Setup
1. Place all cards (character cards, story cards, special cards, and animal cards) into the shared bag.\n2. Put the bag in the center of the table so all players can reach it.\n3. Determine the youngest player — they will take the first turn.
2006
BGG rank #20578
Tous au dodo
2–4 players
15 min
Ages 3+
1.0/5 complexity
5.5/10 rating
About this game
A little tactile and imaginative game to play with children just before bedtime. Each player embodies a small animal which must find its pajamas (two parts), its toothbrush and its slippers by drawing tiles from a bag. Once one player has everything to go to bed, the players will invent together a bedtime story enlivened with kisses, wry faces and animal cries.
What it feels like
Storytelling
Animals
Children's Game
Game intelligence
Learn the game
Turn flow
Play proceeds clockwise starting with the youngest player. On your turn, reach into the bag (without looking — touch only) and draw one card. Evaluate what you drew:\n- If it is a character card you still need, place it in front of you. Your turn ends.\n- If it is a character card you already own, either trade it with another player who can use it, or return it to the bag and skip your turn.\n- If it is a story card (no matching character element), place it face-up in the center of the table in the order drawn.\n- If it is a SMACK special card, kiss all other players, add it to the story cards in order, then draw again immediately.\n- If it is a CLOWN special card, make a funny face, then add it to the story cards in order. Turn ends.\n- If it is an ANIMAL card, mimic the animal's sound, then add it to the story cards in order. Turn ends.\nPlay passes to the next player after each turn resolves.
Scoring and victory
The first player to collect all 5 character cards (stuffed toy, pyjama top, pyjama bottom, toothbrush, slippers) wins the race and earns the right to start the collaborative storytelling phase. There is no point scoring — it is a race to completion. Target score: 5 character cards Scoring sources: Collecting all 5 required character cards before any other player
Source: Rulebook
Rules to know
The most useful rules for getting a first game right.
Setup
All cards are placed in the shared bag at the start of the game.
Before play begins, every card in the game — character cards, story cards, special cards (SMACK, CLOWN), and animal cards (cat, chicken, dog) — is placed into the bag, which is positioned at the center of the table within reach of all players.
Setup
The youngest player takes the first turn.
At the start of the game, identify the youngest player at the table. That player takes the very first turn. Play then proceeds clockwise.
Turn structure
On your turn, reach into the bag without looking and draw one card by touch.
Each player, on their turn, must insert their hand into the bag without looking inside. Players may only use their sense of touch to identify and select a card. Once a card is drawn, it is revealed and the appropriate rule applied.
Card play
If you draw a character card you still need, place it in front of you.
Each player is assembling a set of 5 character cards: stuffed toy (doudou), pyjama top, pyjama bottom, toothbrush, and slippers. If the card drawn from the bag matches one of the 5 items you have not yet collected, place it face-up in front of you on the table. Your turn then ends and play passes to the next player.
Card play
If you already have a character card you drew, you may trade it with another player who needs it.
If you draw a character card that you already have in front of you, you have two options: 1. Trade: Hand the card to another player, provided that player can use it to complete their own character (i.e., they do not yet have that card). The receiving player places it in front of them. 2. Return & skip: Put the card back in the bag and forfeit the rest of your turn.
Restriction
Slippers come in pairs by shape; you only need to find one slipper of your character's shape.
There is a pair of slippers for each character shape. Players only need to find one slipper card (of any matching form) to count slippers as collected. Once one slipper is obtained, the slipper requirement is fulfilled.
Restriction
There is no required order in which you must collect your 5 character cards.
Players may collect the five bedtime items (stuffed toy, pyjama top, pyjama bottom, toothbrush, slippers) in any order. There is no prescribed sequence.
Card play
Cards that do not match any character item are story cards and are placed face-up in the center in drawn order.
If a drawn card does not correspond to any of the five character items (i.e., it is a story/scene card), the player places it face-up in the center of the table. All story cards must be laid out next to each other in the exact order they were drawn. This face-up row of ordered story cards will be used at the end of the game to tell the little story.
Strategy briefing
Tactile identification
Because cards must be identified by touch alone (rule: turn_draw_blind), experienced players learn to distinguish card shapes quickly, giving them a speed advantage in drawing the correct character cards.
Strategic trading
When you draw a duplicate, trading it to a player who needs it is usually better than returning it to the bag — it preserves goodwill and keeps the game moving, but be aware that helping another player could bring them closer to winning (rule: character_card_duplicate_trade).
Exploiting the SMACK card
The SMACK card (rule: special_smack) is the only card granting an immediate extra draw. Since it returns to the story row rather than the bag, players only benefit from it once per copy drawn — but the bonus draw can be decisive late in the game when you need just one more card.
Slipper efficiency
Because only one slipper of any matching form is needed (rule: slipper_rule), slippers are twice as easy to find as other items (two valid cards exist in the bag). Prioritizing the feel of slipper-shaped cards early can give you a quick first collection.
Story card awareness
Story cards, animal cards, CLOWN, and SMACK all end up in the story row and never go back in the bag. As more non-character cards leave the bag over the course of the game, the probability of drawing a needed character card on any given turn increases — so persistence pays off in the late game.
Common questions and edge cases
A player draws SMACK, kisses everyone, and adds it to the story cards. They draw again — and get a character card they already have. What happens?
The SMACK card grants an immediate re-draw. The re-drawn card is then evaluated normally. If it is a duplicate character card, the player must either trade it with a player who can use it, or return it to the bag and skip the remainder of their turn. The extra draw from SMACK is consumed regardless.
A player draws SMACK and on their bonus draw, draws another SMACK card. Do they get yet another bonus draw?
Yes. Each SMACK card triggers its own effect independently. The player must kiss everyone again, add the second SMACK to the story row, and draw once more.
A player wants to trade a duplicate character card, but no other player needs that item. Can they still trade?
No. A trade is only permitted if the receiving player can actually use the card to complete their own character (i.e., they do not already have that item). If no player qualifies, the only option is to return the card to the bag and skip the turn.
A player draws a slipper card but already has one slipper in front of them. Is this treated as a duplicate?
Yes. Since only one slipper is needed to fulfil the slipper requirement, a second slipper card is treated as a duplicate. The player must either trade it to a player who still needs a slipper, or return it to the bag and skip their turn.
An animal card is drawn mid-game. Does it go into the story card row?
Yes. After the player imitates the animal's sound, the animal card is placed in the face-up story row in the center of the table, in the exact order it was drawn, just like any other non-character card.
A player collects their 5th character card. Do they still finish the current round, or does the game end immediately?
The game ends immediately when any player places their 5th character card in front of them. That player begins the storytelling phase right away, without waiting for other players to take additional turns.
