CLANK CLANK TO THE HIPPOS
Written: Sep 03 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Colorful Hippos
Cons: loud, dusty, not easy to put together
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| bonniesayers's Full Review: Hasbro Hungry Hungry Hippos Board Game |
Why oh why did Milton Bradley come up with the name Hungry Hungry Hippos? Hippos belong in the water and not in my house making this racket!
It all started innocently enough two years ago at the start of the Christmas season. I mentioned to my Mother this would be a good game for my then toddlers to play with. I thought it would make a good family game for the three of us.
Upon opening the box I was in for a surprise. I had the most difficult time in putting these Hippos in their slots on this red plastic gameboard. First the Hippos necks had the cardboard around them, meaning I had to fight the tabs in getting them off the Hippos necks. Did you know Hippos have long necks?
Each Hippo has a label to attach to the gameboard with their name on it. I have pieces missing but the names appear to be Homer, Happy, Henry and Harry. The colors are yellow, orange, pink and green.
The heads to the Hippos and the body frequently pop off. There is a way to reattach these pieces by following the instruction manual. I have had a hard time doing this. There are directions on how to attach the neck to the tail and then snap the Hippo onto the base to let the game begin.
In the game position the Hippos necks are extended outward and the black lever known as the tail is in the up position. To the left of each Hippo is a black lever that you flip up with your finger. Try to remember this is a family game and use the thumb or index finger, please!
The Hungry Hungry Hippos come with 20 white marbles that are equally divided among the four Hippos. Shoot, aim and hunt down those marbles is the way to play the game. The idea is for the Hippos to gobble the marbles. I thought Turkeys gobbled and Hippos liked the water, oh well, back to the game.
For two to four players you would move in a clockwise position, but I will not tell if you want to counter that position. After those Hungry Hungry Hippos have gobbled the last of the marbles, each player will count their marble stash and claim victory.
There is an advanced game for the players that just want to clank and make more annoying noise with the Hippos. This is exactly what the Manual says “ Here’s another exciting, frantic way to play! . So it appears that Milton Bradley knew all along this would make parents nuts and produce severe headaches from having to endure this red plastic gameboard!
Two years later and most of the labels are torn off the red plastic gameboard. Marbles are all over my house and I have had the discomfort of stepping on one in barefeet. It should be noted that this is a choking hazard for any child under the age of three, so keep this high on a shelf if you have smaller children.
The slots where the marbles end up when your Hippo gets the pleasure of gobbling one are dusty and I use either a wipe or damp paper towel to clean it up. The same for the rest of the gameboard, depending on where you store it, it gets dusty rather quickly.
For the low price of two bucks you can order another bag of marbles for the Hippos to gobble up. The Hungry Hungry Hippos has endured the test of time in our house, although we have all lost interest rather quickly.
My now five year old will play with this about once a week for around ten minutes. That is the allowed time since the toy is stored in the same room as the computer and I usually jump out of my seat when he surprises me with a game of Hippos.
My children did not play with this as a group activity, we did play a few times a year ago and I have wanted to throw it in the garbage for quite some time. When I think of it, my son usually has just played with it and I wait again for the right time.
For anyone interested in purchasing the Hippos, be prepared to feed them and hope the players are able to gobble the marbles up quickly to drown out the sounds of the Hungry Hungry Hippos.
For a last minute gift to the class bully birthday party, make sure you pick up the Hungry Hungry Hippos . The age group would be appropriate for three and up. This can be found at K-Mart or Toys"R" Us for under twenty dollars. In the coming months both stores will have their coupon booklets out and I have seen the coupon for this in both.
If you have a screened porch or deck where the kids are outside and away from the main living space of the house, this would be appropriate as well. The little fingers get a good workout banging away at the tails to the Hippos.
I personally think the Hippos should just stay in the water.
Recommended:
No
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bonniesayers
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