Have you ever tried to say a word but replaced all the consonants with one letter? It can be really hard to understand! That is the main idea behind the board game called Teto. It is a game about guessing words, but with a funny twist that makes it tricky. The game was designed by Jorge J. Barroso and Eugeni Castaño. It is published by 2 Tomatoes.

This game is meant for a group of people. You need between four and ten players to play it. It is good for kids and adults, starting at age eight and up. A single game usually takes about 20 to 30 minutes to finish. I played a copy of the game that the publisher sent to me for review.

The name “Teto” might sound a bit strange. It sounds like other words, such as “hero,” “hello,” “memo,” or “zero.” But in this game, you have to do something with your hands and feet. You have to act things out to help your friends understand you. If you just say the word, no one will know what you are talking about!

Teto is a competition between two teams. You have to work together with your teammates. The goal is to figure out all the words on your cards before the other team does. You cannot waste any time. You have to listen carefully, open your eyes wide, and get ready to laugh.

How to Play Teto

To start the game, you need to split everyone into two teams. The players should sit in an alternating pattern around the table. This means players from Team A and Team B sit next to each other. If you have trouble remembering who is on which team, you can use small tokens to show your team membership.

Each player gets one card to start. You look at the word side of your card secretly. You do not show it to anyone else. The rest of the cards are placed in the middle of the table. These cards are placed so that the letter sides are facing up. You will use these letters during the game.

A random player from one of the teams takes the very first turn. It does not matter who goes first. Once the first player is chosen, the turn begins.

Here are the steps for taking a turn in Teto:

• First, you start the 30-second timer. You have to work fast.
• Second, you look at the deck in the middle. You discard the top card until you find a new consonant. You do not need to do this step on the very first turn of the game.
• Third, the player whose turn it is reads the top word from their secret card. However, you must replace all the consonants in that word with the letter shown on the top card of the deck. If you make a mistake while reading the word, you are disqualified for that round, and the turn ends.

After you read the word with the wrong consonants, you can try to give clues. You can read the word again while using your body to act it out. Your team has to guess the secret word based on your acting. If your team guesses the word correctly, you can move on to the next word on your card. You will replace the consonants in the new word with the same letter from the deck.

If your team guesses all the words on your card, you are done. You do not have to give clues anymore. You can sit back and watch the others.

At the end of the 30-second timer, the turn is over. Play passes to the player sitting on the left. The process starts all over again with the new player.

The game ends when one team manages to guess all the secret words on all of their cards. The other team gets one last chance to tie the game. They get one turn to try to catch up, but only if they did not take the very first turn of the game.

My Thoughts on the Game

This is the kind of fun party game that works best when everyone is relaxed. It might even work better if everyone has had a drink or two! It is surprisingly difficult to replace all the consonants in some words and make them sound right. You just have to do your best and hope your team understands.

Acting out the words is highly encouraged. In fact, the acting is often what helps the team guess the right word. Sometimes your mangled pronunciation sounds like nonsense, but a good hand gesture saves the day.

In the end, this is a game where winning and losing are not the most important things. It is more about doing silly things and laughing with your friends. That is why I think it is best for a late-night party. Everyone is relaxed and willing to look a little foolish.

If I played this at my regular game night with serious gamers, it might not go over well. But at a bar on a Saturday night, this could be the perfect game. It helps if everyone is already in a good mood.

If you play this with the right group of people and the right attitude, you will have a wonderful time. Good luck!