The board

All fifty-two, with what each one is about.

Every story is complete on its own and nothing carries over, so this is a menu rather than a running order. Fifty-two games, fifty-two brass tappers, and the four you can read here now are marked.

#	Game	What it is	Where · cell	Book
1	Cold PipeOne cold pipe and one wooden spoon. free to read	You bang on the cold pipe twice, and you win when it bangs back.	Number Three F26 × R1	Book one
2	Eleventh StairSqueak, and you're back at the bottom stair. Hod wins	You have to get all the way up to Number Three, and if the eleventh stair squeaks you go back to the bottom and start again.	The Stairs F01 × R5	Book one
3	Nine SecondsSay the whole name before the door.	You say the whole name of your game out loud, and you win if you get the last word out before the Up-Down doors open.	The Up-Down F09 × R2	Book one
4	Six FlightsStamp it going up. Catch it coming down.	You stamp a word out with your feet going up the stairs, and you win if you can make the stairs say the very same word coming down.	The Stairs F02 × R4	Book one
5	Four FloorsFour floors up is right next door.	You shut yourself in the linen cupboard, and you win if you can hear your own word come down off the roof.	The Green Door F17 × R4	Book one
6	Six NotesSix notes forward, six notes back. Hod wins	The Up-Down sings its six notes one way, and you win if you can sing all six of them the other way round.	The Up-Down F10 × R3	Book one
7	Loudest LidNothing is louder than the bin lid. Hod wins	You have to make the bin lid answer, and it only counts if somebody all the way up on the roof hears it.	The Back Steps F24 × R1	Book one
8	Small DoorKnock on the wall. Listen at the door. lost	You knock on the wall where the door is not, and you win if the small door answers instead.	The Under F23 × R3	Book one
9	One GrateSoft on the stone, and loud on the grate. quiet	The rain sounds one way on everything in the Middle and another way on one thing, and you win when you find the one thing.	The Middle F07 × R8	Book one
10	One ClangCall it first, and the lid says clang. Hod wins	You call out the noise first, and you only win if the bin lid says the noise you called.	The Back Steps F24 × R4	Book one
11	Pipe RadioThe radio comes up. Now make it stop. lost	The pipe brings you somebody else's radio, and you win if you can send something back down it and make the radio stop.	Number Three F27 × R3	Book one
12	Last KnockSend it up the pipe. Last knock wins. Hod wins	You knock your whole message up the pipe, and you win if the last knock lands before the Up-Down gets to the bottom.	Number Three F26 × R2	Book one
13	Loose BannisterOne hand leans, and the bannister knocks.	Only one hand may lean on the loose bannister at a time, and you win by getting your knock in on its own — two knocks belong to nobody.	The Stairs F04 × R6	Book one
14	Half A DoorYou take the push, I take the lift. free to read	One of us does the push and one of us does the lift, and nobody gets to do both halves.	The Hall F13 × R6	Book two
15	Bang Going UpEverybody bangs it down. We bang it up.	Everybody in the world bangs the bin lid shut, so we are going to bang it open instead.	The Back Steps F24 × R3	Book two
16	Twelve ThumpsTwelve flaps in a row. Twelve thumps.	Push all twelve letterbox flaps in one run down the Hall and get twelve thumps out of them.	The Hall F12 × R8	Book two
17	Over My BedPut your foot where I put my hand. lost	I put my hand flat on the ceiling, and Hod has to stamp on exactly that spot until it knocks back.	Number Three F28 × R1	Book two
18	One PullOne pull. Then call it wet or dry. quiet	Give the line one pull, call it wet or dry, then go up and see if you were right.	The Drying Roof F19 × R7	Book two
19	Two GulpsTap off up there, two gulps down here.	Shut yourself in the linen cupboard, get somebody to turn a tap off, and the roof will say gulp, gulp.	The Green Door F17 × R1	Book two
20	Every WindowCall up to the windows. No time left. lost	Stand in the Middle and call up until a window answers you, and you only get until the windows shut.	The Middle F08 × R2	Book two
21	Both Hands FullBoth hands full, and there goes the squeak.	Get the eleventh stair to squeak while you are the one standing on it.	The Stairs F01 × R1	Book two
22	Say SpoonThe Middle only gives back your last word. Hod wins	Shout as much as you like in the Middle, but the word you want back has to be the last one.	The Middle F05 × R4	Book two
23	Sleeping BrickPast the brick, and not a sound. Hod winslost	Carry the whole lot down the Back Steps in one trip and get past the loose brick without a single grind.	The Back Steps F25 × R5	Book two
24	Hod's SqueakOne foot, one squeak. Then the other foot.	Only one foot on the eleventh stair at a time, and everybody has to come away with a squeak of their own.	The Stairs F01 × R6	Book two
25	One ClunkTogether, and the door goes clunk. quiet	Push and lift at the very same moment and the green door says one clunk instead of a rattle.	The Green Door F16 × R4	Book two
26	Peg By PegHands on the line. Never on the wheel. lost	Bring the whole loaded line in peg by peg with your hands on the line, and the pulley never gets to squeal.	The Drying Roof F19 × R5	Book two
27	Top LandingSomebody's coming. Two at a time. free to readHod wins	Get to the top before the two-at-a-time one goes past you, and you get to hold the roof door.	The Stairs F03 × R2	Book three
28	Grate HopOne step wrong and the grate says rain. Hod wins	Get over the grate and back before the grate says rain, and then you get to jump on it.	The Middle F07 × R5	Book three
29	Rain DrumMy turn, your turn, wait for the drop.	One of us on the bucket at a time, and whoever is on it when the pipe lets go gets the big rain.	The Middle F07 × R6	Book three
30	One In TwelveOne in twelve. One forgets the lift. quiet	Eleven people do a push and a lift. Catch the one who only shoves, and that one is yours to name.	The Hall F13 × R8	Book three
31	Hollow WallKnock while it moves. A knock every floor. Hod winslost	Knock on the back wall while the Up-Down is moving, and get a knock back on every floor.	The Up-Down F09 × R1	Book three
32	Say The FloorCount the notes, and say the floor. Hod wins	When the Up-Down says its six notes, say the floor before it moves again, and three right in a row wins.	The Up-Down F10 × R7	Book three
33	Cupboard PipeCupboard to roof, straight up one pipe.	The cupboard hears the roof. Do it backwards, and make the roof hear the cupboard.	The Green Door F17 × R3	Book three
34	Pigeon ClapAll at once, or not at all. lost	Find the one sound the pigeons go for, and be standing under them when they all go up.	The Drying Roof F20 × R8	Book three
35	One HookTake one down. The board keeps the rest.	Only one tapper off the board at a time, and get them all home before the Hall light clicks off.	The Hall F15 × R6	Book three
36	Long RingRun the spoon down. The long one's mine. quiet	Run the spoon along the hooks in the dark and take down the one that keeps ringing, because that one is yours.	The Hall F15 × R7	Book three
37	Backwards BrickTurn the brick over. Now it grinds.	Everybody grinds the brick out. Do it backwards, and get it in the other way round to make the wall grind long.	The Back Steps F25 × R3	Book three
38	Eyes ShutOne brick grinds. All the rest just knock. Hod winslost	Eyes shut, hand on the wall, walk along until you find the one brick that grinds and not one that knocks.	The Back Steps F25 × R8	Book three
39	Both HandsA second and a half, and a full tray. Hod wins	Get in before the doors shut, and you only get one and a half seconds to do it.	The Up-Down F11 × R2	Book three
40	Fastest MeterEleven tick slow. One ticks fast. free to read	One meter down here ticks faster than all the other eleven, and I have to say out loud whose flat it belongs to, and be right.	The Under F22 × R7	Book four
41	Nine PegsOne pigeon goes, they all go. lost	Get all nine pegs into your pocket before the pigeons go — because if one goes, they all go, and then you start again at nine.	The Drying Roof F20 × R5	Book four
42	Painted DoorKnock with your knuckle. Lean with your knee. quiet	The small door is painted shut and it only ever goes THUD — I have to make it say a knock instead, with my knee on it and one knuckle.	The Under F23 × R4	Book four
43	Sheet FirstBig one first, and the squeal goes down.	You always peg the little things first and the big sheet last, so the pulley squeals higher and higher — I'm doing it backwards, sheet first, and getting the squeal to go down the whole way.	The Drying Roof F19 × R3	Book four
44	Ceiling WalkHear the floor and say the room. lost	I can hear Hod from upstairs cross my ceiling — so I have to call out which room he's standing in, three times in a row, and get every one right.	Number Three F28 × R7	Book four
45	Green Door RaceGreen door, both hands, at the very same time. Hod wins	Push and lift at the very same time, and get the green door open before Hod from upstairs is up the last six stairs.	The Green Door F16 × R2	Book four
46	One Word EachOne word each, and only on a tick.	Your meter ticks, you say one word. My meter ticks, I say one word. First ones to finish the whole sentence together win.	The Under F22 × R6	Book four
47	Every PigeonNo hands. Make the whole roof go up. quiet	Pigeons go all at once or not at all — so I have to make every single one of them go up, on purpose, without touching one.	The Drying Roof F20 × R1	Book four
48	Beat The SongGet it all out before the last note. Hod wins	The Up-Down sings the same six notes every time it stops, and you have to get your whole message out before the last one finishes.	The Up-Down F10 × R2	Book four
49	Boiler StepsOne breath, one step, all the way back.	One step for every breath the boiler takes, all the way down the Under and all the way back, and if the boiler misses a breath you start again.	The Under F21 × R5	Book four
50	Twelve ClicksOne knock hiding in all those clicks. lost	Twelve tiles in the Hall click and one of them knocks — I stand with my eyes shut and I have to call the knock every single time somebody crosses.	The Hall F14 × R7	Book four
51	One StoneEvery stone gives it back but one. quiet	Every stone in the Middle throws your last word back at you — except one, and I have to walk on all of them until I find the one that keeps it.	The Middle F05 × R8	Book four
52	Drag The SpoonDrag the spoon, and make the ring last.	The cold pipe only ever says tock — I'm going to make it say a long ring instead, all the way up through Hod's floor, before the ring runs out.	Number Three F26 × R4	Book four

The engine

Twenty-eight facts, eight rule-types, 224 cells.

28 fixed facts about one building, crossed with 8 kinds of rule a four-year-old invents. That is 224 games before anybody finds a new fact — and every story finds one. 52 cells are spent.

F01F02F03F04F05F06F07F08F09F10F11F12F13F14F15F16F17F18F19F20F21F22F23F24F25F26F27F28Make-It-AnswerBeat-ItDo-It-BackwardsGet-It-To-Say-Your-WordDon'T-Wake-ItOnly-One-MayName-It-From-The-SoundFind-The-Odd-One

52 written172 still openPick a lit square.

Any squareThe fact stays fixedThe rule is what changes. Hover or tap a brass square to see which story that pairing turned into.

The eight rule-types
	Name	The shape of it	The edge it works
R1	MAKE-IT-ANSWER	Get the thing to make its sound on purpose	single chord
R2	BEAT-IT	Finish before it stops, or get there before it does	double chord
R3	DO-IT-BACKWARDS	Invert the thing	notch
R4	GET-IT-TO-SAY-YOUR-WORD	Make the building produce a chosen sound	scallop
R5	DON'T-WAKE-IT	Silence	square-cut
R6	ONLY-ONE-MAY	Turn-taking	wave
R7	NAME-IT-FROM-THE-SOUND	Identification	step
R8	FIND-THE-ODD-ONE	Odd-one-out	point

The noises

What Tocko says, story by story.

Each story turns on one line the building says out loud. They are the bit a child says back to you before you have finished reading it.

1CLICKCold Pipe
2KREEE-onkEleventh Stair
3ting, ting, ta-ting, ting, ting, DONGNine Seconds
4tap, THUMP, tap, THUMPSix Flights
5KUNK. KUNK. KUNKFour Floors
6ting, ting, ta-ting, ting, ting, DONGSix Notes
7TUPLoudest Lid
8THUP, thupSmall Door
9ssshhhhh-fffOne Grate
10WHUMPOne Clang
11TANG. TANGPipe Radio
12TANG, and then the humLast Knock
13KNOK-knokLoose Bannister
14DUNKHalf A Door
15shhhKRRRRRTBang Going Up
16THUD-fffshTwelve Thumps
17KNOCKOver My Bed
18SKREENKOne Pull
19HUFF-ooomTwo Gulps
20hreeee-hkEvery Window
21SHUFFBoth Hands Full
22treeSay Spoon
23tinkSleeping Brick
24SHUFFHod's Squeak
25RATTA-tat-tat-tatOne Clunk
26chkPeg By Peg
27tud-TUD, tud-TUDTop Landing
28TSSHHK-tk-tk-TSSHHKGrate Hop
29pit-a-pit-a-PINGRain Drum
30shhk-TAKOne In Twelve
31tak. BOMHollow Wall
32ting, ting, ta-ting, ting, ting, DONGSay The Floor
33thudCupboard Pipe
34REEK-a-reek-a-KUNKPigeon Clap
35tik-PINGOne Hook
36BRRAT-tat-tat-tkLong Ring
37KRR-tikBackwards Brick
38PUKEyes Shut
39shhk-SHUNKBoth Hands
40tk. tk. tkFastest Meter
41PAFF, PAFF, PAFF, PAFF, PAFFNine Pegs
42DUFFPainted Door
43SKREEE-ktSheet First
44KLUMP. KLUMP. KLUMPCeiling Walk
45hnkGreen Door Race
46tikka. tikka. tkOne Word Each
47PAKEvery Pigeon
48ting, ting, ta-ting, ting, ting, DONGBeat The Song
49CLONK-tup, and then hhhhhhhBoiler Steps
50tk, tk, TONKTwelve Clicks
51STONEOne Stone
52tuk-tuk-tuk-tukDrag The Spoon