Feedback from People who have bought MooT

People who buy MooT - are the luckiest people (feedback)

I hope this goes up on your review/comment board. But if not, please take the kudos from grateful parents.

I purchased your game about three years ago for my daughter. She’s a real ‘smarty pants’, but really the whole family plays when we are together. Anyway all three of our children have been written up in Who’s Who? Or the National Dean’s List, and have been courted by the best Colleges and Universities across our Nation.

I know that Moot had a hand in it, whatever questions they got wrong; they had to look them up (we adults did too).

Most board games are banal without any real challenges. Moot is a wonderful game that challenges the intellect to the brink of what you thought you knew. We are earnestly awaiting Moot II.

Hi, I bought your game in the Vancouver Art Museum.

When my own kids were younger, we played it at the dinner table, and now I sometimes let my high school 11th grade English students play in class when they've been very good. I also may use it in my Latin classes.

I'm thinking of starting a Moot Club at my school. I particularly find the questions about word derivation useful.

Thanks! if you have any new questions or anything, please let me know.

Claudia DeSantis

I'm always a little leery of replying to a "list" name, for fear of embarrassing myself by misdirecting a personal reply to hundreds, if not thousands, of strangers who expect traffic only every few weeks.

But anyway, Mr. MootList, I heard of MooT when my daughter (a sophomore in linguistics at New York U) gave my wife and me a MooT game last Christmas. I can't say how she heard of the game, but she seems to have landed on several linguist mailing lists, so one of those is a fair bet.

It is all too easy, with Trivial Pursuit, to read through all the cards a few times and wind up memorizing many of the answers. Trivia can be like that. Given the all too limited number of MooT cards (only 1008? is that all?) we chose to ration ourselves to just a few hours at a whack.

We played the good guys (two or three of us) against the bad buys (mistakes). We would lap the bad guys on the board four or five times before bedtime, even when giving them double moves. Sometimes we disagree with the answers, but, as you say, our complaint would be with your references, not you. My kids used to make fun of me for reading the dictionary. My fledgling linguist daughter now joins me in mining Greek and Latin dictionaries for nuggets. Recently I wanted an -ism for "beating a dead horse". How about psophihippomastigonism? psophios - dead, as of animals hippo - you know mastigono - horsewhip The Greek, if lengthy and not exactly euphonic, is somehow cooler than something like mortequine flagellation. When not being a word nerd, I am gainfully employed in developing computer software for scientific research, most recently protein simulation for drug discovery. I'll try to think up a killer blurb.

But meanwhile, thank you for constructing a wonderful pastime, a way to test ourselves against the vagaries, nooks and crannies, and roots of our English language, even a way for know-it-alls to learn something every time. Richard Lederer and William Safire have nothing on you.

Warm regards, Rick [rlbryan-@%$pobox.com]

Hello Mr MooTGuy,

I received your game as a Christmas present and it is so cool!!! (My mom ordered it from you.)

I don't think it's too hard at all - I was playing it with my brother (age 14) and my sister (age 10) and they were getting a lot of the questions right.

It is definitely the best board game I have ever played. The way I heard about it was from a teacher at my school. We have an email network thingy and he posted an email about MooT, with a link > to the website.

Avril [akenney@@mm@!college-prep.org

Moot has been my favorite board game for a long time, and I am always trying to push it on people. I am a member of a very large community weblog called metafilter (www.metafilter.com), and I want to create a post recommending your game.... Hopefully, I can drive some business your way.

Thanks for doing this, Richard. There was quite a surge of activity on my website, with hundreds of people signing up for the mailing list. Note that word-of-mouth is the only way that people ever here about MooT.

Richard [richard.dub$#@#$gmail.com]

Thanks for sending MooT. We look forward to getting it as we are giving our copy to a friend. I learned about it in a game store in Vancouver last summer; they recommended it.

It is one of the, if not THE, best intellectually stimulating games I've ever played (there's a blurb for you to use!). This one is going on the side of the MooT box.

We looked for copies here in the States at a big game store in Berkeley. They had never heard of it, so we told them to find it and get it! This game should be in every game store worth the name. Evidently, it is one of those CIA fronted game stores (they're all over the Third world). Since receiving this email, I have been investigated by the US State Department, and they have banned me from traveling in the US unless I am accompanied by a neo-Conservative lexicographer.

You know, small ads in the professional association newsletters of several organizations, such as the Modern Language Association, could generate a LOT of orders I would think, esp. as word of mouth spreads about how great MooT is. thanks again for a brilliant game.

Greg McLauchlan [gmclauch@$%$OREGON.UOREGON.EDU

Thanks for the confirmation, I look forward to getting the games. One is to be used as a Christmas gift and the other is for ourselves.

We played MooT a few weeks ago at a friend's place, their names are Simon and Anne. Anne said she received the game as a gift a while back from her sister, who is from out west.

They have modified the rules slightly though, and I thought I mention how:

1) We played using a cribbage board. Simon said he preferred one longer game over many shorter games, since a run of bad answers can effectively ruin a team's chances of winning.

2) If you answer a question incorrectly you loose the points, but you cannot go negative.

3) You can also choose to 'pass' and not answer a question, not loosing anything. This means there are some pretty serious discussions late in the game about how sure on person is about their answer.

4) There is no formal "challenge" process for points, only gloating rights by being able to tell them how wrong they are and why without reading the answer first.

Our one game lasted about three hours or so, with lots of time spent checking references after the fact.

Not that we don't believe your answers, its just sometimes you need to know exactly why you were wrong. We had such an entertaining (and educational) time that we just had to buy one for ourselves.

I am very pleased to read that you haven't dumbed-it-down yet, since that would rob those that consider dictionaries to be appropriate bedtime reading from enjoying your game (my father owned his own personal copy of the Oxford Unabridged, that tells you the kind of household I grew up in).

Thanks for making such a great game and I wish you all the business success.

In the instructions, the first rule of MooT is: "If you don't like my rules, make up your own." I am please to see that people are doing that and making the game work for them. Thanks.

Eric and Heather [ericfeeley@$$%yahoo.com]

Hi! I haven't got around to ordering Moot, yet... got to get past the next paycheque... but until I do, let me tell you how I heard about you.

I met a freelance writer at a party put on by a local magazine (Boulevard -- Victoria, BC) and she told me that she had the greatest game in the world and that I would love it. I like her already.

Fast forward a few months... I finally got to play a round two weeks ago and the writer told me how sad she was that she didn't know how or where to buy herself another game or two to give to friends. My marketing strategy is working. One correspondent called it the "opposite of hard sell."

I'm a librarian who loves a challenge so I did a little surfing based on some of the information I found in the writer's older version of the game and found you. I passed the information on to the writer and decided to get a game for myself, too!

(swiles@$$uvic.ca)

Hi MooT Guy, Thanks for your prompt response.

I played the game at a friend's house and it is now a buzz in our tiny town. Scrabble has been the usual game but your game is very fun, challenging and interesting. I have ordered two games and intend to send the second game to my sister living in London UK. We are spreading the word!!

I asked him which little town he was from.

Smithers BC, is the name of our tiny little town nestled in the picturesque Bulkley Valley. If you look on a map and find Prince Rupert and Prince George we are right in the middle of the two, on Highway 16 to Alaska. Best Steelhead and Salmon fishing in the world!!

(m_kafer__hotmail.com)

I am a member of the Dictionary.com forum at Propero/Delphi. Someone posted a link to your site yesterday and mentioned that they had only gotten about four out of ten questions. Most of the members of the site are inveterate word-a-holics, so I'm sure you'll get a lot of hits and new members from the Dictionary.com participants.

The last time I did it I got 3 out of ten.

STEPHEN.ROVINSKY@##!Qjpmchase.com

My husband and I are ardent Moot enthusiasts, and have endeavored to hook many of our friends on your addictive product. See note on horse tranquilizers below. Needless to say, in our years of playing your engrossing diversion, we have devoured all 1,008 paralyzingly witty questions. According to the rules, you're supposed to read the questions out loud.

As Americans, we know that you Canadians can't get enough of our Yankee dollars. He has a point there. Assuming that 1,008 more questions were available to us, how many of the aforementioned Yankee dollars might we be asked to proffer in return? We eagerly await your response.

(meyl__earthlink.net)

We found the game up at my friends cabin on New Years eve this year and had a blast playing it. I'm a real word fan. This game made my mind work in wonderful ways. Experiments have shown that the MooT effect is similar to MDMA mixed with horse tranquilizers.

(dwallen__telus.net)

Dear Author of the Toughest Word Game,

All the questions are rather interesting and extremely useful, and now as I got the game at last I can't but admire the simplicity and complexity of the design and the idea of the game.

I use Moot in my classes with 3rd year students. They showed genuine interest and it was decided that we would try questions every time we have classes. I personally get to know a lot and I may suggest another idea for you to probably be used: why not organize the questions on the cards of some particular color: like, etymology questions- say, pink, country studies ones - green, grammar - blue and so on. I think in that case there will be more rules how to play the game... Thanks again for the game and enlarging the scope.

Elena from Moscow (elenik__orc.ru)

I am English and played moot with a Canadian family when I visited for thanksgiving.

I was astonished and delighted to find that such a thought provoking game existed. I do not fully subscribe to your website's views about its prospects for distributing it to a wider audience. I would agree that it is unlikely to meet true mass appeal without dumbing it down a lot but in its present form it could still reach a greatly enlarged audience. I would be happy to discuss this further if you have interest. In the meantime, I would like to buy 3 sets and enjoy playing again - it is altogether too much hard work doing it the homespun way with an etymological dictionary.

Jeremy Oades (oadesj__hotmail.com)

thank you for hours of fun. I've been playing MooT with my children and friends for years now. When we (BCIT faculty) were on strike about 3 years back I took handfuls of cards to the picket line and a few more fans were born. My son is teaching English in Taipei and a year ago I tried to find a game to send to him, but the bookstore I had bought mine in (a small independent on Granville St.), Chapters, and other stores I phoned told me it had disappeared.

My son arrived on holiday from Taipei last week, and desperate to keep my own copy, I searched again, this time online - and there was the website. Because there is nothing on the site to indicate who was providing the service, I was not ready to commit my Visa, but the Google search also included an interview with you, and several locations were listed at the end of that, including Hager's Books in Kerrisdale.

I phoned Saturday, they had two in stock, I bought them both; these two are travelling back to Taipei with my son. I've asked Hager to phone me when they get a third, so I can give it to my daughter in Calgary - another fan. Again, thank you for such a fun game. I'm glad to find the rumours of the game's disappearance, and yours, "greatly exaggerated".

Valda-Jean (VJ) Johnston (valdajean__shaw.ca)

I ordered 2 Moots .... How did I find out about it? I am a teacher and I was in a workshop last week.

We began talking about word games and one of the presenters said, " You have to get Moot! I bought one for each of my kids for Christmas and they have had a blast with them!" She gave us the web address and the rest is......... history. I ordered 2. One to have at home and one for my classroom. I tried the sample questions on your website. FUN and a great learning tool, too.

Lea S. Jones (Skj9920__aol.com)

we heard about 'MooT' while visiting our local indie bookstore "the Reading Well" and encountering an acquaintance who had recently purchased a set and was very keen on it, ( I had played scrabble against her at previous local literacy tournaments).

Maxwell Newby (woodlands__pei.sympatico.ca)

Actually, I've been on the mailing list before, and I am switching addresses. I don't remember how I originally found out about the game. It was online somehow, and I hinted around at my birthday that if someone didn't get it for me I was just going to have to buy it myself.

I would like to kiss whoever it was that made this game. !!!Not only that, but I would love to extensively pick their brains. See, I'm a huge nerd, and nearly every one of these questions gives me the giggles. One of my favorites is "Are dead disco dancers defunct?" I actually have that one on my wall. Thank you, and feel free to ask me any other questions you would like to. :)

Marlea (Marlea__mchsi.com)

As a returning student to university, this time in Philosophy (I am a Political Science graduate, I find language, the various aspects and usage of it very interesting. I intend to specialize in either the pre-socratics or Locke (your local language philosophical hero) AND Artificial Intelligence from both a Philosophical and peripherally technical perspective (I have several, now semi-antiquated diplomas, in computer programming). Again the use of language in information transfer activities becomes fascinating.

THANK YOU for making such a fun tool available to everyone!

Christina Varga (vargacm__myway.com)

I heard you speaking on the CBC some years ago about your game and was quite intrigued and kept your web site in my favourites but never did anything about it. This summer I met with a friend of mine from Ontario who has Moot and told me it was a great game so am finally getting my act in gear.

Anthea Piets (apiets__shaw.ca)

Years and years ago my sister (who had been living in Halifax, NS, at the time) brought it home (Grand Falls, NB) for Christmas. We played in mixed teams (adults and kids) for hours! I remembered the adults answering the hard questions and us kids getting the easier ones (Yogi Bear and serge de Nèr)mes come to mind). Anyway, my sister brought it back to Halifax with her but during her move to Newfoundland a few months later it got lost. And we mostly forgot about it. So, last year I started hanging out with linguists (I was dating one at the time) and the topic of games came up so I told them about this game my family played. But I couldn't remember the name. It finally came to me just a few weeks ago. So I hunted it down on the Net. And voila!

Medgar Marceau (mmarceau9__yahoo.com)

Thank you for making our Christmas such an enjoyable and educational one. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with all this expansion of my vocabulary and deeper understanding of the nuances of English - but I'm sure it will come in handy some day ;-) However, we are coming near the end of the first 1008 questions and wonder if you have plans for a further set. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Barbara McGavin (bjmcgavin__focusing.uk.com)

I don't recall how I heard about it. However, I bought the game back in 1990 and, according to a note sent with it, I was the first American to buy one. To be precise: you first the first to actually pay for it. Five MooT game were stolen in New York at a street fair earlier that year.

My daughter is now in grad school and she enjoys the game so much, I thought I'd buy her a copy of her own. With only a little Googling, I found your site and ordered her a copy.

I'm glad you're still making this wonderful game. It has brought us many hours of enjoyable conversation.

(tom__scrubjay.org)

My wife and I bought MooT at a Vancouver bookstore in August 1996 on our way to teach English in China. I suspect ours is one of the most traveled sets, as it became an indispensable teaching tool in Taiwan and Australia, as well as a fixture in our backpacks through Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Now back in Saskatoon A Canadian prairie-town with a river and an artificial ski hill. Huge tourist trap., I was elated to come across the website yesterday. I look forward to an occasional stumper from you.

(leesmith___hotmail.com)

When my mother-in-law died we found it [Moot] amongst her stuff. We took it with us on a sailing trip to Desolation Sound last year. We pulled it out the first night and it was an instant hit. We played it every night of the trip and have been playing it with the same group regularly since. We have decided to send it to like minded friends for Christmas.

(fowlerr__direct.ca)

I bought Moot at our local "Game Trek" store in Toronto for my husband for Christmas. We are *huge* language and math puzzle people and a lot of the games out there are just too easy for us ;). This one keeps us on our toes! We have nearly gone through all the questions, and we're hoping that you'll find the time/energy to come up with more! MooT II is scheduled for release sometime before 2009, maybe.

(sarah.rainsberger__mostly-math.com)

By the way, I love your game, I've bought at least 6 and am responsible for spreading it to countless others since discovering it in 2000. You should give me a free box of questions. Just kidding. He didn't get a free game, but I did reply to his email.

(dwong__brunico.com)

I bought my copy of Moot at a book shop in Vancouver while working there in 1999. I returned home to Australia in 2000 and have been playing it with friends and family ever since. It's a fabulous game - probably the best we've played. I only had to buy Alan one case of beer to get him to say this. Australians are nice people.We never get tired of it. I hope that you're making a decent return from it, as I would imagine it's not the easiest product to market.

(alan__merchantwise.com.au)

I bought the game last summer in preparation for the linguistics class I teach each spring [Penn State Harrisburg]. My class (due to the required subject matter) can sometimes be boring and difficult: I have to teach traditional grammar (parts of speech, this is a noun, that is a verb, etc.) as well as history of the English language and an intro to linguistics (semantics, morphology, phonology, syntax and language variation). Boring? Sounds like heaven to me.

The class is designed for future English teachers, and the curriculum is set by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Education. I used your game to liven up class for a few minutes (5-15) once a week or so. The class met for 75 minutes twice a week. Thanks for making the game. The students learned from it and had fun with it.

Cheri Ross (clr5__psu.edu)

I stumbled across your website (I have no idea how) a couple of years ago and kept talking about it, so one of my friends bought the game for my birthday.

Now, it's my dad's birthday and I couldn't think of anything better for the man who has everything (and who loves to correct my grammar). It really is a great game.

(kstadum__hotmail.com)

My father-in-law had a MooT game. I say "had" because it's been in our possession for well over a year - we have slightly better luck in finding folks to play it with us. But I'll eventually get around to buying on either for myself, so he can have his back, or for him, since we've had his for so long.

MooT is certainly our favorite board game. "Scrabble" is alright, but my wife always routs me when we play. In MooT, however, I can hold my own. And if, on a given turn, I can't hold my own, then I learn something. So it's a win-win situation all the way around! It's a great game. Thanks again!

Joshua [joshuaruthbarron_$__hotmail.com]

I met someone recently who said "I know a game that you'd love. I need to loan it to you." She was right.

Actually, I just put in an order (via PayPal) and the first set that I'm buying is a gift for someone else! I think I'll eventually need my own.

Best to you, and many thanks for this splendid creation!

(jblatter__gmail.com)

My wife's sister came into town from Canmore, Alberta and we took her straight from the airport to a pub where she was meeing some of her friends that she used to tree-plant with.

Her friend was raving about this game he was finally able to track down and he happened to have it in his bag. So he pulled it out and we were passing the questions around and having a blast trying to figure them out (I'm sure the beers helped).

We had a few English degrees there (I'm just a lowly biologist...) so we were getting quite a few right. It's a great idea for a game and I decided to get one for myself and one for my brother and his wife who are both high school English teachers.

I've noticed over the years that tree-planters make good MooT players. Correlation? Cause-effect? I have no idea.

Dennis Jacques [meesers!#@()hotmail com]