Paper fortune teller maker
Fold a cootie catcher with four colours and eight fortunes you write yourself. Each copy uses a different order.
2–8 players5–20 minAges 6+East AsiaEuropeLatin America
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A folding paper toy that children have played for generations. Write four colours or words on the outside and eight fortunes inside. Paperoom prints each copy with the fortunes in a different seeded order, so every player's teller is different.
How to play
- Ask a friend to pick one of the four colours on the outside.
- Spell the colour, opening and closing the teller once for each letter.
- Ask for a number from the ones showing, and open and close the teller that many times.
- Ask for one more number, lift that flap and read the fortune underneath.
- Read the fortune aloud, then start again with a new colour or number.
Tips
- Standard printer paper folds cleanly. Thicker card lasts longer if you play often.
- Keep the fortunes kind and harmless, so every reading makes someone smile.
- Use questions or spelling words instead of fortunes to turn the teller into a revision quiz.
- Decorate the outside flaps before folding, but keep the colours and numbers easy to read.
Where it comes from
The paper fortune teller is a folded paper toy played by children around the world. It is called a cootie catcher or chatterbox in English, comecocos in Spain, cocotte en papier in France, and 东南西北 ("east, south, west, north") in China, where the outer flaps often show the four directions. Its origins are uncertain; it belongs to the long tradition of paper folding.
Played in: East Asia · Europe · Latin America
Questions
How many copies do I get?
Choose one to six. Each copy is one printed page. The first copy keeps your fortunes in the order you typed them, and later copies use shuffled orders that stay the same for the same seed.
Do I need glue?
No. The steps on the instruction page only use cutting and folding.
Can I write my own fortunes?
Yes. Type exactly eight lines in the fortunes box, each up to 60 characters.
Why are there exactly four colours?
The teller has four colour flaps, so the colours box needs exactly four lines, each up to 18 characters.
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