Description

54 cards.
18 Sooty cards plus a Sooty Joker
18 Sweep cards plus a Joker
8 Oofle Dust cards
8 Magic Wand cards
I have no rules so someone should post them here.
This was Ariel's 3rd or 4th attempt at a game linked to Sooty. Quite a profitable procedure in the 1950's as Sooty was a huge favourite on television.

SOOTY’S MAGIC CARD GAME

The Pack
Here is a brand new card game for 2, 3 or 4 players which you will find easy to learn and which will give you hours of fun at parties and at home in the evenings. Mummy and Daddy will enjoy it too and, after you’ve played a few games and learnt some of Sooty’s special tricks with his Oofle Dust and Magic Wand, they’ll have a hard job to beat you at it.

There are 54 cards in the pack and they are made up like this –
18 Sooty cards
1 Sooty Joker
18 Sweep cards
1 Sweep Joker
8 Oofle Dust Cards
8 Magic Wand cards

As you can see, both the sets of Sooty and Sweep cards, which we call “Suits” as in other card games, have different numbers on them running from 1 to 5. In each of the two Suits there are six cards with the number “3” on them and three cards each with the numbers “1”, “2”, “4”, “5”.

The Object of the Game
Starting off with 8 cards in each player’s hand the winner will be the one who can first lay down the complete TWO sets (four cards in each set) with the numbers in each set adding up to the magic number 12. Each set must have four cards of the same suit, so you can finish with one set of Sooty cards and one set of Sweep cards or two sets of Sooty or two sets of Sweep. Most of you will be able to work out quickly how many different ways there are of making 4 cards add up to 12 but in case you want to see, here are the eight combinations which will work – 3333, 3342, 3351, 4422, 4431, 5511, 5421 and 5322.
The Oofle Dust cards are used to put on your opponent’s cards as they are laid down one by one, and the cards that have been “Oofled” cannot be counted towards a set until they have been “released”. This is done by placing a Magic Wand card on top of the Oofle Dust card. So you can see that “Oofling” other players cards and being “Oofled” yourself becomes an important part of the game.
The Sooty and Sweep Joker cards can, of course, be used for any number 1 to 5 when they are laid down.

The Rules of Play
1. Decide first of all on the dealer. He will shuffle the cards and then deal out to each player,
including himself, 8 cards. The remainder of the pack is then placed in the centre of the table
face downwards and the top card turned up and put at the side of the pack to start the “discard pile”.

2. The Dealer starts play, and he and each player in turn can do ANY ONE of the following
things but not more than one at each turn :-

a) Start his first set of 4 cards by laying down face upwards in front of him a Sooty or Sweep
card.

OR b) Oofle any other player by placing an Oofle Dust card face upwards on top of one of the
cards in another players unfinished set. This card should only half cover the suit card so
that everyone can see the number which has been blocked.

OR c) Release any card of his own which has been Oofled, by placing a Magic Wand card on
top of the Oofle Dust card (again half covering it). This releases his suit cards, and he can
then go on completing his set. Remember, though, that you cannot go on completing
your set so long as any one of the cards in it is still Oofled, and that you can only release
one card at a time.

OR e) Pick up the top card of the discard pile or the top card of the pack AND then discard one
from his own hand. This will go face upwards on the discard pile. You will usually do this if
you cannot do any of the other moves already mentioned, or if the top card of the discard
pile is one which you particularly want.

OR f) Pick up one card from one of his own unfinished sets. This should really happen only if
you find that you have by mistake put down three cards which already add up to 12 or
more, or if you can see that you cannot complete a set and therefore want to try a
different way.

3. If at your turn you do (a) (that is, lay down a card towards a set) or (d) (that is, exchange a
card for a Joker), or (f) (that is pick up a card from your unfinished set), you do NOT pick up
another card. But when you play an Oofle Dust or Magic Wand card you MUST also pick up a card from the pack or discard pile, after playing your cards.
If you remember this you will always have the right number of cards in your hand. These will
gradually go down from 8 to 1 and the winner will of course be the one who in completing his second set has no cards left in his hand.
At any stage of the game the number of cards you have in your hand together with the suit
cards (but not the Oofle Dust or Magic Wand cards) you have laid down will always add up to EIGHT.

4. You may build one set at a time or start booth sets at once but remember that only one card
can be laid down at each turn.

5. A suit card can be Oofled more than once, but the second Oofling can only be done after the
first Oofling has been cleared by a Magic Wand card. A player who has more than one card
Oofled in an unfinished set cannot go on with this particular set set until all the Oofled cards
have been released with Magic Wand cards. Once a set has been completed, NO card in it
can be Oofled of double-oofled.

A Few Hints on Play
When the game commences you will all probably start building your own sets on the table. But when you see other players with 2, or more important, 3 cards laid down towards a set, you must use your Oofle Dust cards quickly to block them and hold them up. All the way through the game your choice of action is between trying to win quickly yourself and blocking the other players from doing the same.
When the game has gone some way and there are a number of suit cards on the table try not to get into difficulties with your sets through shortage of particular suit cards. For example, if you have already started a Sooty with two “5”s, the last two cards in your set would have to be “1”. But, if you can already see on the table two Sooty “1” cards, that means that there is only one left. So unless you have, or can pick up a Joker, you would be wise to lift one of your “5”s (move (f)) and at your next turn lay down a card with a smaller number, thus giving you self a better chance to complete your set.