pretty much the same. You ask someone to pick
one of the options, you do the little move, and eventually you get to
the inside and reveal... a question that helps you get to know your friend
better.
Things To Be Skeptical About
Do I really need to say all this? The cootie catcher is that
old iconic nothing-better-to-do past time where half the fun is just
successfully folding the thing in the first place. Adding the fortunes
is the other half of the fun, because you get to put a big variety of
personalized stuff just to fit you and your BFF's unique sense of humor.
With Cahootie, even though there are many different styles to collect
(e.g. Best Friends, Family), it's the same thing over and over again.
It's not even like the stickers give a lot of variety because let's be
honest: I read them all at once while they were still on the sticker
sheet. Plus, the price tag is a whopping bajillion percent more expensive
than the free thing you can make on any old napkin and recycle. Sure,
the Cahootie is supposed to "unplug" a kid and get him/her
off the computer for some old-fashioned fun, but isn't it kind of hypocritical
to mass-produce old-fashioned fun?
Why Cahootie Is Great
Cahootie does actually seem to be of good, durable quality.
I am confident that if I sat on it, the Cahootie would still work (although
I didn't try it). The graphics are actually really nice artwork and fun
to look at. Plus, Cahootie kind of takes the Cootie Catcher somewhere
I had never thought to go before. Namely, Cahootie is all about starting
conversations, thinking, and making choices. My cootie catcher was more
of a passive-aggressive game where you picked boring, unassuming colors
and numbers only to feel the crushing defeat of always getting a horrible,
twisted fortune ("You'll be really happy forever and everyone will
love you" just isn't as funny as "you will marry Barney the
big purple dinosaur and sing songs about love on the playground for the
rest of your life").
With Cahootie, you maybe don't get sick of it after the first time because suddenly you're debating. You're talking about the pros and cons of candy stores vs. toy stores, and next thing you know, you've stopped driving your mama crazy asking her, "Are we there yet?" every 2 minutes.
Although traditional cootie catcher creativity may be stunted (no more hilarous fortunes), that doesn't mean you can't think of new ways to be creative. I had a lot of fun imagining gruesome situations involving slimy toads and unicorn horns and making my victim choose between them ("Which one would you rather leave in the foot of your brother's bed?" or "Which one would you rather lick?"). To suggest that Cahootie takes all the creativity out of the game is just really negative thinking. Have a little heart!
Overall
Well, I got Cahootie for free from the manufacturer, but I had a lot
of fun with it. It made me feel creative and really did spark conversations
with my friends and family. We found out that many of us are very alike
in what we would rather do, and now we're not sure why we're friends
with the other one (seriously, she'd choose a candy store over a toy
store?). If I had to pay the big bucks, I'm not sure I would. There's
absolutely no appeal to the "collector's display case." It's
a toy that's meant to be used and abused, not dusted and stuck on a
high shelf. I might just take the fun ideas of Cahootie and make it
myself. But I probably would never think to make it myself, and Cahootie
is a great game to stash in a place where you usually have to wait
for a slowpoke (the car, by the front door, outside the bathroom door).
Bottom Line
Sure, it's expensive, but it's not going to put you under. It's a fun
little toy that won't kill your childish wonder, so don't worry about
that. You could make it yourself, but you don't have to. If you want
it, get it without feeling guilty. If you don't, it's OK. It's easy
enough for you to recreate almost anywhere if you want to put in the
energy
For more information about Cahootie, visit the following sites:
SmartGirl Comments:
by bighead,
age 9.
I Love It.
by jamie,
age 10.
I can make them, but then I just unfold them and color it.
by ash,
age 10.
OMG this is so awesome love it.
