I’m have a pretty open mind when it comes to games for my children. Even though I do not care for them, my children have Candy Land and Monopoly Junior - Disney Princess.

However, I have drawn the line at Hungry Hungry Hippos.

I never understood until I was an adult why my parents banished us to our bedroom and closed our when we wanted to play Hungry Hungry Hippos. It was when I was visiting a friend and he pulled out [GAMEID-5895] for his children to play that I realized that my children must not have this game.

* Wham wham wham wham… chop chop chop chop… roll roll roll *

Initial Thoughts

I do like how the geek description of this little number states “it is a game and a toy”. I was torn on what to call it and I think I will call it a dexterity-luck game... and a very noisy one at that.

Object Of The Game

Be the first person to drive your parents nuts (j/k).

The object of the game is have your hippo “eat” the most marbles

Components

There are only two components to this game. The first is 20 marbles (usually white) and a large playing unit.

The playing unit has changed very little over the years. It has a red based and on it are mounted four brightly colored plastic hippos.

Gameplay

Every player puts 5 marbles into their marble release area.

If you are using the Basic Game rules, a player is selected to release one marble. The players will depress their levers and attempt to use their hippo to “eat” the marble. Once the marble has been eaten, the next player (in a clockwise direction) releases the next marble.

In the Advance Game rules, all players release all their marbles at the same time.

Once all the marbles have been eaten, the players count how many they have in their possession. The person with the highest total wins.

Strategy v.s. Luck Factor

The marbles tend to roll where they want to, so luck plays a heavy factor in this game.

I have read many strategies favored by people who play the game. Some slam their handle as fast as possible in an attempt to eat quicker. Some recommend a slow, methodical handle pushing to make their hippo eat the marbles in a more “targeted” way. I think that if you are under 10, slamming the handle as fast as possible and screaming is the primary strategy employed.

Closing Thoughts

Part of me wants to recommend this game, but I know kids love noisy toys and this one definitely qualifies. Another part of me wants to not recommend it because it seems more like a game than a toy.

My kids have never really played this game. Lady X has played it a few times and I was quite surprised she didn’t really like it. She said that it was more work than fun. She also said she likes games where she could think. Big thoughts by a six year old.

In the end, if you had fun times with this as a kid and you don’t mind the noise, scope this game up. Even better yet, buy it for your friend’s children and give an evil smile as they show their parents their new toy.

Recommendation Summary

Wyll's Recommendation:

Fun Factor (5 Point Scale):

One Line Summary: A very noisy game/toy combination that is designed to annoy parents and be played by children ages 4 and up.